Hope of the Shield Hero
by Allen Blaster
Summary: Naofumi Iwatani was summoned to Melromarc as the Shield Hero. Everything looked great... until he overheard Itsuki and Motoyasu talking about parties sharing experience from kills outside his inn room. He then finds out some stuff from his help guide that Malty hadn't told him about. (Rest of Summary Inside) Cover by Aron1095. Chapter Fifty-Seven: Inevitable War
1. Arc 1: 1: Not What He Wanted To Hear

**PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE YOU DELVE INTO THE STORY!**

**In essence, this fic is an AU "For Want of a Nail" fic mixed with the "Butterfly Effect." The "For Want of a Nail" is Naofumi discovering Malty's plan before she executes it, along with a couple of other minor changes. The "butterfly effect" is the slow and gradual change(s) that come from the main Nail and the couple others I've thrown in throughout. Situations still happen which are called "In Spite of a Nail." However, butterfly effects gradually grow stronger and stronger throughout the story. If you're here wanting to see more changes happening, I recommend looking later on in the story past Chapter Eleven or Twelve when the Lute Village wave is past.**

**If any of you have any advice or suggestions (as long as they're within reason) I'll try my best to implement them in my free time. Now, with that out of the way, you can delve into the world of the Shield Hero.**

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**Summary: **_Naofumi Iwatani was summoned to Melromarc as the Shield Hero. Everything looked great... until he overheard Itsuki and Motoyasu talking about parties sharing experience from kills. He then finds out some stuff from his help guide that Malty hadn't told him about. In going to Malty to ask his questions, he eavesdrops on her conversation with a nun from the Church of the Three Heroes and learns more than what he wanted to hear. Not wanting to stay and wait to be arrested and tried unfairly, __he runs away from the Capital. __Now a criminal on the run, Naofumi has to do his best to avoid the Church and the King outside the waves. And trust someone who, slave crest or not, will help him to overcome his own trials and pains past and present; restoring that which he thought he'd lost long ago._

_Hope._

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**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own the anime, the manga, the novels, or anything else tied to ROTSH. If you're a LN reader, you're going to enjoy this._

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**_Hope of the Shield Hero_**

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**Chapter One:** _Not What He'd Wanted To Hear_

* * *

_In Naofumi's inn Room_

"Hmmm, two hundred silver left. Two rooms at thirty copper each per night, and meals for two at 5 copper each. That leaves a little over... 199 silver." Naofumi said, counting the remainder of his money for the day.

It was night outside his window. He'd already stored all the clothes he'd bought at the general store earlier in one of the drawers. His new black and grey chainmail armor was hanging on the back of a chair next to the one he was sitting in. His room was only lit by the light of one candle resting on his bed stand.

He took about 30 silver coins and stashed them inside his shield. "Now I'm acting like a stereotypical Japanese tourist, stashing money away like this."

Naofumi finally got up from his chair and laid back on his bed. Feeling absolutely tired. "Holy crap, what a day." He said, staring up at the ceiling in disbelief.

...

'_I wonder how it truly feels to kill a monster. Today I just ran around popping balloons.'_ He thought. It'd taken five minutes of punching just to kill one. And he'd only managed to kill three of those little balls of malice.

...

'_But still, I really am in another world!'_

He started shaking around on his bed, squealing with excitement. Even though it was unbelievably weird, he already loved this world. He loved how different it was from where he came from. He loved the smell of the air. He loved the magic. The game-like features. The fact that he was actually needed for once in his life.

He even loved how the littlest things reminded him of gaming. From the Status Magic to having levels and stats. He had more experience playing in massive player games as a trader or guild boss and didn't have close to any experience playing RPG's, but hey, what did he care about that. He loved games almost as much as anime. And there was nothing better to him than learning as you go along.

Besides this world feeling like a game, he also loved how real it was. The feel of the nice soft mattress beneath him was real. The people he'd interacted with today were real. The food he'd eaten, oh how real and good it had tasted to his taste buds! He could sing praises to that food for hours if he could! Even the fresh air felt more real than the city air he'd been accustomed to back home.

What was the most unbelievable was an overarching fact. He, an average otaku, had the hottest babe around helping him out. Not Ren, not Itsuki, not hot and tall Motoyasu, him! The average looking otaku!

It was amazing!

'_Wow, I'm finally moving up in life.'_ He thought to himself, closing his eyes in bliss at the feeling inside him at that moment. '_It's about time my luck changed… after how my life was going no where back home.'_

He heard two voices talking outside his door, and he stopped moving around. The two seemed to be talking about their experience for the day. '_Is that Motoyasu and Itsuki?'_ He thought to himself.

"I'm totally going to outdo you tomorrow Motoyasu."

"In your dreams Itsuki."

Naofumi shrugged it off and got up. They were only talking about how they'd outdo the other tomorrow and all that. Classic gamer talk. Still, it made him smile nostalgically. '_Wow, it's so familiar to what my guildmates told each other all the time… you know, as much as I'll miss technology and anime... I think I'm going to like it here.' _He thought.

"Time for bed. I have an early start and all for my grand adventure." He said to himself. After all, if they were getting stronger than he'd have to get stronger too. And with Myne there to help him out, he knew that nothing would stop him from defeating the waves.

He turned to blow out his candle.

"You know, I can't believe how much my party leveled up just from me killing balloons and mushes," Motoyasu said outside his door.

Naofumi didn't blow out the candle. '_Huh? You mean you can look up the stats of your party members in this game?'_ He was still unfamiliar with the rules of RPG's since he hadn't played many of those games.

"Don't tell me you were the only one who was actually killing monsters?" Itsuki asked.

"Of course I was." Naofumi could imagine Motoyasu making a pose of flexing his biceps at that moment. "Got to make sure those fine ladies of mine don't so much as scratch a fingernail while I make them stronger. Besides, that's one of the best things about an RPG. If one kills, the whole party benefits."

Naofumi stared at the door in confusion. '_Wait, didn't Myne kill a couple of balloons herself?... but I didn't get anything from that.'_

"Yeah, I kind of forgot about that rule early on. It wasn't until we were halfway through the day that I realized I still had to accept the party invites my group sent me when we joined up in the castle. There was a boatload of experience we all ended up missing out on." Itsuki said in an embarrassed tone.

"No worries man! I'm sure you'll have better luck tomorrow if you and your whole party are going at it! Just don't make those ladies of yours work too hard!" Motoyasu said encouragingly to the Bow Hero. It sounded like both their voices were getting farther away.

"Whatever, good night Motoyasu!" Itsuki responded faintly.

"Night, Itsuki!"

Naofumi was standing by the door now, his ear having been pressed up against it to listen to their conversation. '_The others received party invites from their adventurers at the castle? But, but I don't remember getting something like that… did I?'_

He pulled up his HUD. In the top left, it showed only his health bar and stats. He looked around some more, but he didn't see Myne's stats anywhere. 'Maybe she isn't a member of my party yet... _Is there somewhere I have to go to accept the party invite? I should do that now if me and Myne both want to get stronger together.' _He thought as he spent the next few minutes tinkering around.

Eventually, he opened his help guide in the bottom right corner of his HUD. He used it to help him get more used to how to navigate through the different menus. Even though a part of him was still tired, he realized this was probably important to get out of the way right now. Just in case he accidentally forgot about it tomorrow morning when he woke up.

'_Let's see. That's how I can check my status. That's how I can check what recipes I have for crafting… and compounding? Guess I'll have to look that up later... Ah, here it is! The party menu. So if I have a party invite… it should put it in the party menu near the bottom left of my screen.'_ He looked at the icon labeled party, smiling in relief when he found it.

The fact that he didn't realize it'd be there should have been telling for how little knowledge he actually had about RPG's. '_And if I have a party invite, it should be under received invites in the party menu.'_

He focused on the party menu, and the help guide moved to the side. Two options appeared in front of him. The first one being 'invite to party' and the second one being 'accept invitation requests.' When he focused on the second option, he received an error message on his screen.

'**You have not received any invitation requests at this time. When you receive an invite, it will appear here in this menu.'**

Naofumi's face scrunched up in surprise. '_I don't have a party invite from Myne!'_ He was utterly baffled at that. With how knowledgeable she had been earlier, he could have sworn that she'd know how to do something like send him a request to join his party. '_Maybe she forgot… but how did she forget when all the other adventurers didn't.'_

...

A cold feeling started to enter Naofumi's gut. A cold feeling he knew all too well from back home. It was part of the main reason he'd given up on drinking, on having a social life, having other friends, and spending quality time with his family. It was why he had allowed himself to sink so far into anime and gaming that he'd proudly taken on the title of otaku.

Something like this had happened to him once before. But his gut was telling him what was about to happen would be much worse than that time.

'_I'll go find Myne. Maybe it was just an honest mistake on her part.' _He thought brightly, trying to reassure himself.

He stood there for a moment more despite the hopeful thought. Even though the more hopeful part of him wanted to trust Myne and go to sleep. Even though it had been a very tiring day for him and he knew he deserved to rest; he couldn't shake the cold feeling he was getting. And that part of him that wanted to investigate and put the matter to rest was steadily getting louder and more logical to him. That there was something very wrong with a member of his supposed 'party.' He just didn't know what it was yet.

Finally, that part of him won out and he opened his door. He walked out into the hallway of the second floor of the inn and walked silently down it towards the room at the end. '_I'll just talk to Myne herself. Maybe she can help me realize that I'm overreacting over nothing.'_

When he got to her door, he knocked gently on it. "Psst. Myne. Are you in there?" He whispered.

He got no response. He tapped his knuckles against it a little louder. "Psst. Myne. It's me, Naofumi." He called again.

There was still no response.

He looked around, seeing the hallway was empty. He opened the unlocked door to her room and peeked his head in. Taking one look around, he saw it didn't look like anybody had gone into it yet. '_Hmmm… Maybe she's still at her table downstairs?'_ He thought.

He closed her door and made his way back down the hallway. The candlelight from the various candleholders lit up his unsure looking face. For some reason, that cold feeling in his stomach wasn't going away. If anything it was only getting stronger the closer he got to where the hallway opened up to the room down below. Where the left wall was replaced with the ornate wooden banisters that kept people from accidentally falling from the second floor onto the first. The thought entered his mind again that he was just being paranoid and should go back to sleep. But he continued onward. It'd be better to talk to Myne now that he was out of his room. But the lack of noise was oddly disconcerting to Naofumi. Hadn't the diner been full of people when he left earlier? Did that mean everyone was asleep now?

It was when he was close to the edge that he finally heard voices.

"Are you sure this plan of yours will work my princess? We have too much riding on this for it to fail."

'... _Princess?'_ Naofumi got down on one knee and leaned forward just enough that his face could look between the gaps of the second story wood banisters down below.

"Yes, I'm positive it'll work." Myne was talking to a lady donned in a white cloak with a white hood over her head. Although he didn't have much experience in this world yet, it looked to him like something a nun from a Church would wear. "In fact, I'm so positive that I can guarantee he won't see it coming until it's too late. After all, he's already in bed, and by the time he wakes up in the morning, guards will have his room surrounded. There'll be no way for him to escape what's coming." She said proudly.

'_Who was it they were calling a princess. And whose room is going to be surrounded by guards-'_ He was thinking confusedly. Though he also hadn't liked the tone of voice Myne had been using. It made her seem more, creepy. Haughty even.

"Princess Malty. The Church of the Three Heroes has many resources at its disposal. Why not use some of them as a means of eliminating the Shield Hero from this world?" The lady asked, her question posed directly to Myne.

Naofumi's eyes widened. '_What the hell?! Did she just say Myne's name was Malty?! And that she's a princess!? That means I have a Princess in my party! This is awesome!... But then why is that nun also asking about eliminating the Shield Hero?! Myne would never want to do something like that!'_ He thought. The cold feeling in his gut finally settled, as if its purpose in bringing him out here had been accomplished.

The thought came through to just go back to bed and worry about it no more. But Naofumi was hooked. He couldn't leave without hearing the rest of the conversation. "Because Father would get suspicious," Myne said with an eye roll. "Sure he doesn't have much of a like for the Shield Hero because of what demi-humans did to his sister back in his days as the Staff Hero. But even he would suspect something if the Shield Hero was killed outright. And that suspicion could lead to both me and your Church being exposed, and then I'd never become Queen." She said, anger in her tone. "No, we have to dispose of him properly. While my mother is away calming the other countries." Myne finished haughtily.

Naofumi leaned in closer. Staring in disbelief down below. Was that really Myne? It couldn't be...

"And how will your plan accomplish that?" The nun opposite her asked skeptically.

Myne laughed into her hand. It was like Naofumi was really seeing the actual bitch side of her for the first time. "Oh, because accusations of this kind against a poor innocent princess cannot be ignored. My Father will be absolutely furious when I tell him about what the Shield Hero did to his precious daughter. And because of his status as a hero my Father wouldn't dare kill him in fear of angering the other kingdoms. So instead, he'd spread the news of what happened throughout all the land, ruining the Shield Hero's reputation before he even stepped foot out of the castle doors!" She said with an evil sort of crazy happiness in her face that came from her envisioning what torture she could put other people through.

The nun in the white robes pondered it to herself for a few seconds, and then a smile spread across her face. "Oh, I see now why the Church decided to send agents out to spread rumors of this sort then. If a 'hero' were to be accused of something like this..." She started.

"He would have no one except the worst riffraff who'd rather stab him in the back vouching to work for him. Meaning he'd be unable to kill monsters by himself because of his low attack stat, and he'd trust no one who would support him to help him out. By the time the next wave hits Melromarc, he'll be so weak that he won't stand a chance of survival." Myne continued.

"Meaning his death will come at the hands of monsters, leaving no one the wiser about his innocence." The nun's smile grew bigger, but then she frowned. "But Princess, what about those adventurers who signed up to work for the Shield Hero? Surely some of them might want to help him even after news of his deed travels throughout the land. And what of the other Heroes?" She asked.

The Princess waved her hand in dismissal. She was more of a short term planner. The long term aspects of that plan had been given to her already when the Church first approached her about this. "It was only a few demi-humans and some knight from Seaetto that wanted to help him. The knight has already been arrested and jailed in the castle dungeons for crimes she didn't do, and the demi-humans were executed because of how desperate they were to serve such an idiot. All without my Father noticing of course. Not that he'll care either; after I tell him how they tried to help the Shield Hero when he was raping me." She said.

Naofumi's eyes widened dramatically. His breathing became ragged. '_What… rape...'_ Cold hard realization hit him. Just like it had that one day when his life in his other world had been ruined. '_That was why no one wanted to join my party.'_

His mind flashed back to the time when he and the other heroes stood in the throne room. How he'd seen all the other adventurers form up behind the different heroes. How he'd asked why he got no one to help him. And how no one except Myne, no, princess Malty had volunteered to help him.

'_They had already chosen beforehand. Every last one of them. It was never a contest for who they wanted to choose when they saw us. And the reason why I had nobody to support me, was because of HER!... But why would Myne do such a thing-_'

His mind was returned to the present when the talking continued down below. "As for the other heroes. Well, I need someone to be my savior from the dreaded Shield Hero. I've already chosen to throw myself into the arms of Motoyasu." Myne made a fake crying pose. "Oh Motoyasu, please save this damsel in distress who has found herself in such a horrid tale. Please Motoyasu, comfort me with your loving embrace, and save me from that horrible creature wearing the shield." She started giggling into her hand again after her little act. She could make a fortune as an actress if she wanted to.

"And you think he'll really buy that?" The nun asked in shock at hearing such an obvious ploy having a chance to succeed with one of the three heroes she worshipped more than anything else in the world.

"Motoyasu's party members have told me how trusting he is to what girls say to him. He'd gobble my story up in a heartbeat. And since the other heroes trust him more than they trust poor, poor Naofumi, well;" Myne was saying in mock agony, before giggling into her hand and looking up at Altara evilly. "It will be the tragic end of the Shield Hero from there."

The nun smiled in relief, trusting the princess in front of her. "Princess Malty. I can see why Pope Balamus sent me here to check over the final details with you." She put a hand to her chest. "I personally had my doubts about this plan of yours succeeding before I got here. But now those doubts are gone. You have truly lived up to your name, first princess of Melromarc. I'll report the news to Balamus immediately."

Princess Myne giggled into her hand. "Thank you lady Altara. That is high praise coming from one of the noble nuns of the Church of the Three Heroes." She said in delight. "All I have to do is wait a moment more to make sure he's asleep, and then I'll be able to go into his room to plant the evidence. Who knows, I might also make off with all his gear and money while I'm there. I'm sure Motoyasu would like it even more if I gave my savior a gift like that." She said, a pur coming off of her lips. "After that, it'll be all up to the Church to make sure the Shield Hero receives help from nobody except the worst."

Naofumi had heard enough. Shakily, he got back up. His mind almost refusing to believe it. But unable to deny it any longer. '_That, that two-timing lying bitch!-'_

**Creakkkkk...**

Unfortunately, when he got up, the boards beneath him creaked long and loud from his weight. The talking down below instantly stopped. "Who's there?!" Princess Malty demanded while standing up to look around. "I thought I ordered for us to have some privacy!"

Naofumi stayed still with his back pressed against the wall. Sweat beaded his face as he nervously hoped that since he was out of sight that they'd think it was nothing. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that the candle on the wall next to him was casting his shadow on the opposite wall in plain sight for anyone looking down below until it was too late.

"I see someone's shadow up there! Whoever it is must have been listening to our whole conversation!" The nun said in outrage.

"No worries, I'll take care of whoever it is right away." Myne's sweet voice said in a more deadly tone.

Naofumi's heart hammered at his chest. For the first time since he'd come into this world, fear gripped his mind like a paralyzing plague. And he was suddenly reminded that this wasn't a game. This was the real world, with very real consequences. And unfortunately, he found it was also full of traitorous backstabbers. '_All this time. She's only been plotting to ruin me. To have me stay weak, and to be killed off by the hands of monsters. No, not just her. But this Church that's helping her. What the freaking hell! Is that why I didn't get a party invite from her!?'_

It was the sound of footsteps going up the stairs that made Naofumi finally leap into action. He turned around, running back down the hall. There was no hiding his loud footfalls. Not that he wanted to hide them. Now, he only wanted to get as far away from this evil person as he could possibly get.

"Don't let whoever it is getaway!" The nun yelled from down below.

Naofumi turned the corner into his hallway right before Myne reached the top of the stairs. He ran into his room and slammed the door behind him.

Without really thinking straight, he grabbed his chainmail, and hurriedly started to put it on with one hand. His other hand scooped all the silver coins he had left back into the pouch. By the time he'd finished with that, his chainmail armor coat was half on, and he hurriedly put the rest on with his other hand while his free hand stuffed the pouch of coins into one of the back pockets of the chainmail before hurrying to his drawers to grab his spare clothes.

A knocking sound came from his door. "Sir Hero. It's me, Myne. Did you hear somebody run down the hallway just now?" She asked through the door.

Naofumi looked at the door in fear, and then back down at his clothes. He wondered for the space of half a second if he should answer or not… he could pretend that he had heard someone and they'd woken him up. But with all his boiling anger towards her right now, and fear of her killing him then and there, he was tongue-tied.

'_What do I do?! What should I do?! She's already going to accuse me of raping her! Do I try to play along and pretend like nothing's happening?! Do I run away right now! Is there even a point if I try to run away!?'_ He thought desperately. He was the Shield Hero. His attack stat was almost nonexistent. Even with all the anger bubbling up inside him, there was no way he could possibly hurt her.

Only one choice made sense to him.

…

"Sir Hero?" Myne asked again, opening the door into his room. She was holding the sword she'd gotten from the blacksmith earlier that day in her hands.

The candle to the room was blown out, so it took her a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness in the room. The back window was open. The table and chairs were flipped over as if they'd been quickly searched. The drawers were wide open, and the contents were all emptied. His armor and silver coins were gone. And most alarming to her was that he was nowhere in sight.

"Sir Hero?!" She yelled.

* * *

**Oof!**

Naofumi landed on his shield arm hard after jumping from the second story of the inn. "Ow…" He groaned in pain to himself. He had tried to time his jump better but had failed to adequately judge when he'd hit the ground. '_Good thing for my high defense stat. Otherwise, jumping out that window probably would have broken my ankle.'_ He thought as he slowly got himself back up off the ground. His legs felt like hell for a few seconds before the pain reverted to a more bearable form of hell.

He did a quick look at his HUD. His HP had dropped about a fourth from the hard landing. But otherwise, he appeared to be okay. The shocking difference between reality and gaming was mind-boggling. But he was still pissed. '_What the hell! They go through all this trouble summoning me to their world, just to set up betrayal and false rape accusations within 48 hours of me being here! What kind of sick psychos would do something like that!?'_ He thought angrily to himself.

"Sir Hero!?" He heard Myne's voice up above from his open window.

Naofumi looked up in anger up above. To think she'd been so nice and kind to him before, and she'd been planning on betraying him like this?! He'd never hated someone so much as he did at that moment. This hurt even worse than what happened to him years ago in school. And what was worse was that at level one, he could do absolutely nothing about it. Not one, damn, thing!

'_No. I have no time to sit here and stew about it! I have to get the hell out of here now!'_ He thought before he took off as fast as he could away from the inn.

"Sir Hero?" Myne asked, looking out the window to look at the street down below. She looked both ways, seeing no one in sight. When she looked at the ground directly below the window, she saw a dent in the street that looked to be the exact shape of the Legendary Shield.

She was confused at first why Naofumi would do something as stupid as jumping out a window. But then the dots quickly connected in her mind, and a growl escaped her lips. "Damn it! The Shield Hero knows my plans." She growled out.

She turned around and walked back towards the doorway. "I might as well put my plan into motion now. If he manages to leave the city before I can tell my father what happened, it could drastically weaken my rape accusation." She said, dropping a pair of purple lace panties on the side of Naofumi's bed.

"Motoyasu! Motoyasu!" Princess Malty yelled, running quickly out the door.

...

In the shadows of the room, a lady wearing a mask moved from out of her hiding place. "I daresay, if the princess is already putting her plan in motion, then I will have no choice but to do the same." She said to herself.

One second she was there, and the next she disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

Naofumi ran through the streets of the Capital. With it being so late at night, there weren't very many people out and about. What few that were out looked confusedly at him as he ran like he was being chased by a hellcat.

'_They were going to set me up! They were going to trick me and betray me! They wanted me to fail and die instead of defeating the waves!'_ He thought angrily to himself.

He felt so stupid. He should have realized how off it had seemed to have such a beautiful girl like Myne want to join his party. Why would some girl as hot as her ever want to join with some loser who had nothing but a shield to fight with? She hadn't really been prepping him for fighting against the waves. She hadn't been getting close to him as a means of becoming friends with him.

No, she'd been setting him up to fail from the start. She'd wanted to take everything away from him. His money, his trust, and his respect for others. Whilst using this accusation to throw herself into the arms of the Hero she really wanted to be with. The hero she really had her eyes on.

Motoyasu! The damn womanizer!

He stopped next to the wall of some shops. "URGH!" He yelled at himself as he slammed his fist into the wall with a resounding **Thud**. His anger spiked when he felt little pain from punching a brick wall. "I'm so stupid! I'm such a loser!" He berated himself while no one else was around on the street. He punched the wall again, but again, he barely felt it.

"I knew I should have played those RPG's back at home! I knew I should have tried to ask the others more questions when I had the chance! I knew I should have been more suspicious when nobody wanted to join my party! Then I wouldn't have trusted letting a bitch like her close in the first place all over again!" He yelled to himself, falling to one knee beside the wall. "I'm so stupid, stupid, STUPID!"

Tears were starting to leak into the corners of his eyes.

"Why? What did I ever do to them? Why does being the Shield Hero have to mean that they'd go to such lengths just to get rid of me?!" He looked up angrily at the sky. "If you hated me already, why the hell would you pull me from my world to this crappy hellhole!?" He yelled angrily to the night.

This wasn't a fantasy gameworld paradise. It was a nightmare!

…

"Hey kid, you doing alright?"

Naofumi looked to the side. The door to the shop was wide open now. And he recognized the blacksmith Erhard standing in the doorway. "Erhard-" He started to say when he stopped himself.

'_No. I have no way of trusting anyone now.'_ He thought coldly.

"Sorry to ask, but your yelling kind of woke me up. Did something happen to you-" Erhard started to ask with concern in his voice.

"Stop trying to trick me, old man!" Naofumi yelled while glaring at Erhard, much to the latter's surprise. "I already overheard what that princess was planning with the Church! I know they've sent agents out to spread false rumors about me! How should I know you're not one of them?!" He asked in anger.

Erhard put his hands up. "Whoa, there, Shield Bro. Calm down."

Naofumi glared at the large blacksmith. Who leveled a calm gaze back at him. "How about you come into my shop and explain the details to me so I can understand." He said. Turning to enter his shop.

"And let you distract me while guards surround the place and capture me! What reason do I have to trust you?" Naofumi angrily asked.

Erhard looked back behind him at Naofumi's angry face. The kid's eyes which had seemed so warm and full of hope before were now starting to turn cold and distrustful. They hadn't finished transforming yet, but the process had begun. Erhard heaved a sigh. '_Damn it.'_ He hated to see people who looked so happy before turn out like this. It reminded him too much of his older days. Back during the war, and even before that when he was with his Master.

"You probably don't have any reason to trust me, kid. I have no idea what happened to you to turn you into this. But I'm offering to listen to you right now instead of these false rumors you mentioned. And if it's as bad as you say, would you rather I heard it from you, or from the people spreading the rumors?" He asked logically.

Erhard didn't realize it, but this was the right way he needed to speak to Naofumi at that moment. Naofumi, emotional as he was right now, had mainly been driven throughout his life by logic. His favorite classes in school had involved common sense and logic. He made strategies with dozens of other players based on logic. And to ignore such cold hard logic presented to him now would have been an affront to such a strong part of his personality.

He sighed. "Fine. I'll talk... But you better not betray me." He said coldly.

Erhard nodded, and let Naofumi into the blacksmith shop. "Let's hear what you have to say first, and we'll see about that."

* * *

_Thirty minutes later_

"Wow, so all that really went down?" Erhard asked, leaning back in his chair.

The two of them sat in chairs around a simple dining room table. A lantern was on, casting light over the both of them.

Naofumi nodded glumly. The anger at being betrayed by Myne had mostly disappeared. But now he closely resembled the cold Naofumi he had been years ago when a girl had hurt him. It was something he'd thought he'd gotten past. And of course, it didn't help that that girl had also been hot.

Erhard put his hand to his chin in thought. "You know, I could have sworn I recognized the girl that came in with you earlier today. But I never would have guessed she was the First princess of Melromarc." He said to himself.

"Yeah, I never would have guessed it too," Naofumi said coldly. "Not until I heard that nun she was talking to call her that."

Erhard leaned forward. "Do you realize what kind of accusation that carries there kid? We're not just talking about some member of royalty plotting something, but we're talking about the state religion of Melromarc plotting with royalty against one of the Four Cardinal Heroes of Legend. If what you're saying is really true, then that'd mean-" He tried to say.

"Then that'd mean that I've been set up to fail from the start. By both royalty, and by the prominent religion of this kingdom." Naofumi said coldly. "Just what I need. Both politics and religion working against me." He didn't think after being summoned to another world that this would happen.

"More so than that kid, you'd be making enemies of some of the most powerful nobles in the land. Both those who support the king and his daughter, and those who are strong believers in the Church. Not to mention, the many commoners who support them both." Erhard stressed to Naofumi, trying to get him to see the importance of that.

"Why should I care?" Naofumi asked coldly, his body was facing the side. His head turned to blandly look at the blacksmith. "It's not like I'll be able to do anything about it now. Malty is probably before the king with Motoyasu right now, spreading her lies like wildfire throughout the Capital."

The blacksmith remained silent, but a frown came onto his face. "I mean even though I ran away, it's not likely she'll let go of her plan. In fact, it'll probably make a stronger argument since I supposedly 'ran off' after raping her. Nothing I say now would mean a thing since the King doesn't like me. And even if she's right and he wouldn't execute me on the spot when I'm arrested, word of what I 'did' to the princess will travel fast whether I stay or not because of the Three Heroes Church. In short, I'll have no help to level up. No way of gathering money sufficiently to improve my gear. No way of being able to trust anyone... And no chance of surviving the waves that are coming. All because of them." He said despondently, before looking down at his lap.

...

Erhard took pity on the Shield Hero in front of him. '_Poor kid. He's only been here less than 2 days, and he's already lost almost all his trust and respect for everyone here.'_ He thought.

"Is there any way that I could return back to my homeworld?" Naofumi asked in a begging tone.

Erhard shook his head. "Sorry to break it to you shield kid, but according to legend the only way a hero can return to their world is for them to beat the waves."

Naofumi leaned back in his seat again. "Great. I'm screwed then." He said.

...

Erhard considered it in his mind more. "Tell you what kid, since it looks like you need it, what if I told you there was a way you could have someone you could trust in your party helping you out?" Erhard asked.

Naofumi looked blandly back up from the floor at the blacksmith. '_Yeah right. Like I could ever trust anyone else to ever help me out after this.'_ He thought pessimistically to himself. Still, a part of him realized that if there was a way that he could somehow get stronger and survive the waves long enough to return home, then he had to take it.

After all, at this point, he had no choice. "I'm listening." He said, turning fully to face Erhard.

Erhard grimaced. "If you go through with this, I want you to treat that person better than the way the First Princess treated you, you got me?" Erhard asked.

Naofumi grimaced but nodded. "Just get to the point grandpa, I don't have all night." He said impatiently. He really didn't. He possibly had hours, maybe even minutes to run away before warrants would be out for his arrest.

The grimace didn't disappear from Erhard's face. "I'm not much of a fan of it. But desperate times call for desperate measures." He leaned forward again. "And I have a feeling that you'll be a better slaveholder than most other people." He said seriously.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Wow, and here we are off to a great start! I'm actually particularly happy with how the beginning of this played out here. Before writing this, I decided to do some more research into the anime to find out a bit more about Naofumi's treatment in the beginning. And I have to say, I'm glad I did. I'm not only able to understand a bit better what Naofumi is going through here, but I also understand now why it all worked so well in why he was hated so much in the beginning.**

**If you're interested in more, please favorite and follow! If you have any suggestions for what you want to see in this AU of sorts, leave a review or PM me! And if you really like it and are the type of person who leaves a review to tell me all of what you liked or what I could improve on, feel free to do so! I take any constructive criticism seriously.**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	2. 2: A Light In The Darkness

**I'm going to set a basis for a few things you can expect here:**

**One: I'll be updating this every Monday unless something comes up. Then it'll be either Sunday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.**

**Two: I'm not going to include stuff that'll break the story. (OP characters and the like)**

**Third: I have read the LN's up to 18. And I check canon events and rules that I'm not changing by Wiki Mods so I don't destroy Aneko's universe accidentally.**

**Fourth: This story will maintain a T rating despite the romance, violence, and other factors that will most certainly be involved with it. I certainly don't want to lose my young audience.**

**Fifth: Last and most importantly, don't expect a harem! I know this will disappoint a few people who've commented. My reason for it, I'll start in the form of a joke: It's bad enough having to trust one girl/guy with your credit card and savings account. Why the hell would you want to trust six more with them!? (End Joke) I do find the concept of Naofumi having all of these girls falling for him funny (since I don't have any girls falling for me) so I'll see what to do there. Just please, don't read expecting Naofumi to form a harem. I read the web novel, but that seriously doesn't work out like that in real life. And to be frank, I find a lot of harem stories to be the fantasies of teenage hormones, and I'm not going for that here. So please, let's keep it realistic and not go that direction. Suggestions for funny love interest scenarios Raphtalia will have to deal with from other girls liking Naofumi would be much more realistic (and much funnier too)**

**Thank you all for your patience with my blundering. Now that I've set up a basis, the upcoming notes I have at the beginning of these should be much shorter (and full of appreciation for you wonderful readers). I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter!**

* * *

**Since Last Time/Updated: **_84 New Favorites, 88 New Followers. August 5th, 2019 11:30 P.M. (EST)_

* * *

**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own it._

* * *

**Chapter Two:** _A Light In the Darkness_

* * *

Naofumi looked at the piece of paper Erhard had given him. His mind flashed back to what the blacksmith had told him before he left fifteen minutes ago.

"_... slaveholder?" Naofumi asked confusedly._

_Erhard rested his elbows on the table and grasped his hands together. "There's a man that's set up his shop in town, named Beloukas. He's also commonly known as The Slave Trader."_

"_You mean, they actually have slaves in this country?" Naofumi asked, his voice sounding slightly angry._

"_It's supposed to be outlawed, but King Aultcray's doing nothing about it. Since almost all the slaves being trafficked are demi-humans." Erhard responded seriously._

'_Wait… is that tied to why Myne said the King wouldn't mind those demi-humans who wanted to support me being executed…' He thought to himself. "I hate that piece of trash even more now," Naofumi grumbled out, unable to believe that he was actually thinking about it. "Fine, what good will a slave do for me other than make me look more like a bad guy?!" Naofumi asked heatedly._

_Erhard sighed, almost unable to believe that he was talking about this, with a hero of all people. "A slave is unable to go against what their master orders them to do no matter what the order is. This is because of a special slave crest that binds them to their master. Should they even try to do something like betray you the way the princess did, their crest would prevent them. They are unable to lie. Unable to steal. In short, they'd be someone you could trust not to harm you or turn on you in any way."_

_..._

_Naofumi put his hand to his chin in thought. It almost sounded too good to be true. But whether it was or not, his curiosity had definitely been peaked. "Fine. Where do I find this Beloukas fellow?" He asked._

_Erhard gave him a piece of paper. "Look for an alleyway with this description and follow the instructions. It was given to me by some noble lady after you left here earlier today. She assumed I could use some help in my shop. As if I'd ever get myself a slave though." He said in disgust to himself. "This old man still has a long time left in him before he'll ever think of hiring an assistant."_

"_As long as this slave can fight for me, I'll be just fine," Naofumi said lowly, before getting up to walk out._

"_Oh, and shield kid." Naofumi turned his head to look back at the blacksmith. "Before you leave the Capital, make sure to bring whoever it is here. I'll have any weapons and armor you might need out and ready for you to choose before you sneak out of the Capital. Along with a warm bath, since I've been able to smell slaves before I've seen them." He said seriously._

"... _Why are you doing this old man?" Naofumi asked. "What do you have to gain?"_

_Erhard shrugged. "I could gain a potential customer in the future when it's all over. Or maybe I'm just doing this to feel good." He then looked seriously at Naofumi. "You might not believe me when I say this, but I trust you kid. Not only because you're one of the Cardinal Heroes, but because I think you still have a good heart in ya despite what they did. I want to see you keep it so you can beat those savages at their own game of making you look like the villain." He said seriously._

_..._

"_If you help out a criminal, they might look at it as an act of treason," Naofumi said flatly._

_Erhard laughed in response. "I supply at least half of all the weapons and armor around here. If they want to arrest me for helping out an innocent, I'll move my business somewhere else and wait for them to come begging for me to come back when they run short on everything." He said with mirth in his voice._

_The blacksmith's reaction almost caused Naofumi to smile. He turned to face the doorway again. "If you did that, it might just make my day." He said._

'_A good heart, huh… yeah, we'll see about that.'_ Naofumi thought pessimistically…

Naofumi looked at the descriptions on the paper, and then at the alleyway in front of him. It seemed to match up to what was said on it. Now he was supposed to wait for Beloukas to spot him out as a potential customer before proceeding…

He couldn't afford to waste much time standing there waiting if it was the wrong one though. He didn't know what time it was at night or when/if the soldiers would come out searching for him. He just knew that if he didn't find the Trader soon, bad things outside of his control would start happening.

He took in a deep breath to calm himself. '_It's okay. If this works out, then I'll be able to have someone or a couple of people who can farm for me. We'll be able to take down monsters together and be able to make enough to have a somewhat decent living while on the run. And maybe, if I'm lucky, this slave might know of some places where we could hide out between the waves.'_ He thought.

His mind kept on trying to bring up the fact that whoever this slave or slaves turned out to be could also potentially stab him in the back, slave crest or not. He repeatedly pushed down the thought though. These thoughts were annoying, but if they helped him to survive, he'd keep the pessimistic part of him around.

"Hey, look at what we have here boys."

Naofumi looked up. '_Ah... great.'_ He thought as three riff-raff looking guys approached up the alleyway.

"Looks like we caught ourselves another customer late at night." The big guy in the middle said.

"I wonder how much money he'll have for us to take." The smallest of the three who looked like a rogue said excitedly.

'_I really hope one of these people isn't Beloukas.'_ He thought to himself. "Look, I have no interest in fighting you. I'm waiting for someone right now." Naofumi said to them in a calm voice.

"And who says we aren't interested in talking with you for a moment?" The guy on the left asked, pulling out a knife from his belt. The other two also pulled out similar weapons.

"Yeah, you look like you might be holding a pretty coin or two on ya based on that equipment you're wearing!" One of the rascals said excitedly.

…

The three were caught off guard when Naofumi started to humorlessly chuckle. "Seriously, you're going to fight me with those puny things? You really do want to waste my time." He said as he raised his shield.

One of them growled and rushed forward to stab Naofumi. "Let's see you laugh when this is sticking out the other end of your-" He was saying.

Naofumi waited till just the right moment before thrusting his shield up. It slammed right into the guy's wrist, knocking his hand back and thrusting the ruffian's own knife into his shoulder. "Augh!" He screamed in pain as his other hand tried to pull the knife back out.

Naofumi slammed the shield into the man's face. The force of the hit knocked him down, but Naofumi grimaced when the actual damage he did was actually 0.

The other two hood raff backed away in surprise. "Now, do you want to continue fighting?" Naofumi calmly asked, before his face took on a crazed look. His legendary weapon glowed brightly on his wrist. "Or do you filth want to scutter back to the hellhole you belong in before I decide to kill you!?"

Three screams sounded at the same time, and all three ran away from Naofumi. Absolutely frightened out of their minds. Naofumi laughed evilly behind them. "That's right, run away like the scum you are you cowards!"

Naofumi had the same crazed look he'd made on the spot for another moment, making sure the three would-be thieves were long gone before he leaned against the sidewall. Breathing in and out from the fear that had almost made him freeze up when he saw the knife coming for him.

'_I was only lucky that my own shield knocked his attack back on himself. I don't think I could manage something like that again since I'm only level 1.'_ He thought. Then his thoughts turned to frustration again. '_Damn it! I really don't have any good offensive ability against monsters and common crooks! And I was only lucky to use the guy's attack against him! If I don't find that slave-trader soon and get a slave that can fight for me...'_ He couldn't finish the thought. His future was getting bleaker by the second.

…

"Looks like you could use some help, good sir."

Naofumi looked up at the voice. It had come from behind him.

A short, creepy-looking little man wearing a traditional circus ringmaster's tuxedo was peeking from around a corner. The suit part ranged in color from black to grey, the shirt underneath was a clean white, and what looked like a purple feathery vest stuck out from underneath the suit around his neck like a crown. He also wore glasses with a small chain attached to the right side, a pair of white alchemist gloves, a black top hat, and a red bow tie finished up the weird outfit.

"What are you talking about?" Naofumi asked coldly.

The short man chuckled in his own creepy way. "I saw the way you handled those common crooks. It was fantastic if I do say so myself, good sir. But no matter how good a man is he can't always win a 3 on 1 using only a shield, hmmm."

Naofumi turned back the way he was going. He already had a feeling who the man was, but he remembered the bit of advice written at the bottom of the paper. If he was to appear eager, then he would be overcharged for any slave he decided to get. Maybe so much that he wouldn't be able to afford one with less than 200 silvers. He had to play it off as a chance meeting.

"If you're offering me party-members, I'm not interested." He said while walking away.

"Oh, but what I'm offering you is a service that is far more convenient, good sir." The man said, walking up behind him.

Naofumi stopped and looked down at him, his face expressionless. "And what would that be?"

"... Interested, are we?" Beloukas pressed.

"Leave me alone," Naofumi responded, turning away again.

Beloukas laughed to himself. "You've got that look in your eyes that I just adore. You're every bit the man the rumors said you'd be."

Naofumi narrowed his eyes slightly. '_So, he actually has already heard the rumors that the Church has been spreading.'_ He thought to himself. "Rumors huh, so then, you know who I am."

"Of course I do brave Shield Hero sir. If my offer interests you then follow me and we can discuss it further. Though if my sources are correct, we won't have much time to discuss the details of your transaction, hmmm." He said humorously.

'_So he knows about my incoming arrest too. Guess I have no choice but to go forward for now.'_ Naofumi thought calmly as he followed Beloukas. "Alright. I'll listen."

"Splendid!" Beloukas said.

"But you better not be wasting my time," Naofumi added with a low growl.

"Of course, I would never dream of it, good sir!"

* * *

_A few minutes later_

"Right this way good sir," Beloukas said, opening up the flap of a large circus tent hidden in one of the shadier parts of the Capital.

Naofumi looked around at the street one more time. He still wasn't familiar with the town's layout because of only being in it for a day. '_I hope I memorized the path back to Erhard's shop right.'_ He thought before entering behind Beloukas, looking around at the large open tent. Candles lit up cages all around, most of which were covered in tarps. There was nothing in most of the uncovered cages. And what was in any of the visible cages either didn't move and smelled of death or looked back at him with sunken hopeless eyes.

'_If there was ever a hellhole, I'm sure part of it would look like this.'_ Naofumi thought.

"So, what exactly are you offering me Beloukas." He asked.

"Ah, so you already know my name then, Sir Shield Hero?" Beloukas asked rather curiously.

"I care more about my time schedule than answering a question like that," Naofumi replied rather coldly. '_Damn, I just entered here and I might have already made a foolish blunder.'_ He thought. His Business Teachers at the college would not be happy with him. Asking such a stupid question to give away such obvious information in the process.

Beloukas laughed his cold response off. "Of course of course. Can't you tell by just looking at what I'm offering? Though if you know my name, I'd guess you'd also know the business I'm into." He paused to push his glasses back into place. "They're slaves my boy."

For some reason, a small part of Naofumi had been hoping that this wouldn't be the case. That Erhard had been playing one over on him. Or maybe it had just been his way of hoping that Erhard had been lying so he could doubt him in the future. But hearing the man not only confirm that he was Beloukas, but that he really was The Slave Trader made him stop. "No way."

"Yes, way!" Beloukas said, turning around to pose off his inventory. "I run a slave-trading business! The largest one in Melromarc!"

Naofumi looked hard at the man. "What would make you think I'd want to get a slave then?" He asked.

"Oh, I don't know. The fact that they can neither lie nor betray their master," Beloukas responded as if he already knew what had happened to Naofumi no more than an hour ago. "We keep all our slaves in line by placing them under the effects of a curse. A strong seal based curse. If they misbehave it can take their very lives." He said while drawing a circle in the ground with his walking stick. "A very effective countermeasures for betrayals if I do say so myself, good sir."

"Hmmm." '_So Erhard wasn't lying after all…'_ He thought. _'Though he didn't warn me it could be that severe.'_ Killing a slave for disobedience seemed a little overkill... but if that was what it took to make sure whoever he bought wouldn't disobey him.

"Well, I know you don't have all night to make your choice here Shield Hero. What do you say? Do you want a slave who'll serve you no matter what, or not?" Beloukas asked, showing off his signature smile at the end.

It made Naofumi feel a little sick on the inside. Slavery had been outlawed in his world long ago. But if he really wanted to survive everyone turning on him because of the princess's and Church's conspiracies, then he had no choice. Though he made a promise to himself mentally. '_No matter who I get, I will try my best to treat them like a person and not a slave.'_ He refused to sink to the level of his enemies.

"Alright, show me what you've got."

"Splendid! I knew you had exactly what it takes to be a most wonderful patron," Beloukas said happily while he went on almost skipping with joy down an aisle.

"That'd depend on if I'd come back or not as a wanted man," Naofumi said dryly.

"Ah, yes. Forgive me my tongue brave Shield Hero sir. Your coming back would depend on how merciful the Princess and the Church would be after tonight now that you know of their plans for you. I was just so caught up in the moment of doing business with one of the great heroes of our age that I lost my train of thought." Beloukas said apologetically, yet with that great splendor that he was well known to speak with.

How did this small guy already know so much?

"Let's just see what you've got and get on with it," Naofumi said with an eye roll.

"Yes yes, right this way." Beloukas again said apologetically.

Naofumi looked around as they walked around. He had thought at first that by slaves Beloukas had meant human slaves. But most of these creatures didn't look so… human to him. Neither did some of them look like they were alive. "Some of them don't look human." Naofumi dryly pointed out.

"I can assure you they still are, technically," Beluoki responded.

Naofumi frowned, again being reminded of the lack of knowledge he still had about this world. "Tell me more. I don't know much about this world."

"The creatures that look mostly human but aren't; are what we refer to as demi-humans." Beloukas gladly explained as they walked by cage after cage. "The males are mostly used as servants or for manual labor while the females…" A creepy smile came onto his face. "Can vary depending on what their master would use them for."

Naofumi's gaze hardened. "That set of rumors is false and you know it," Naofumi said, already getting at what Beloukas had been hinting at.

"Of course they are!" Beloukas quickly corrected himself, not wanting to anger his new potential customer. "Anyways, where was I… ah, so that is what demi-humans are known to be used for! Then we have the Beastmen who are demi-humans whose appearance leads more towards the animal side. They're often used as bodyguards or gambled on as participants in death matches."

"I see. But they both fall under the same category?" Naofumi asked.

"Indeed. And since this country practices human supremacy, and demi-humans are thought to be closer to monsters. Life can be quite hard for them here. As such, they are treated as slaves most everywhere in Melromarc."

Naofumi felt a small pang of pity for the creatures around him. He'd thought he had it tough the past two days. But by the sounds of it, these creatures had had it tough for almost their whole lives. And for the ones he saw were dead, they'd had it tough all the way till the end. '_What kind of sick kingdom would do such a thing?'_ He thought angrily.

At that moment, Naofumi heard coughing to the side. He looked and saw one lone cage on the ground covered with a tarp. It seemed odd for it to be all alone without any other slave cages around it. Despite that, he walked up to the cage and pulled the tarp out of the way.

Inside was a small girl, dressed in nothing but ragged clothing. She was no longer coughing, but the look on her face may as well have said she was already dead. Her eyes, the pupils being a dull red, stared at nothing. Her long brown hair was unkempt and full of knots. He was hit with such a smell that he almost fell back when he caught a whiff of it. He figured she hadn't had a decent bath in weeks; maybe even months, and her hands weakly gripped the chain attached to a collar around her neck. It was a saddening sight for him to see.

'_It's a girl.'_ Immediately, the pessimistic part of his brain tried to compare this girl to Myne. How he'd want to make Myne look that way. Just as suddenly, he shook away the thought. He hadn't had weeks to be hardened by Myne's accusation, nor did he as yet have people accusing him to his face. This was a little demi-human girl. And she didn't look like she'd survive another few weeks in this place.

'_What did she have to go through? She looks like hell ran her over.'_ He thought sadly.

"Sir, over here!" Naofumi stood back up and approached Beloukas. "I'd recommend a creature like this for a high-class gent such as yourself," Beloukas said, uncovering a tarp from a cage. Revealing a very dangerous looking black-furred covered wolfman gripping the bars of the cage menacingly. Naofumi stared down at it. "It's level 75, and highly capable in battle."

'_That's 75 times my level.'_ Naofumi thought, still stuck at level one. _'A beast like that would allow me to level up quickly in no time…'_ It was a tempting offer, but then he looked back at the girl's lone cage.

"Hmmm, are you not interested in my best merchandise?" Beloukas asked, covering the wolf again with a look of uncertainty on his face.

"You know as well as I do that I could never afford your best merchandise," Naofumi replied dryly, before looking down. "Besides, I doubt it's in its best condition if you don't have it out as a bodyguard for your merchandise."

Beloukas laughed with glee. "Indeed! I can see you already have a fine eye for detail, good sir! I know someday when this mess is over that you're going to become one of my best customers. I've got a nose for these things. So I got to make sure you continue to develop a keen eye for it if you catch my drift good sir." Beloukas said happily. "This wolfman was a wonderful participant in death matches back in its day, but unfortunately after breaking its arms and legs in one match the poor thing just couldn't keep up with the pace anymore. He still hasn't fully healed up from it either. His selling price is 15 gold pieces because of that." Beloukas explained.

"I see," Naofumi said calmly. '_So it'd be no good at defending itself against monsters in the state it's in. Poor thing...'_

"Well if you don't want my best, let me ask you a question. Exactly what kind of slave are you in the market for Sir Shield Hero?" Beloukas asked curiously.

Naofumi again looked back at the girl in the cage. His screen told him she was at level 1, just like he was. She was also in the beginning stages of an unknown sickness he didn't have the skill to identify and was suffering from malnourishment and fatigue. If she wasn't helped out soon, then her weakened state could possibly kill her. Or her sickness could develop into something worse that'd definitely kill her.

"I want a slave that's cheap and obedient to work, and that doesn't have physical problems like the wolfman. Like, say, that one there." Naofumi said, pointing to the girl in the cage.

Beloukas and Naofumi approached, and the Slave Trader looked closely at the girl who was still staring off at nothing. "Are you sure you want to go with a demi-human like her sir? They're not much suited for combat or manual labor, especially her kind. Besides, this mangy half-raccoon is as sick as a dog. A couple spokes short of a cartwheel." He started chuckling as she coughed. "I just got her recently, and I'm having a hell of a time trying to keep her alive. No medicine I get her seems to help with her illness. Not to mention her constant screaming at night makes such a racket!"

"Why should you care? You said so yourself that these slaves aren't people to you. Training one like her would be just like me upgrading my shield." Naofumi said calmly, his eyes staring down at the girl. "And if she's causing you all that trouble, I could buy her off your hands for a cheaper price."

Beloukas laughed. "Ah yes, you got me there Shield Hero." He said, realizing that giving all that away would indeed lower her price.

The half-raccoon girl finally noticed they were there and gasped in shock before closing back in on herself. She started whimpering in fear. "Why is she acting like that?" Naofumi asked Beloukas calmly.

"Oh you see here, this girl's previous owner really loved his torture. You should have seen her when she first arrived. You could barely tell what color her skin was supposed to be!" He said, before chuckling again.

Naofumi's eyes slightly widened in shock at that. '_Seriously. A little girl like her?!'_ He thought. He looked at her more closely and saw the remnants of bruises from a whip on her arms and cheeks. Scab marks also poked out from her shoulders. Like lash marks.

'_This world is sounding more sick and depraved by the minute!'_

"Eh. She's not long for this world anyway, I'd suggest moving to something else," Beloukas said more seriously. "I won't have many other cheap options for slaves available for the next couple of weeks, but I'm sure we could find something that isn't dead yet-"

"No. I've decided," Naofumi said with a scary face, making Beloukas turn to him in surprise. He didn't have time to look around. Out of all the slaves he'd seen walking by the cages, this one looked like his best option to train since she wasn't seriously maimed in any visible way. He directed his scary calm look at him. "I'll take her."

The girl looked at Naofumi, her eyes wide with fear. It was saddening that this was the most he'd seen her look alive so far. He got down on one knee, and she looked away again in fear. He almost felt tempted to drop his act and comfort her and let her know that everything would be okay, but inwardly he knew based on the words the noble lady had attached to the end of the note that to do so would not bode as well for him. Showing any kind of sympathy for a slave in front of Beloukas could likely make him drive up the price and leave him with less money than before.

"How much is she?" Naofumi asked.

Beloukas opened his mouth to say some obviously high price. But seeing the dark look Naofumi was giving him, a look that said he had no time to deal with any crap, Beloukas reconsidered. "I'm selling her for 40 silver."

"Fine. Come on then Slave Trader, let's get this over with." He said to the short man. Not bothering to address him by name.

"But of course, good sir." He replied happily. With the swish of a key, Beloukas opened the cage. Naofumi grabbed the girl by the wrist, pulling her behind him out of the cage. "No! Please! Let me go!" She shouted, her other hand weakly hitting against the one holding her wrist.

"Come on. I'm going to be your new master, whether you like it or not." Naofumi said in a hard tone. He kept up his tough facade, though inwardly he felt shame at what he was doing. _'This is for the best. I need someone to fight for me. And I need to have as much money as I can so I can better protect us both.'_ He thought to himself. If everything in this world, including upgrading equipment and getting supplies cost money, he had to save every copper he could to go towards that.

Even if he felt horrid while he did so.

Soon, they were in the central room of the circus tent. The little girl had stopped struggling and now waited to the side, kneeling in the fetal position out of fear. "All you need to do is add your blood to this ink I have prepared here and then we'll be able to get started," Beloukas said, pointing to a bowl full of ink.

Naofumi glanced at it. "Why do I need to add my blood to it?" He asked blandly.

"Ah, for this type of slave crest to work, it requires the blood of the master to be added to my special mix of ink before I apply it to the crest on her chest. That way she'll be tied to only you and no one else." Beloukas explained happily. The little girl cringed in fear on the ground.

Seeing no other alternative, Naofumi raised his hand over the bowl. Beloukas did the honors, cutting a small cut at the end of Naofumi's index finger with a knife. It was odd how easy it was with his high defense stat. Naofumi barely even felt it. The blood dripped into the bowl, giving a slightly lighter hue to the black ink in it.

"Now, let us begin," Beloukas said, carrying the bowl and a brush over to the quivering raccoon girl. At first, she tried to weakly cover the crest on her chest with her hands, but a slight push from Belouka's hand was all that was needed to move them out of the way of her rune. Quicker than Naofumi thought possible, he painted the rest of the crest with the ink in the bowl over it, and it glowed a bright purple. Sealing the slave pact.

"Uhrgh!" The girl bit her lip in pain, almost drawing blood.

"What's with that?" Naofumi asked, hiding the worry in his voice.

"Oh, nothing to worry about." He must have failed to hide all his worry. "The pain will dissipate soon." He said as the little girl continued to cry out weakly in pain.

"Why is that?" Naofumi again asked.

"It's just an effect that shows how willing a slave is to work with her new master. It fades away as the girl loses her will to fight against her new master's will." He said with glee, looking back down at the girl who was now on all fours. "Besides, that slave crest on her chest now makes it impossible for her to defy you, isn't that what you wanted, good sir?" He asked.

Naofumi continued to stare down at her. As he watched, an alert appeared on his screen. The word **Contract** was first, followed by her stats. Also, to his slight surprise, her HP Bar and other stats moved under his in the top left of his menu. And she received the title of (Companion) next to her name; which was as yet unknown to him. **Slave A**.

'_I wonder if that's what was supposed to happen when Myne joined my party…'_ He thought to himself. Though he found it weird that this girl had a title like (Companion) instead of something like (Slave) or (Party Member). He shrugged it off. He'd look it up in the help guide later.

"There now, she's all yours," Beloukas said, happily waiting behind his desk for payment.

Naofumi took out what he'd placed in his shield along with eleven extra silver from his pouch. "Here's your money, just like we agreed," Naofumi said, setting the money on the desk before he walked over to the little girl. She was still coughing and crying from being in pain. He sighed inwardly, hoping that the pain would wear off soon.

"Um, sir. There's one extra here," Beloukas said behind him, holding up the pouch.

"That's your commission. You were going to try and wrangle it out of me anyways if I had more time to be here." Naofumi responded. '_And so that way I don't have to pay for both her and the slave crest together.'_ He thought.

"Well, you certainly know your stuff. Not that I would have tried to wrangle it out of you, knowing the knights could be around at any minute of course." Beloukas said, looking around as if to make sure no knights had found his establishment. "It'd be bad for business, good sir."

Naofumi said nothing and grabbed the girl by the upper arm. "Let's go. We have somewhere to be." He said coldly to her, almost dragging her along behind him towards the exit. She whimpered in pain and fear but followed behind her new master towards the exit.

"It was a pleasure doing business, good sir! Hope to see you again real soon! After your name is cleared of course, hmmm!" Beloukas said to his back. Naofumi didn't look back to respond. And he exited the tent.

Beloukas chuckled lightly to himself. "I almost can't believe he chose her, just like the queen's shadows told me he would." He started to grin maniacally. "They must be good with their observation skills to have determined the perfect slave for him within forty-eight hours of his arrival. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about what they'll accomplish together!" He said excitedly to himself.

* * *

_A few minutes later_

Naofumi looked back behind him up the alleyway. It was still the middle of the night, and there was no one out and about yet. Yet he'd already almost walked into a squad of knights shortly after leaving the large tent and the shady part of town behind with the little girl in tow. It had sounded like they were looking for someone, but he wasn't willing to take any unnecessary risks to find out who it was they were searching for.

'_Let's see. If I remember right, I shouldn't be that far from Erhard's shop.'_ He thought as he looked out over the street.

He was no longer dragging the girl behind him, but she remained silent at his side. Her hands held clasped together in front of her, and her head looking down as if she was feeling guilty about something. He looked one way up the street that he didn't recognize. Then he looked the other way and breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed the blacksmith's shop.

'_Alright, maybe we can- hell!' _He quickly pushed himself and a silent Raphtalia back to hide in the alleyway. A squad of Knights he hadn't noticed coming up the street jogged by the alleyway. Serious expressions on their faces while their hands rested on the hilts of their sheathed weapons.

'_Damn, that was close.'_ He thought as he looked back out the alleyway again to make sure the coast was clear. The girl obediently stepped up next to him. Awaiting her orders from her new master.

"I guess I should know what your name is." He said in a bland tone while observing the street.

The little girl didn't speak. She continued to stare silently down at the ground. "I said I should know your name," Naofumi said again, a hint of irritation creeping into his voice.

The girl cringed below him as if she was expecting to be hit by her new master. He looked back down at her, noticing her reaction. He sighed inwardly. Though most of him still wanted to act cold and indifferent to this world now, he couldn't forget that she had also gone through things. And all he knew about was the torture. He had no idea what else she could have possibly gone through in her life. Things he had most likely been fortunate to avoid as of yet.

"Look, I'm not going to abuse you like your previous masters. I need you to survive, and you'll need me if you want to survive. Can you tell me what your name is?" He asked her calmly, getting down on one knee so he could be eye level with her.

The little girl looked up at him. His face was still expressionless and hard to read, so she couldn't tell if he was lying or not. "I-I'm Raphtalia." She finally spoke weakly.

"... Raphtalia, huh?" He tested the name on his tongue again. After feeling he had it down, he got up and looked back up the street. "Listen Raphtalia, I don't know all that your previous masters did to you. But I'm going to try to not be like them, okay?" He asked her, wanting to gain her trust. '_Funny I'm asking her that when I'm not willing to trust her right now.'_ He thought to himself. Yet the little girl looked up at him, her eyes wide with surprise and wonder. '_But I wonder how long it's been since anyone said that to her.'_ He thought sadly. '_Has her life really been that hard on her?'_

Seeing the coast was clear, he grabbed her more gently by the hand. "Come on, we don't have much time, Raphtalia." He said.

"Yes, master." Raphtalia followed her new master, her tail swishing in curiosity behind her. Never before had she had a master that spoke such gentle words to her. At least, what she was able to consider gentle words despite his indifferent tone. It didn't make him any less scary, but it drew in her curiosity like a mouse to cheese.

Naofumi quickly looked around when they got to the door and rapped his knuckles on it. Within seconds, Erhard opened for them. "Good, I was wondering if you had been found by the knights on patrol-" He stopped talking when he saw the little girl huddled behind Naofumi.

"We're good for now, but I don't know for how long. It'd be best if we got ready as quickly as possible. Also, did you get that bath ready by any chance?" He asked, using two fingers to plug his nose.

'_Hmmm. I wasn't expecting him to get a little girl for a slave. Poor thing looks like she's gone through hell though. Doesn't look like anyone else would have bought her looking like that. And she's a demi-girl too.'_ Erhard thought. "Yes. I already have it prepped upstairs. It's behind the third door on the right." He said, letting them in.

Naofumi led the young Raphtalia up the stairs. Once they got to the specified door, he opened it and looked inside. It wasn't a modern bathroom like what he was used to, but at least they weren't at the stage where they had to bring water buckets in to fill a tub or throw their crap out of a bucket onto the street. Though, after the way he learned the Capital had been planning on treating him, he honestly wouldn't have minded doing such a thing out of spite.

Shaking himself from the thought, he found that, true to Erhard's word, the bathtub (an expensive luxury for such a time period that the old man had gladly purchased for himself) was already filled with warm steamy water. '_I'm liking this old man more by the minute.'_ He thought. "We won't have long. I'm expecting you to be bathed and ready by the time I come back up with a change of clothes for you." Naofumi said.

"Master?" Raphtalia asked, pulling on the sleeve of his chainmail. "Why are you letting me use a bath?"

Naofumi calmly looked down. '_Seriously? Her previous owners didn't even allow her to bathe!?'_ He thought, red hot anger flowing through his veins once again. Anger he masked under a face of indifference. "One, you stink worse than my socks ever have. And two, I don't need you getting sicker than you are now because you haven't been able to eat or bathe properly for who knows how long." He said indifferently. "Now hurry it up, I doubt we'll have long before we go." He said before closing the door behind him.

The demi-girl stood there, staring in awe at the door, and then at the tub.

"Master's, allowing me to take a bath." She said again in disbelief. _'Does he, does he really care about me?'_ She thought. Whatever her thoughts on master were, it was that he was definitely going to be different than her other masters. Her tail wagged happily behind her as she wriggled out of her rags and jumped like a little kid into the warm tub.

When she'd sunk down to her face in the swishing warm water, she happened to look to the side. A bottle of bubble bath stared back at her. The perfect addition to any bath. She briefly wondered if she should ask Master for permission. But master had said they didn't have long, and it was staring so temptingly at her. So the little girl smiled widely and grabbed for it.

* * *

Naofumi stood next to the counter, watching as Erhard went through his blacksmith shop. "So, want to tell me why you bought a little demi-girl as your slave?" Erhard asked, looking back to Naofumi. The stink-eye Erhard was giving him said it had better not be because of what the rumors were saying about him and him thinking it was okay to validate the rumors.

"There weren't many healthy slaves to pick from. She was one of the cheapest options I saw," Naofumi said coldly while looking to the side. "... and by the looks of it, she's had it a lot worse than I ever have." He admitted blandly at the end.

It was enough that Erhard dropped the stink eye. _'So the kid does still have a heart in him. Glad to see the Capital hasn't corrupted him completely yet.' _He thought. "Do you think she'll be able to fight for you though? She honestly looked a little skittish if you asked me." Erhard replied.

"She'll have to," Naofumi said, adjusting the collar of the green cloak Erhard had given him to try on over his cloth chainmail. He looked at Erhard out of the corner of his eye. "If she wants to survive the waves with me, she'll have to learn to fight."

Erhard stared at Naofumi for a moment more. He let out a small sigh, and then came over with what he'd collected. He didn't like it much, but at least the girl was in better hands now. And he figured that eventually with the way things were going, the safest place for such a girl would be next to one of the heroes. Especially the one who'd been designed to protect those around him.

"Here's a small dagger she can start out with. Once she's more comfortable with fighting, I have a feeling this small preowned iron sword will come in handy." He said, showing the other weapon before sheathing them and giving them to Naofumi so he could store them in his inventory. '_So I can touch weapons, but not when I have the intent of using them in combat. Yeah, like that makes any sense. Thanks freaking Legendary Shield. Not.'_ He thought sarcastically. Erhard also gave him a whetstone to use to sharpen Raphtalia's weapons.

"How about clothes? Do you have anything that might fit her size?" Naofumi asked.

"I thought you'd ask that," Erhard said, pulling out a small set of girl's clothes from under the counter that he'd put away after Naofumi had led Raphtalia upstairs. The colors were faded from use, but they looked like they'd work for now. "I honestly don't know how well these will fit her. Heck, if the Legends about Heroes are true and you level her up fast, she might grow out of them within a couple of weeks." He said.

"What do you mean... grow out of them?" Naofumi asked. "Do demi-humans grow fast or something?"

"Don't tell me you haven't heard the stories about demi-humans kid," Erhard said.

"I guess it depends on what stories. Beloukas told me a little bit, but not a lot. And give me a break. I've barely been here for two days." He dryly replied.

"Well, I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say that Demi-humans are strange creatures because unlike humans, they can grow up from being kids to adults in the blink of an eye just by leveling up." Erhard said. "Physically, and mentally."

…

"You're kidding," Naofumi said in disbelief.

Erhard shook his head. "Nope, I wish I was. They not only grow physically but mentally and emotionally too. They really are strange creatures… anyways, I'd recommend once you really get her into the gist of fighting that you stay close to a town. Either that or pick up sewing. You're going to need it if you don't want a mature hormonal demi-human walking around you with clothes several sizes too small for her." Erhard said, waving it off to check around his shop for anything else that could possibly be of use to Naofumi.

Naofumi shook his head to clear it. He could not imagine Raphtalia being anything more than a weak sick innocent kid at the moment. He decided to assume for now that Erhard might be trying to pull something on him. Though he had no reason other than his growing distrust for people to not believe it. "Right, thanks for the tip." He responded blandly.

It looked like Erhard was going to explain something else when he looked at the back room of his shop. "Oh, I almost forgot. I have a meal ready to go on my table that you can pack along with you. I figured whatever slave you brought with you might be a little malnourished." He said, sounding a little more cheerful than before.

Naofumi looked at the weapons, then at the clothes, then in the back room where the meal was packed and ready to be transported. "How much is it going to cost for all this?" He asked skeptically. After all, he was down to a little over 158 silver now.

Erhard put a hand on his shoulder. "Consider this on a tab for now." He said seriously. "Because I know one day you're going to come back, and you'll visit my store again with plenty of money when you do." He said.

Naofumi tried his best to hide his surprise, but in the face of such kindness, he could only do so much before tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. He turned away to hide them. "Blast you kind old man." He said, trying to sound angry. '_At least there's one beacon of light in this cold-hearted darkness.'_

Erhard laughed. "Seriously, it's nothing. Besides, knowing you, I'm sure you'll treat that girl way better than the way you're going to be treated by the rest of Melromarc. I just wanted to help you in doing that." He said while leaning back on the counter.

Naofumi was turned away, but a small smile rested on his face. Looking oddly out of place with all the tears running down it. _'Yeah, I'll treat her well. At least, I hope I do…'_

…

**Bam! Bam! Bam!**

A loud banging sound came from the door, ruining the moment he was in. "Open up! The royal knights are performing a mandatory sweep of all neighborhoods for the Shield Hero!" A knight yelled from the other side of the door.

Erhard froze in his posture and looked to Naofumi. "You gotta go, bro."

**Bam! Bam! Bam!**

"I order you to open up, or we will resort to using force!" The knight yelled again.

"Coming!" Erhard yelled loudly towards the doorway.

Naofumi quickly grabbed the clothes while Erhard grabbed the food and shoved the packages into his arms along with a map. "I'll distract them while you two sneak out. If it helps, there's a place a few hours south from here through the forest called Lute Village. Use it as a means of selling whatever monster drops or whatever you find out there. Don't stay too long if you want to keep your identity a secret, but I have some friends there. I'll pass messages along to them to keep an eye out for you so they can warn you of anything." He said.

Naofumi nodded and made to run for the stairs. "And Shield Hero." He looked back at Erhard. "Good luck." He said lowly.

Naofumi said nothing but gave him an affirmative nod before running up the stairs.

Erhard sighed, gave his neck a nice pop, and went to the door to answer to the pesky Royal Knights. _'Because you're really going to need it kid.'_

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Even though I have a lot of this already written out, I already have a feeling that somebody's going to point out that some of what the characters say (like Beloukas) was said in the anime/manga/Light Novel. I'm not going to deny that. I certainly wanted to recapture Naofumi meeting Raphtalia's scene as much as possible. And I might tend to do that for my more favorite milestones later in the story, should they come up and still be plot-relevant. I'm doing my best to make this more of an AU that'll be interesting for you readers, but I also don't want to get rid of the things that made us (or at least me) fall in love with the show/manga/novel.**

**Also, as to why Raphtalia's cage stood out alone, that's for a couple of reasons. One, he's buying her two to three weeks earlier than normal (different time, different arrangements for slaves, and also changes I made). Two, I learned from the Web Novel (which made that part of the anime make more sense) that the Queen used her Shadows to determine which slave would be most suited to help out Naofumi (since the Queen pretty much knew that the Shield Hero would not be warmly welcomed by the Church or her people) and her Shadows chose that Raphtalia should be sold to Naofumi. This setup because of Naofumi's time crunch and the lack of time needed for observance by the shadows meant that it had to be made especially obvious, and Raphtalia is now merely more of a desperate hope of helping him out instead of a well thought over decision made by weeks of observation by the Shadows.**

**Lastly, yes, I looked into it. It's not just physical growth. But mental and emotional growth also happens as demi-humans level up. This is explained more in detail later in the story, but besides the mistranslated scene in the manga, the LN, WN, and anime agree that demi-humans literally grow up more than just physically with levels.**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	3. 3: Escaping the Trial

**Is it possible for me to continue to be astounded with the attention this simple story of mine is getting? I mean you readers are seriously making an impression here. I'm really enjoying getting to write this out for your enjoyment. Continue to be awesome you guys and gals!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:**_ 57 New Favorites, 69 New Followers (Total: 141 Favorites, 157 Followers)_

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**Updated:**_ August 12th, 2019 10:05 P.M. (EST)_

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**Disclaimer:**_ Wish I could own it... but I don't._

* * *

**Chapter Three:** _Escaping the Trial_

* * *

_Almost ten seconds after the last Chapter_

Naofumi didn't bother with knocking and barged into the bathroom. The Knights were already entering Erhard's establishment down below, and they didn't have much time. "Come on Raphtalia, we're going-"

Raphtalia looked up at Naofumi from the water and bubble-filled bathtub. Luckily her body was hidden because of the mountain of bubbles in the bath, but her eyes went wide with surprise and fear at him being in the bathroom. She feared being punished for using bubble soap without having permission.

Naofumi, quickly realizing his blunder, turned around. He held out her new change of clothes and a towel to the side. "Get dried and changed now. We're leaving." Naofumi said calmly.

"But, but what about-" Raphtalia tried to question.

"Just do what I told you to do, that's an order," Naofumi said sharply. He could already faintly hear Erhard talking to the Royal Knights downstairs, trying to buy them time. And if they didn't hurry up, then they'd have no chance of sneaking back down and out the front door while the knights were distracted.

Raphtalia's slave crest glowed purple, and she whimpered in pain before quickly exiting the tub and complying. Naofumi grimaced to himself. '_Oh yeah, her crest will act up if I force her to follow an order.'_ He thought. He felt slightly bad about it. Slightly.

He didn't turn to look as he felt the towel and clothes leave his hands. He stayed staring at the door impatiently, hearing the girl behind him still whimpering in fear from the residual pain of the order he had given her. Down below, he could hear the knights moving around in the shop. He could also hear Erhard yelling at them not to touch some of his more prized items.

"Hey, careful! That thing is more valuable than all the armor you're wearing!" Erhard complained loud enough for Naofumi to hear.

**Crash!**

"AUGHHH! NOT MY SIDERITE SHIELD!" Erhard yelled in shock.

"Nothing under here sir!" The Knight reported to his squad leader.

"Keep searching!"

"I'm done," Raphtalia said weakly behind him.

Naofumi turned around, seeing Raphtalia looking down at the ground. Her long unkempt hair was still damp, but she at least didn't smell anymore. And she'd managed to change into the dull red and black outfit he'd given her. The almost colorless sleeves went under her slave cuffs, and the red and black skirt fell down below her knees.

Naofumi gave her a nod but did one last thing. He took the slave collar off from around her neck and threw it to the side. "Alright, now you're good." He said. Raphtalia felt at her neck in surprise at the feeling of the slave collar being gone. He either didn't notice the slave cuffs on her wrists or didn't feel they needed to come off at this time. "Now, it's about time-" He was saying as he peeked the door open behind him to glance outside into the hallway. He quickly shut it though seeing Erhard at the top of the stairs speaking to the knights.

"Hey, this is my living quarters. Do you really have to search up here too?!" He complained angrily to the Royal Knight's Squad Leader.

"The King's orders were to search the capital thoroughly for the Shield Hero. Do you wish to defy your King?" The Squad Leader asked.

"If you search through my living quarters, I will have words with the King about it!" Erhard yelled angrily.

"Yeah yeah, move aside old man."

Naofumi looked around the small bathroom they were in frantically. '_What the hell, how are we supposed to sneak out now if we're already stuck in here!?'_ He thought.

"Master, is something going on?"

He looked down at Raphtalia. She was looking up at him with curious eyes. "Nothing's going on." He decided to lie for now. The last thing she needed was something to worry about.

The back of his mind nagged him with the thought that it was also because he was afraid she'd give away his location if he told her soldiers were trying to arrest him and bring him before the king. It'd be her chance for freedom after all. He quickly shook that thought from his head though. '_Right now, I need to think of a way to get us out of this mess. Not think of ways to doubt Raphtalia.'_

He looked up from Raphtalia at the far wall, and his eyes widened when he saw it. '_Hell, I've already done it once tonight. Might as well try a second time.'_ He thought.

"Then why is Master-" Raphtalia was saying when Naofumi scooped her up surprisingly. "Just hang on, and no screaming." He ordered, jumping over the tub and opening the window.

"What- Au-" Naofumi quickly covered her mouth with his hand as he jumped out the window towards the ground below from the second-story window.

**Oof!**

Naofumi landed hard on the ground again, using his shield to take most of the impact. This time, he managed to time it right and used the advantage of focusing most of his weight on his shield side so that right as he impacted, his body rolled with Raphtalia clutching her body to his for dear life. He came out of the sideways roll running on his feet in less than a second, one arm still holding Raphtalia tight to his green cloaked shoulder.

"Sorry to do that without warning. I'd recommend closing your eyes for now and waiting until I tell you it's all over before opening them." He said indifferently to her. Not sounding sorry.

Raphtalia stayed bunched on his shoulder, covering her face with her hands and whimpering in fear about what had just happened. Nevertheless, she obeyed what Master had told her to do. He patted her head comfortingly at her silence. Silently thanking her for doing what he'd asked.

Naofumi ran down a different street. It definitely looked like the soldiers hadn't noticed he had been there as he heard no angry shouts coming from Erhard's shop. '_I hope that was the only group of soldiers searching in this area of the city.'_ He thought.

A minute later, he found out he was wrong. Almost dead wrong.

"Over there!"

An arrow flew over his head impacting a sign hanging from a shop. He looked wide-eyed behind him at a squad of knights that came charging out of an alleyway he had just passed. Some of them were armed with crossbows and were busy rearming them. "Hang on tight Raphtalia. Don't let go." He said to the little girl, letting go of her to use both arms to run and/or block with his shield. Pouring all the speed he could into his legs.

Raphtalia did as she was told. It sounded like a bunch of angry people were yelling after them and things whizzed in the air above her or impacted against her Master's shield. She couldn't make out their words, but they sounded threatening enough. She preferred Naofumi to those angry voices. Something Naofumi felt extremely grateful for since it was proving the pessimistic part of him wrong.

'_They're shooting arrows at me!? Are they trying to capture me, or kill me!?'_ He thought in disbelief as he had to keep on ducking left and right down the street to avoid the arrows that would have hit him. Raphtalia held onto his armored chainmail for dear life, being protected by Naofumi's bulk and shield for the time being.

Naofumi turned another corner and found himself on the main street of the Capital. One of the entrances in and out through the walls around the Capital was up ahead. Along with a battalion of guards that were set up in front of it to block it off.

"Heh, we have the Shield Hero right where we want him." The voice was from a mustached man in full armor. He was the Royal Commander of Melromarc's knights. "Initiate plan Delta! Make sure there's nowhere else for him to run!" He yelled up the street in a loud booming voice.

Naofumi's eyes narrowed as he kept running forward for the opposite alleyway. He turned away though when a squad of guards appeared at the end of it with several aiming javelins for him. That and the sounds of more yelling from the street behind him made him turn away and continue running down the center of the main street. He looked to his left and spotted another alleyway, but heard the footfalls of knights running down it to block him off. He scowled and continued running.

'_If I stop running now, I'll be caught. And if I run to them, I'll still be caught!'_ He thought in frustration. '_I can't win!'_

The Commander up ahead smirked, seeing Naofumi not slowing down as he tried looking for an alleyway or road to escape through. The Commander knew that each one had knights with weapons drawn posted at the ends to capture him. It was just as he'd planned. The Shield Hero wouldn't know the town layout well enough, and with Knights firing at him (without the intent to kill of course since most of the shots went wide), he would run in fear for the only entrance out of town that he knew of. The Southern Entrance.

"Men, prepare to subdue the Shield Hero! Go, Siege Formation!" He ordered.

"Siege Formation!" The knights in front of him yelled to the night as they interlocked their shields, making a wall in front of them. An array of lances also poked out from the top. Slowly, they spread out, lining the whole main street with a wall of metal bodies.

Naofumi saw it and grimaced to himself. '_I'm only level one, and I can't even wield a weapon! I don't stand a chance!'_ He ducked another arrow and used his shield to block a second one. '_So why the hell am I still running towards them like an idiot!'_ He thought angrily, taking a glance behind him and to the sides.

Everywhere he looked, he saw knights closing in. The group behind him, and the sets of one or two soldiers guarding the alleyways to the sides to make sure he couldn't escape. If this had been a chess game, he'd say that he had been checkmated.

It was hopeless.

Another arrow almost hit his shoulder, and he quickly looked to that side of him to look over his shoulder. But in doing so his eyes focused on the girl holding onto his body tightly. The girl who looked so afraid, even though she wasn't exactly sure what was going on.

For once, the pessimistic part of his mind didn't form a thought against her, but for her.

'_If I'm captured, they won't free her. She's a demi-human. They'd execute her immediately for helping the Shield Hero, even though she's a child. Or worse, they'd sell her off to some other slave owner that'd put an end to her life in the worst way possible. Maybe even doing to her what Princess Malty had planned to accuse me of…'_

Naofumi's face scrunched up in anger. He hadn't known her for very long, but she was his only hope for survival in this world now. And he was her only hope for getting them both out of this situation. '_No! I'm not getting captured just so they can take her away to be tortured by some other master!' _He thought. The pessimistic thought fueled him with a different emotion and gave him the courage he needed to charge full speed for the shield barricade in front of him. It gave him the drive and desire to get them both out of there alive. To find hope that they could make it.

His shield started to glow blue with power.

"Um, sir. The Shield Hero isn't slowing down." One of the knights pointed out.

"And his shield is glowing. Is that normal?" Another one asked.

Naofumi was two hundred feet away from their shield barricade. And closing the distance fast. He held out the glowing blue legendary shield in front of him, turning himself into a running human battering ram. The commander's smirk fell off his face seeing the determined look on Naofumi's face. '_No way. He isn't-'_ He thought in disbelief.

"Hold the line! There's no way that hero can charge through us at only level one!" He yelled, though there was slight fear in his voice. After all, it was a Cardinal Hero running towards them, and he honestly had no idea what the Cardinal Heroes could be capable of, even at such a low level.

"Yahhhhh!" Naofumi screamed with determination, aiming for what looked like the smallest knight in the line. The guard who had blonde hair sticking out from under his helmet had wide eyes when he saw the Shield Hero charging for him.

"Ake, don't back down, hold the line! Hold the-" The Commander tried to order the knights.

**POW!** "YAHHHHHHHH!"

The scene slowed down. Naofumi was charging through the shield line, knocking the knight named Ake over. The rest of the shield line, however, was being hit by a glowing blue shockwave that originated from none other than Naofumi. As the shockwave moved out, it knocked knights to the sides. Their shields and armor shattering from the strange energy that washed over them from Naofumi's glowing blue shield.

Naofumi didn't see it happening. Nor did he notice his SP drop to zero and into negative territory. All he knew, was that he had to keep running.

Time resumed it's normal pace, and an armorless Ake along with the rest of the Siege Formation slammed into the street. Their weapons falling to the sides. Naofumi continued running for the gate, moving his shield over Raphtalia's form to help protect her.

"No, damn it! Close the gates! Close the gates!" The Commander yelled in fear, seeing the ploy he'd carefully set up fall apart. The knights who had been chasing from behind had slowed and stopped firing their crossbows in their shock at what the Shield Hero had just done.

The black iron gate started to descend towards the ground. But it was too late. Naofumi slid under it, with Raphtalia still gripping tightly to him. The gate hit the ground with a resounding **Thud** right as Naofumi slid back up onto his feet and took off running for the forest. His green cloak billowing in the air behind him.

The commander ran up to the gate and beat his armored hand in frustration on it. "Damn you Shield Hero!" He yelled angrily.

...

"Sir, um, should we open the gate and chase after him?" One of the armorless knights asked.

The Commander grimaced, but he backed away from the gate. "No, he's only level one. And that demi-girl he was carrying looked like she was going to die any day now. I'm sure the monsters out there will do that monster in whether we try to go looking for him or not."

"Um, whatever you say then, sir." The knight said nervously, he had started to look away for some reason.

"I shall report to the King what happened here. You all are to go to the armory and resume your posts." The mustached knight said briskly, starting to walk off.

"Um, sir, are you sure you want to do that-" Another knight started to ask.

"I'll tell the King what happened! Now you all go to the armory and get yourselves reequipped!" The Commander bellowed angrily at his knights.

"Sir yes, sir!" The guards said at the same time, averting their eyes from their commander.

The Commander grimaced at his underlings one more time before he took a professional stance and started walking up the main street back towards the castle. Not noticing that some of Naofumi's stray energy had also decimated the armored pants he'd been wearing, revealing the heart-shaped boxers he wore underneath.

…

* * *

"Heh, huh, heh, huh." Naofumi breathed heavily, leaning against a tree in the forest. One of his arms was wrapped again around Raphtalia, holding her to his left shoulder. Her eyes were still closed and she was gripping him tightly, just like he'd told her to.

'_How long... did I run for there?'_ He thought, his side aching with pain. It felt like he had gone running for hours when it was far more likely to have been less than 10 minutes if he was lucky. However long it'd been, he was surrounded by forest now. And he couldn't see any trace of the walls of Melromarc behind him.

'_I did it. We're both safe for now.' _Naofumi thought in relief.

"_*Cough* *Cough*" _Raphtalia started coughing on his shoulder again. Naofumi recovered himself enough to put a hand to her forehead. '_Holy hell, her forehead's way too hot.'_ He thought. '_Maybe I should have asked Erhard for some medicine too… but he did say there were other things out here along with monsters… maybe I'll find some medicinal herbs out here.'_

"Raphtalia, can you still hear me?" Naofumi asked her calmly.

Raphtalia weakly nodded her head after a moment. "Good. You can open your eyes now." He said calmly to her.

Raphtalia didn't lift her head from off his shoulder. "Look, I'm going to walk for as long as I can and find us a safe place to set up camp. I know you're not feeling good right now, but I need you to stay awake and watch my back for me, you got me?" He asked her as he started walking.

...

"Yes, master." The little raccoon girl said tiredly.

Naofumi sighed to himself. It already sounded like she was going to fall asleep at any minute if she didn't pass out from fear first. "Hear, eat this." He said, pulling out one of the food items Erhard had given him and moving it towards her face. It looked like some kind of fruit. "That should help to keep you awake for a little while."

When it neared her nose, Raphtalia sniffed the fruit, and her eyes went wide. One of her hands immediately grabbed it, shoving into her mouth as much as she could. The sounds, though not the best he'd heard, made him feel better since she was eating something. It had been so long since she'd tasted anything sweet. And she ate at the fruit greedily.

"You must have been hungry?" Naofumi calmly pointed out. A softer look was on his face.

Raphtalia stopped what she was doing, her eyes widening as she noticed the juices from the fruit landing on Naofumi's green cloaked shoulder. "Ack! I'm sorry Master. I didn't mean to-" She started to say out of fear of being punished.

"Relax. I'll wash it out another time. Right now you need to focus on eating and watching my back." Naofumi said while continuing to walk forward through the forest.

Raphtalia looked from the remainder of the fruit back to her master, then back to the fruit. She started eating at it again, though this time with more care than before. She tried to focus on what was behind them, but she let out a small "eep" or "I'm sorry" every time a drop of the fruit's sweet juice landed on his shoulder. This was because of her expectation for her master to get angry at her for letting more of the fruit's juices stain his cloak. But he stared straight ahead, his face blank and emotionless the whole time. Not saying a word whenever more of the fruit's juice landed on him.

As if to prove he wouldn't be angry with her, when she had finished the fruit, he took out some crackers from his inventory. "Here, eat these too. Goodness knows the last time you were able to eat a somewhat decent meal." He said calmly.

Raphtalia looked from the bread crackers back to his face. "What? You're still hungry, aren't you?" He asked.

Raphtalia said nothing and slowly grabbed the bread crackers from his hand. She chewed slowly on them in silence, not saying anything. Other than the occasional coughing fit that she had. He rubbed her head, letting her know he appreciated that she was listening to him.

On the inside, she was amazed at how her master was acting towards her. Carrying her since she was too weak and tired to walk by herself. Feeding her some of his food. Walking for them both even though he must have been tired from his night's ordeals… not to mention, the fact that he, a human; was treating her, a demi-human, much nicer than humans in this human supremacist country normally did.

Eventually, the two came into a clearing of the forest. The night sky was filled with stars up above. A calm flowing river went in a zig-zag pattern across the middle of the clearing.

"We'll set up camp here," Naofumi said blandly, setting Raphtalia back down on the ground. She didn't question it and helped to gather firewood for Naofumi without needing to be asked.

A few minutes later, a warm campfire was glowing between the two. Raphtalia held her hands up to it, her eyes staring in awe at the dancing flames. Naofumi stared at her from across the fire. '_She might have gone through a lot. But at least she still has that look of childlike wonder at seeing things like fire.'_ He thought to himself.

He started to look through his inventory to do a count of what he had on hand. '_Let's see, 159 Silver. A couple of orange balloon scraps. A knife and shortsword. The clothes I was wearing when I got to this world, a couple of extra sets of clothes for Raphtalia-'_

"Master, where are you going to sleep?" Raphtalia asked.

Naofumi was shaken out of his thoughts at her question. He grimaced as he realized that they wouldn't have any camping gear. "Sorry I don't really have any sleeping bags with me. So it looks like we'll both have to sleep on the ground tonight." Naofumi said tiredly.

"It's… it's fine. I'm used to it." Raphtalia said quietly, looking down from the fire to her hands.

…

She felt a warm weight settle over her shoulders and surround her body. She looked up in surprise to see that Naofumi had taken his cloak off, and put it around her like a blanket. "There, it isn't much, but it should help you to sleep better," Naofumi said, before moving to his side of the fire again. He was still dressed in his cloth chainmail armor, so it didn't hurt him too much to give up his cloak so Raphtalia would be more comfortable falling asleep.

Raphtalia stared at her new master across from her for a moment more. "Master, sir," Raphtalia said, grabbing his attention again. "Who are you, and what I mean is who are you really?" She asked curiously from inside the cloak. He seemed to be nice for someone who wanted to be a slave owner. Too nice.

Naofumi had been preparing for her to ask him that question. The pessimistic part of his mind was being more silent towards her. "I'm the Shield Hero." He responded, before looking back down at the fire.

"Do you mean, of the Four Cardinal Heroes?" Raphtalia asked, sounding more excited for some reason.

"Uh-huh." He responded indifferently. "Why do you ask?"

Raphtalia stared at him, her eyes wide. A memory went through her mind of her parents telling her the story of the four legendary heroes. There was the one with the sword, the one with the bow, the one with the spear, and the one with the shield. Her father had always told her that the Shield Hero had always been the one who'd been kindest to her people. That was why he was like a savior to them.

She'd always wished back then that she could meet the Shield Hero. Though the man in front of her claiming to be him wasn't… the Shield Hero she had pictured in her mind.

"You're really, the Shield Hero…"

"Pretty sure I just answered that," Naofumi replied blandly. He took out a few of the orange balloon scraps and absorbed them into the gem of his shield. Raphtalia's eyes widened at the action.

'_It really is him…'_ "Please master, what should I call you?" She suddenly asked him.

Naofumi stayed quiet for a moment. "Naofumi, Naofumi Iwatani." He said.

"Na, Naofumi Iwatani?" She said quizzically. "Why not master, or sir?"

Naofumi sighed to himself. "Look, I'm not going to restrict you from calling me by some dumb title, but I'm going to try my best to treat you as a person instead of as a slave. So you can choose what you want to call me, okay?"

Raphtalia slowly nodded her head, but then she started coughing into her shoulder again. Naofumi sighed and looked at the darkness around him. "You can go to sleep now. Hopefully, when you wake up in the morning, I'll have something ready for you to eat." He told her.

"But, but what about you master?" She asked him.

"I'm not falling asleep just yet. I'm just going to make sure that there are no monsters in the vicinity." He told her.

Raphtalia looked up at him for a few seconds more, but the warmth from the fire and the warmth from the green cloak that felt like a blanket to her made her eyes heavy. She laid to the side on the ground. "Master." She said, her voice drowsy.

"Huh." He said, looking back from the forest to her.

"Th-thank you. For saving me, Master." She whispered. She might not have known what was going on back in the Capital, but to her, it had sounded like he'd saved her from some horrible fate at the hands of those angry yelling people. Despite being his slave, she was grateful that she had been saved by the Great Shield Hero her parents told her about.

Soon enough, she lulled off to a nice, gentle sleep.

He stayed sitting where he was for a few moments more. Studying the little half-raccoon girl wrapped in his cloak… _'I guess this is how I'm starting off my grand adventure in this world…'_ He looked sadly into the flames of the fire. '_A fugitive on the run, with little money and equipment. My name and reputation are being tarnished amongst everyone in this world by the rumors from the Three Heroes Church, the Common People, and the Princess's false accusations... And my only source of help is this little, malnourished, tortured slave girl named Raphtalia… and I'm going to have to get her to fight for me.'_

...

Finally, he got up and started walking to the edge of the clearing. '_I said I was going to check for monsters. I never said what would happen when I found them.'_ He thought darkly. After all, the whole reason his life was transforming into a living hell was still fresh on his mind. And his anger and frustration needed an outlet to be released. He needed something to take it out on until he had nothing left.

After walking only a short distance, his targets finally rolled out of the trees around him. A bunch of creepy, red-eye glowing, different colored balloons. Small red arrows pointing down at them.

At last, he could finally vent out all the anger and frustration that had been building up in him since the moment Myne had set out to betray him. To make his time in this world as nightmarish as she possibly could. "Yahhhhh!" Naofumi screamed in rage, running forward towards the main one.

**Pow!**

With a screech, the balloon flew a dozen feet back through the air. But it was replaced by the swarm of balloons that got to trying to hurt Naofumi.

With no other option, Naofumi got to work.

* * *

_Back at the Capital_

"What is the meaning of this!?"

The Commander of the Knights shook in his armor and heart-shaped boxers before the enraged king. "I gave you one order. ONE, ORDER! And you let that damned Shield Hero escape the city!" He yelled.

The mustached commander shuddered where he stood. "Your Majesty, with all due respect, the Shield Hero plowed right through a Siege formation. He even destroyed our armor and shields as he escaped-" The Knight commander tried to say to defend himself.

"I don't want to hear your excuses! If you spout off anymore, I'll have your head right where you stand!" The King yelled.

The mustached Commander paled and bowed low for the king. "Yes, your Majesty!" He said hurriedly. He then finally noticed his armorless pants issue and eeped as he moved his hands to try and cover them while in the middle of his bow.

Had he seriously paraded through the whole town like this without realizing it?!

The King grumbled in his seat. "You're dismissed until further notice. But I will not tolerate another failure from you!"

The Commander bowed so low his head almost touched the floor. His position looked rather comical as he then hurriedly got up and left before the King could change his mind. Doing his best to save some form of dignity from discovering he was no longer in his pants.

...

"My precious daughter." The King looked lovingly to the redheaded bitch. "Can you explain to me one more time for all of us what happened?"

Myne sniffled pathetically. "After we got to the inn, the Shield Hero said he required my presence in his room. I, I thought he only wanted to continue talking strategy about a dungeon we had been planning to travel to. Only, when I got there, he locked the door behind me… and… and then!..." She burst into hysterical sobs.

"Here Myne, I'll help you to feel better," Motoyasu said as he wrapped his arms around her. Malty leaned sideways into his embrace, making a show of herself in the process. If she wasn't such a Bitch, she could have made a wonderful actress.

"He, he said... that the night was still young, and that he had a hunger he needed to satisfy! Then, before I could react, he forced me onto his bed and started ripping off all my clothes!" She screamed. Gasps came from both the King and Motoyasu.

"It was only because of Sir Motoyasu hearing my screams that my innocence was preserved. As soon as he yelled that he was coming, the Shield Hero got scared and he jumped out the window." She managed to finish, still sobbing into Motoyasu's shoulders. "I ran out and found Motoyasu. But if it wasn't for him, I… I…" She couldn't bring herself to finish and she continued sobbing. Motoyasu scowled, still remembering the sight of finding Myne in the hallway, her sobbing in her ripped clothes. Before going into Naofumi's room. Finding her undergarments lying on his bed.

King Aultcray's gaze was as hard as steel. "What do you think should be done? After all, the Shield Hero was the one who tried to rape you, my dear Malty." He said in a softer voice for his favorite daughter.

Princess Malty wiped away fake tears from her face. "If that poor excuse of a hero has already escaped the castle walls, then all I can hope for is that the monsters will be able to punish him for what he did to me." She said, hugging her arms to herself while crying.

The King growled in his seat. "To think that we had summoned such scum to our world. I swear my daughter, should he so much as try to show his face around the Capital again, justice shall be administered swiftly upon him!" He said.

Motoyasu nodded his head. "Yeah, I'll help to administer that justice myself!" He said loudly in agreement. "No hero should think himself above the law to rape a woman and then run away like a coward!"

"What do you mean by administering justice?" Itsuki asked from the opposite side of the aisle from Motoyasu and Malty. "I mean I know what he did was bad, but are we really talking about killing him?" He asked skeptically.

The King wriggled his nose distastefully. "To even try and do a sexual wrong to a woman, especially a princess is punishable by death in this kingdom." He looked straight ahead. "If he had stayed to answer for his crime, I would have left it to making him an outcast among my people and letting word of his crimes spread throughout the kingdom."

His eyes became hard. "However, since he has chosen to run away, I shall instead throw him into a dungeon when he is caught. He shall be stripped of everything except his shield. Monsters will be thrown into his dungeon, ones incapable of killing him, but that will hurt him as he's forced to kill them to level up. He will pay for his meals with their scraps, and only be let out for the waves before being put back in his dungeon when they're over. He will beg for mercy, and none shall be given to him. He will come to wish he had never dared to lay a finger on my dear daughter and ran away thinking he could get away with it!" He yelled at the end, leaving no room for an argument. "That shall be Sir Naofumi's punishment!"

Ren and Itsuki both paled and looked at the King before looking at Motoyasu and Malty. "That's insane," Ren said quietly so only Itsuki could hear.

"I know he's guilty...0 but even that seems a little extreme." Itsuki quietly replied.

Both of them nodded to each other and left the throne room. "Do you really think he could have done it?" Itsuki asked.

"I don't know. He didn't come off as that kind of person before. But Myne over there seems convinced." Ren said calmly. "If she says so, then it has to be true."

"... Yeah, maybe you're right. And he did run away… still, the King's sentence sounds a little... harsh..." Itsuki trailed off as they walked out the doors.

"And we're not hearing Naofumi's side of the story," Ren muttered quietly. He couldn't really pass judgment until they saw Naofumi for themselves.

They'd probably talk it over with each other at a later time.

The King was silent for a moment, staring ahead at something only he could see… "Sir Motoyasu." He finally spoke, grabbing the hero's attention. "I'm entrusting my daughter over to you now. I pray that you will treat her better than the Shield Hero did." His eyes were glaring at the end of his sentence, giving Motoyasu the hidden meaning of what would happen if he didn't treat his daughter like a Queen.

"No worries your Majesty. Your daughter will be safer with me than even your own royal knights." Motoyasu said happily, planting his spear into the ground.

"Good, it is late. Now go." He said tiredly.

Motoyasu and Malty both left the throne room. Leaving the King to sit by himself to think. '_And I was hoping this Shield Hero would turn out to be better than my bitter enemies… what a waste.' _The King thought bitterly.

**Boom!**

He slammed the base of his jeweled staff into the ground next to his throne. The booming sound thundered throughout the whole castle.

…

* * *

"Sir Motoyasu, I'll join you in a moment, there's something I have to do quickly," Malty said to him.

"Sure thing Myne. Take as much time as you need." Motoyasu said happily, continuing to walk on like a fool in love.

Malty smiled for a moment more as Motoyasu continued on, and then she scowled. "I know you're hiding here, Altara." She spoke venomously.

Altara the nun came out from behind the pillar she'd been hiding behind with the assistance of magic. Still dressed in the same attire as earlier. "So the King is just going to let the Shield Hero run away. Is that it?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yes, but it's not that big a deal," Malty said dismissively. "If he's found, then he'll be thrown into some dungeon and released to the waves when the time comes. It's not that far off from what I guessed. Hell, in some ways, it's even better." Malty said happily.

"That's if he manages to capture the Shield Hero," Altara said in a quiet angry voice to make sure she wasn't overheard by anyone. "And besides that, the Shield Hero knows that we're trying to have him killed off. Meaning he'll go to greater lengths to stay hidden from the public. He could even run off to a different country if given the opportunity! One that worships the Shield Hero as a God! How is that not a big deal?" She asked.

If he ran to Siltvelt. It'd all be over!

Malty had to cover her mouth to keep the evil laugh from escaping. "Oh please. The Shield Hero couldn't even hurt a fly with how much attack power he has behind his punches. I didn't manage to steal all his money, but he'll run out eventually. And with news of what he did already going throughout the kingdom, nobody would believe he was being framed even if he yelled it to their faces." She did a little happy twirl. "And the monsters between him and the other countries are too high level for him to deal with by himself. He wouldn't survive the moment he got past Lute Village."

Altara grimaced. "But-" She tried to say.

"The chances of him making it past the next wave are still little to none. There's nothing we need to discuss." She said, walking away from Altara.

"But one of the knights! I overheard him mentioning the Shield Hero carrying a-" Altara tried to say.

"Let it rest Altara. I am tired tonight, and I have a real hero waiting to welcome me into his bed." Malty said in a tone of dismissal.

Altara glared angrily at the back of Malty's head. "I swear if your blunder keeps the Shield Demon alive. Then so help me I'll let the Pope himself know it was all your fault." She said, turning to walk away. The First Princess didn't acknowledge the nun's comment.

As Altara walked away, she was hit with an idea.

"I don't see the Pope minding if one more demi-human is killed... I'll inform the shadows of the Church what needs to be done. We need to confirm where this demi-child the Shield Hero acquired came from, and strike them both down while they're weak. Yes, the devil of the Shield cannot be allowed to live a moment more." She said to herself.

Deciding to come up with her own plan for containment since the Princess was too busy to make such plans herself, Altara walked on through the palaces of the castle.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**To answer a couple of questions from reviews. Yes, Naofumi and Raphtalia are going to meet people they haven't met before. Whether or not they join their party is another matter. Some familiar faces will join, likely out of the original order.**

**The slavery reference was meant to mean that slavery was illegal in Naofumi's world. Not in Melromarc. Read the fine print carefully, please.**

**As to going to other nations; Naofumi isn't even aware of there being other nations. And being only 2 days in, he isn't very much aware of a lot of the things in this world. And trying to get to them at his level. Come on, be realistic here.**

**Keep up the great reviews! Keep hitting that favorite and follow button! And hope you all continue to do well! Thanks again for your support and kindness!**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	4. 4: I'll Protect You

**Again, you all are amazing to me. Yesterday we passed 200 Followers! And we're getting close to Favorites doing the same! You all are awesome, and I hope not to disappoint any of you continuing on! Remember to leave any comments or suggestions for what you'd like to see! I'm busily preparing an outline for more of the story after what I've written so far!**

**To answer a reader's comment, I'm not sure on labeling what Naofumi did as a shield bash skill or not. I'll take the coming weeks to figure out what label to put on it. I will say, it won't be the last time you see it. (And I'm sure you all will freak out when you see it used again)**

* * *

**Since Last Time:**_ 34 More Favorites, 45 More Followers (Total: 175 Favorites, 202 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:**_ August 19th, 2019 2:51 P.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Disclaimer:** _Don't own it. But man I wish I did._

* * *

**Chapter** **Four: **_I'll Protect You_

* * *

_The Next Morning_

Raphtalia slowly blinked open her eyes. It had been a long time since she'd been allowed to sleep for as long as she had. It'd also been a long time since she'd felt so well-rested. And while her sleep had been peppered with nightmares here and there, they hadn't been terrible. She sat up, stretching out her small body in the confines of her master's green cloak.

"Good, you're finally awake."

Raphtalia blinked. Her tail wagged with curiosity as she looked around and noticed a few different things. First, there was a small pile of orange and yellow balloon cloth lying on the ground next to the fire. Beside that was a small pile of leaves, no, she recognized them. Those were medicinal herbs, not leaves. And then on the ground in front of her was a small meal. It had another one of the fruits she had eaten yesterday, along with some more bread crackers and some soup that had been heated in a bowl over the fire.

She looked up at Naofumi, who was staring down at what looked like a large leaf shield. He had dark areas around his eyes. "Master?" She asked curiously, seeing the tired look on his face.

'_I was up almost all of last night, taking out my anger and frustration on those balloons... And I only managed to get to level two.' _He thought in tiredness and frustration to himself. '_I was lucky one of them tripped me and made my shield fall on those herbs. Otherwise, it would have never absorbed them, and that whole night would have been nothing but a damn waste of time…'_

"Master?" Raphtalia asked again curiously.

He looked up at Raphtalia. He knew he must have looked tired after only two to three hours of sleep, but couldn't find it in himself to care. "Eat up. I can't have you working for me on an empty stomach." He said, picking up his own small meal. "I blended some of those herbs there into your soup. They should help to soothe your illness somewhat."

'_At least that's what the herb's description told me.' _He thought, knowing it wasn't going to be a cure. But it would help her to alleviate her symptoms for the time being.

She sniffed at the soup, and then her eyes widened in wonder. Within seconds, she was slurping it down. Treating it like it was the greatest dish ever. Which, in her mind, it was.

Naofumi looked at her for a few seconds as she messily ate. '_There, at least she's eating something warm now.'_ He thought tiredly in relief. He briefly wondered the last time she'd been able to have a warm meal before taking a sip of the soup from his bowl.

It had been the first time he'd eaten since last night, and his face twisted at the taste, or rather, the lack of taste. _'Damn, I can't taste anything?'_ He thought, staring down at it. _'Is it because I'm so low level, or is it because the person I formerly trusted the most in this world was going to stab me in the back…'_

Slowly, he forced himself to continue eating. Even if he couldn't taste it, that didn't mean that he couldn't stop. That would only mean that bitch Myne, that bitch nun from the Church, and everyone else who wanted him to fail would win. He'd show them.

Oh, he'd definitely show them.

"Master, you look tired." Raphtalia pointed out to him after she'd finished eating her whole meal.

'_Wow, you think?'_ He thought sarcastically to himself. He wasn't close to finished yet, and he had as of yet to touch anything outside his soup, but he figured he'd save the rest for later. Who knows, maybe he'd be able to taste it then. Though the pessimistic part of his mind was telling him he was cursed to not taste anything good from this stupid world ever again.

"Alright, we're going to start training now," Naofumi said, taking the sheathed dagger from his inventory and throwing it to Raphtalia.

Raphtalia almost dropped the sheathed dagger to the ground when it went into her hands. She looked down in surprise at it, then back up at Naofumi. "What do you mean-" She was asking.

Naofumi turned to the side, finally showing two red balloons that were chomping down on his chainmail covered back. "Eep! Monsters!" She yelled, backing away instinctively out of fear.

"Raphtalia, I want you to use that dagger to kill them," Naofumi said calmly, grabbing one of the balloons off his back to hold it out to her.

Raphtalia backed away further from the demon balloon, which snapped menacingly at her. "But, but I can't-" Raphtalia tried to say.

"Raphtalia! I order you to fight these things now!" Naofumi yelled, his anger finally blowing over from his lack of sleep, his new inability to taste food (which pissed him off to no end), and frustration that came from being so useless the night before. He had literally spent thirty minutes just punching one of these red balloons trying to kill it, and it was still alive! He could be damned for all he cared about making her kill a couple of monsters against her will with how angry he felt.

Raphtalia's slave crest glowed purple on her chest, and she whimpered again at the familiar pain that coursed through her. However, it was enough of a motivator to overcome her fear for the time being. Unsheathing the dagger, she ran forward with her eyes closed to stab at the red balloon. Only the blade deflected off its skin, and it screeched angrily at her. Making a very scary face.

"Augh!" Raphtalia screamed in fear, backing away again from the captive aggressive demon balloon.

"Come on! Put some muscle into it!" Naofumi again yelled angrily, glaring down at the half raccoon demi-human.

Raphtalia shakily got back up and then charged forward again. "Hahhhh!"

**Pop!**

This time, the red balloon popped in Naofumi's hands. Red balloon remains fell around Raphtalia like confetti. A notification popped up in front of both their faces, saying their experience had both gone up by 15. '_Hmmm, so that's what Itsuki and Motoyasu meant last night when they said the experience was shared among the party.'_ He thought.

Naofumi turned around, showing the other red balloon still gripping to his back. "One more." He said, more calmly than before.

Raphtalia looked at the blade in her hand, and then rushed forward with more determination from the side to stab it.

**Pop!**

.It popped after the first try this time. Causing more red balloon tatters to fall around them. "Good job," Naofumi said down to her, his face expressionless again. He did, however, give her a pat on the head between her ears. She looked at the dagger in her hands, and then back up at him.

"Keep that up, and we'll both get stronger in no time." He said before gathering the remains off the ground. All traces of his former anger were now gone. Now he looked tired again.

She looked back down at the dagger again. '_Wow… did I really just kill two monsters?'_ She thought to herself.

"Come on Raphtalia, we're packing up now. We have a lot more monsters we need to kill today if we want to get stronger." Naofumi said, his voice leaving no room for questioning. '_And if we want to have the strength necessary to make it to that village Erhard told me about.'_ He thought in his mind.

"Yes master," Raphtalia said, sheathing her dagger before following behind Naofumi.

* * *

_The next Day, Evening_

"Raphtalia, now!"

"Hahhh!" **Pop!**

Raphtalia slashed through the balloon Naofumi held captive in his hand.

"Right here!" Naofumi ordered next.

Raphtalia did a sideways slash through a group of three small mush monsters that her master had lined up perfectly using his shield. Her blade cutting each series of Mush cleanly in half.

"One more!" He yelled, having dived to hold down a Mush that was bigger than the others.

"Huahh!" Raphtalia jumped over Naofumi, bringing her dagger down right as Naofumi moved his hands out of the way. The large mush gurgled once as the blade stabbed into it, and then it shriveled up, dropping its core onto the ground.

Naofumi looked around at all the other monster drops lying on the ground. There were no other monsters in sight. "Raphtalia." He said.

"Right." She said, moving from spot to spot to gather the materials and corpses since there were no other monsters around. Just like the other times during the day.

Naofumi watched her gather for a moment. '_Without her sickness impeding her, she's surprisingly energetic. And quick to learn.'_ He thought, impressed that Raphtalia didn't need an order to know to gather the monster materials. Hell, she'd gotten used to the dagger she wielded far quicker than he'd expected. Though that didn't mean he didn't try to protect her when he could by shielding her from hordes of monsters.

He walked over to the side of the clearing, more balloons munching on his chainmail beneath his cape. It took him only a few seconds of looking to find the patch of leaves he had noticed while they'd been fighting more monsters a few minutes ago. "Leaf Shield."

The legendary shield on his arm changed to look like a large leaf. He plucked the differently shaped leaves from the ground, and a green glow surrounded them. '_Just as I thought.'_

His passive abilities from the mush series of shields he'd gotten earlier identified it as another type of medicinal herb. The equip ability of his leaf shield also bettered the quality of the herbs. He brought the herb close to examine it. The description of the herb and its stats came into view on his screen. Then below that, a notification appeared saying he had gathered enough different items to unlock the compounding skill he had gotten earlier from one of the Mush series of shields. Again, the thought of how gamelike this world went through his mind.

'_So all I have to do is combine these different herbs and monster materials together, and I can get something useful. I'll have to look up in the guide to figure out if I can compound medicine so I'll be able to give it to Raphtalia for her sickness.' _He thought as he pocketed the herbs in his inventory which, thanks to Raphtalia, was starting to fill up with all sorts of monster items.

"Here master," Raphtalia said, handing over the pile of monster materials and corpses she had collected. Including the large Mush's core. Making his inventory of monster items even bigger.

They had to collect the corpses of the monsters they defeated. They couldn't leave any trace of themselves behind that could be tracked.

Naofumi pocketed these as well and absorbed the Mush Core into his shield. It unlocked a shield called the **Core Mush Shield**, and while it didn't give him any stat increases it had a passive ability that increased the effectiveness of the other Mush shields he had unlocked the Equip bonuses of. _'So my defense goes up on those shields, and I should be able to cook and compound better since I unlocked those skills from the Mush series...'_

"Good job Raphtalia." He said, looking down at her stats. It showed he was at level five now, and hers was at five too. He had set it up recently in the party details that she got 60% of the experience and he got 40% of the experience from kills. '_Wow, all this in two days of farming weak monsters.'_ He thought. It had definitely gone better than his night alone had.

Naofumi looked up at the gradually darkening sky. '_We'll have to go find that village soon. Otherwise, I don't know how I'm going to carry all the stuff we've found out here.'_ He thought to himself. He wasn't sure if the inventory in his weapon was limitless or if he had a weight limit he was allowed to carry before he received negative effects like slower speeds or being unable to run altogether. But it was better to be safe than sorry. He'd learned that the hard way in some guild games back at home.

The odd thing was that when he absorbed the monster corpses, they didn't appear in his inventory. So maybe his Shield treated them like Trash or whatever. Never to be seen again.

He didn't really care either way. Since the only thing of value was the monster materials. If his Shield could get rid of the monster corpses for him, that was fine by him.

Raphtalia smiled happily up at him even though the praise had been said in the same indifferent tone he used all the time. "Thank you, master." She said happily.

He pulled out the map Erhard had given him and tried to find where they were in the forest. He assumed if they wanted to get to Lute Village, they'd have to go further south. "Come on, we should be able to head deeper into the forest." He said to her.

Raphtalia looked around herself curiously. Now that they've been going at it for a while, she was finding herself getting used to the idea of fighting monsters. But going deeper into the forest also meant having to face stronger monsters, which scared her somewhat. "*COUGH* *COUGH*" However, before she could voice her concerns, she started to cough violently again. Meaning the herbal blend Naofumi had given her earlier after lunch had already started to wear off.

Seeing that, Naofumi took back what he'd said. "On second thought, we'll head back to our site for now. You worked hard today, and you look like you could use a good rest." He said, taking her by the hand and leading her back through the forest.

Raphtalia looked up at him in surprise. She thought he was going to simply give her another herbal blend from his inventory and then have her keep fighting for him like yesterday. She'd been trying to hide the fact that she was getting tired so that he wouldn't get angry at her. '_He even allows me to rest when I get tired.'_ She thought in amazement to herself.

The longer she was with her new master, the better off she felt she was than before. Sure, he still hadn't opened up much since he'd bought her. And while he was scary at times, she was beginning to notice how nice her master actually was.

When they got back to the campsite, Raphtalia took off her boots and sat on a rock next to the water. She had taken some time around lunch the previous day to fashion together a small fishing pole she had made from a long stick, some strand she'd found off a monster in the forest, and the orange balloon remains which she used as a grip. With a smile on her face, she cast her line into the water. Humming to herself as she did so.

Naofumi sat down near the campfire, taking a moment to add some of the new monster drops he'd seen to his shield. A couple of different options unlocked, and his span of shields expanded out more. '_I keep on getting more shields. But almost all of them only add to my defense.'_ He thought, before looking up at Raphtalia.

At the moment he looked up, Raphtalia squealed in delight as she caught another river fish and reeled it in. The way she took delight in it and the fact that she was very good at it told Naofumi she must have been raised in a fishing village before being captured and enslaved. He looked back down at his shield. '_Even absorbing one of those fish she caught after lunch unlocked a new shield.'_ Naofumi thought, hovering over a shield option, aptly named the '**Angler**** Shield.'**

It gave him a +1 in defense and a passive effect that was supposed to make him better at catching fish. So not only could he level up to become stronger, but by absorbing the different things that he found, he could also give his passive skills a nice boost or even acquire new skills like fishing, compounding, and crafting. '_Wish I could find something that would increase my attack stat too. Or give me a somewhat decent offensive skill.'_ He thought.

So far the balloon remains and other monster drops had only increased his defense or stamina. And the skills they had given him were non-combat essential ones. Like being able to cook better, identify what herb was what, compound and craft materials, etc.

In other words, he still wasn't much more than a shield. In fact, thinking about it, it was like the skills he was getting would make him better suited for being a butler. '_Raphtalia's butler no doubt.'_ He thought sarcastically.

"Master, look what I caught!" Raphtalia said excitedly to him.

Naofumi looked up from what he was doing at Raphtalia, who showed the line of fish she had caught and hooked to a long stick. He nodded his head at her. "Good job Raphtalia. Looks like we'll be having that for dinner tonight." He said, giving her a pat on the head. Raphtalia smiled widely at the action. She really enjoyed the head pats Master gave her.

Soon, the fish were cooking over the fire. Naofumi stayed next to the makeshift spit, slowly circling the fish over it. He couldn't tell for sure or not, but it looked like the fish were slightly glowing as they cooked. _'Probably my cooking skill affecting them. Man, this shield is weird… hopefully, it improves it enough that I can actually taste it.'_

Raphtalia watched quietly from the side, her belly rumbling with hunger. She also started coughing into her shoulder again. These coughs sounded more pained than the last ones from earlier that morning. _'Those herbal blends are helping, but it only seems like her coughing is getting worse.'_

Seeing the way she was suffering, and seeing how she was eyeing the fish, he figured if she knew how to catch them she'd also be somewhat good at cooking them. Which would give her something to distract herself from all of her coughing fits. And it would also give him the time he needed for his next task.

"Hey, Raphtalia, could you take over cooking for a moment?" He asked her.

Raphtalia looked to him in surprise. So far he'd handled all the cooking for the both of them. "Um, sure," Raphtalia said, getting up to take her master's place.

He watched her for a minute. And sure enough, she did know what she was doing. '_One of these days, I'm going to have to ask her more about her past. She must have a family she was taken from that misses her.'_ He thought to himself.

With her distracted with cooking the fish, Naofumi went over to a small rock and laid out the herbs he'd collected so far onto it. "Now, let's see." He muttered to himself, opening up the help guide in the bottom right of his menu.

He scanned through the different options until he got to the crafting and compounding tab, then he found several different tabs from there. His screen filled up with text. "Let's see, medicine, medicine, where is medicine- yes! Jackpot! So all I have to do is…" He picked up a pair of herbs off the ground along with a rock. It wasn't a compounding tool, but it was good enough. He got to work following the instructions.

…

'Damn! T_his is harder than the help guide said it would be!'_ Naofumi thought as another compounding creation failed on him. He had managed to craft a cup and some leather flasks from the monster skins, but making the medicine itself with rocks was proving to be a challenge as the failed creation dribbled off the rock as black tar.

He heard more coughing behind him and quickly got back to it. '_I'm doing this to help Raphtalia get to feeling better. I have to learn this.'_ He thought.

...

**Compounding Success! Obtained the following:**

**Nutritional Pill - Poor Quality**

**Medicine - Normal Quality**

Naofumi sighed in relief as he looked at what he was holding. There was a pill-shaped item in his left hand identified as the poor quality nutritional pill. And in his right, he held a cone-shaped leaf cup filled with a dark green liquid identified as the normal quality cold medicine. A leather flask containing the rest of it was laid on the rock. He saw the fish cooking over the fire looked to be almost done. '_Alright, it finally worked…_ somewhat...' He hadn't been going for making the Nutritional Pill. But it had come out as a creation. 'Well, time _to test it out.'_ He thought.

Raphtalia coughed into her arm a couple of times when she noticed a shadow falling over her. She quickly looked up in fright. "Oh, what is it, master?" Raphtalia said when she noticed that it was her master who was standing almost above her.

"Here, drink this. I'll finish cooking the fish." He said, giving her the cone-shaped leaf cup.

She moved to the side, allowing Naofumi to sit in his original spot again. She sniffed at the contents, and her tail spiked up behind her at the weird smell. "Mmmm…" She muttered to herself unsurely.

"Relax. It's medicine. According to what I read in the description, it should help with common colds and fevers." Naofumi said.

Raphtalia sniffed tentatively at the cup in her hand again and then, trusting her master, she tried to drink it. Her eyes widened, and her face turned dark. Trusting master on this had been a bad idea! "Peh peh!" She spat to the side. It was the worst thing she had ever tasted in her life, and that was saying something since she had been a slave for who knows how long.

"What's wrong?" Naofumi asked.

"It's, it's so bitter," Raphtalia complained.

He sighed. "Good medicine is supposed to taste bitter. Now drink it up!" He ordered.

"Wahhhhhh!" Raphtalia whined in childish complaint. Not wanting to do it.

Naofumi, however, took the opportunity with her mouth being wide open from whining to drop the medicine down her throat. She coughed and gagged on it, but he wasn't having it. "No, swallow it all now." He ordered. Forcing her mouth shut.

Not wanting her slave crest to act up, Raphtalia choked it down. She coughed afterward, but it wasn't from sickness this time. Rather it was her gag reflex complaining at what she'd just had to swallow.

"There, see, that wasn't so hard." He said as he went back to focusing on the fish. Seeing that they were done, he took the spit off from above the fire and let it lean against one of the stakes so the fish could cool down enough for them to eat.

Raphtalia kept wiping at her tongue. "Why did I have to drink that before we had dinner?" She complained.

"Because I said so. Now stop whining about it." Naofumi said, a glint of anger and frustration evident in his tone.

Raphtalia's eyes went wide at his tone. She then instinctively covered her head and started whimpering again like she had when he first met her. Naofumi was quick to realize why she was scared of him and calmed down. '_Damn it. I let my anger get the better of me again.'_ He thought to himself. He didn't feel guilty about yesterday morning since it had been necessary for her to become a capable fighter that could defend herself. But now...

Raphtalia was still covering her head with her hands when a warm arm wrapped around her. She looked up at Naofumi who held her close with his one arm. His other hand rubbed through her hair between her ears in a comforting way.

"I'm sorry Raphtalia. I didn't mean to blow up at you there. I'm just worried about you. I want this medicine to work. Not only so you'll be back to full strength, but so that I won't have to worry about your sickness developing into something worse, and then…" He couldn't finish the thought, and he looked to the side. His normally expressionless face holding a trace of sadness at that moment. _'Then I'll be unable to do anything about it...'_

Raphtalia looked up at him, her eyes still wide, but not with fear. '_He does care about me.' _She reminded herself. Tears filled her eyes again, and she tightly hugged Naofumi while crying softly. "I'm sorry master. I promise I won't complain about having to take bitter medicine again." She cried into his shoulder.

Naofumi looked back down to her. His sad face morphing into a caring smile. "It's okay. I can already feel your forehead cooling down. I don't think I'll have to force you to take any more of that bitter medicine for a couple of days." He said.

Raphtalia stopped crying and felt at her forehead with her hand. Sure enough, it wasn't feeling so hot anymore. In fact, she didn't feel like she had to cough anymore. She separated from Naofumi, looking around herself in wonder.

'_Wow, in some ways, this really does feel like a game. Even the medicine here works much faster than any regular Earth medicine.'_ He thought to himself. Of course, he had also put some of the first batch of medicine into the shield. The shield he'd gotten because of that **(**appropriately named **Petit Medicine Shield**) had given him a passive ability that improved the quality of the medicine he'd make. That had been the medicine he'd given Raphtalia. '_If it really works this well, I wonder how much it would sell for in town… though I should keep some and continue experimenting. Raphtalia will need more if she wants to be cured of her sickness for good.'_

At that moment, Raphtalia's stomach grumbled again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-" She tried to say, feeling embarrassed.

Naofumi chuckled to himself, much to Raphtalia's surprise. It had been the first time she'd seen Naofumi come close to laughing. "Now that you're feeling better, your stomach is more active than ever," Naofumi said, sounding rather happy.

Raphtalia's face turned red from embarrassment, and she quickly faced away. "It's, it's not that! I've just, I've been a slave for so long, and now I'm having food-" She tried to say, but she kept on stumbling over her words because of how embarrassed she was for her old stomach to be returning now.

"Here. You can serve yourself first. I'll eat whatever you don't want." He said, handing her the stick of cooked fish.

Raphtalia looked down at it, and then up at Naofumi. He was giving her a look that said: 'Go on, I'm not going to stop you.'

With a bright smile on her face, she ripped off four of the six fish and started devouring them immediately. He noticed that her eyes which had looked like a dull red when he first saw them looked more lively than ever before. Instead of a dull red, they were resembling a familiar red tea he was fond of from back home.

Naofumi smiled at the sight. '_There, now she's starting to be a little more like herself.'_ He thought.

His happiness was short-lived as he took a fish off the stick and bit into it. His smile reverted back to its original frown. '_Of course. Even with my improved cooking skills, I still can't taste a thing.'_ He thought. Realizing he was going to have to once again force himself to eat through another meal. '_The next time I'm able to, I'm going to slug that bitch in the face for taking away my ability to taste any food. It's one thing to have me killed off, it's another to kill me without being able to taste anything.'_ He thought grumpily.

* * *

_A few hours later_

Naofumi was keeping watch for the night. He had his pile of herbs out and was busy trying to turn them into medicine, both to help out Raphtalia and to sell to towns at a later time. Lacking the proper tools though, it was proving to be a long and arduous task. That didn't make him stop from trying though.

As long as he had every possible advantage he could obtain, he could make living on the run work. He just had to work for it. Harder than he'd had for anything else before now.

Sleeping with his green cloak wrapped around her like a blanket, Raphtalia fidgeted in her sleep. Quiet whimpers came out of her mouth at the latest nightmare going on in her mind.

_Raphtalia was being carried in the arms of her Father. Both he and her mother were running for the cliff face next to the village. Left and right, other demi-humans were screaming in fear. Some were trying to get the children in safe places where they'd be out of reach of the monsters. Others brandished pitchforks, weapons, or magic to fight back against the seemingly endless tide of monsters. There were so many monsters though, and she saw many demi-humans she'd known all her life all around lying on the ground. Their lifeless eyes staring up at nothing as monsters stepped over their bodies to continue their assault._

_The kids who hadn't been moved to safety clutched to their dead parents, crying helplessly over their bloodied bodies. And while her father did his best to cover her eyes, it was already too late. The scene of bloodshed around her would forever be imprinted into her mind. Of both her village and the sky above._

_"Augh!" Her Father grunted in pain when a monster with two horns on its head grazed his arm with his sword. He managed to push it off with a light spell, and his wife pushed it off the cliff edge while it was off balance. "Keep holding on Raphtalia! We're almost safe!" He yelled at her._

_She recognized what they were running away from in the sky. There had been a picture representation of it in the storybook her Father used to read to her. It was the large angry-looking swirling circles in the sky that were unleashing all sorts of monsters onto the town below. Her eyes were wide with fear in recognition of what could only be known as the Wave of Catastrophe._

'_How can we be safe without the help of the Cardinal Heroes?'_

_Her parents ran up the cliff face next to the sea her town was based on. Behind them, the largest, meanest looking demon of them all; a three-headed Cerberus dog was slowly lumbering towards them. Looking around, Raphtalia realized that they were the only targets around._

_They were trapped._

_Her hands were clasped over her heart. 'No, this wasn't how it was supposed to go. I was supposed to meet the Shield Hero. He was supposed to come to save us.'_ She thought to herself in fear. _'He was supposed to help us.'_

_Her dad put his hand, covered in blood from the wound on his arm, in front of her. "I'm sorry Raphtalia." He said, knowing what was about to happen._

"_Huh," Raphtalia asked in confusion, not understanding what he'd meant._

"_Raphtalia." Her mother looked back at her. "We only wanted to make sure you survived. Please... find it in your heart to forgive us our selfishness if you can." She said sadly, the giant Cerberus lumbering closer and closer._

_..._

_Her eyes widened in understanding too late. Her father pushed her over the cliff's edge, and she fell down towards the water below. A soundless scream coming from her lips, and her arms reaching up towards her parents up above._

_She saw her mom holding onto her Father's arm. Both of them smiling down at her despite knowing what was about to happen. Both of them mouthed the same thing at the same time. The words they'd said to her every night before she went to bed._

_And then the Cerberus's three heads came down on them. Tearing into the two before she crashed into the water._

"Nooooo!" Raphtalia sat up screaming eyes wide open and crying from the memory.

Naofumi gasped in shock as he stopped what he was doing.

"Nooo, they're dead! They're dead!" Raphtalia cried, her eyes now tightly closed. Her hands flailing blindly in front of her.

"What's wrong?" Naofumi asked, getting down on one knee next to her. All he got was unintelligible crying in response. "Calm down. Everything's okay." He said, hugging the little girl to his left shoulder.

"Father. Noooo." She cried more quietly. "My father, my mother... they're both gone." Tears fell down her face onto his shoulder.

"Don't cry. It's alright." He said, his other hand rubbing the back of her head calmly. Trying to help to calm the little Tanuki girl down.

She continued crying softly into his shoulder. The wounds in her mind freshly opened again from the memory turned nightmare. "Mother... father... I miss you so much..." Raphtalia whimpered.

'_So she lost her parents at a young age… and she's been through all sorts of abuse and torture as a slave.'_

He felt sadness well up inside him again. The pessimistic part of his mind didn't speak up. Even that part of him felt bad for this little girl in his arms.

"It'll be alright. I'm here now." He said, slowly comforting the sobbing girl back to sleep.

…

"I'll protect you, no matter what." He promised.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Well, I'm not sure if I'll be asked about it, but I'll still explain just in case. Naofumi's survival is still based on if his party members are able to fight for him or not. So though this branches off from the main arc, Raphtalia would still be wary of fighting monsters. And Naofumi who needs her to fight won't, in his words to Erhard, "Beat around the bush" about getting her to see how important it is that she be able to fight.**

**Also, I'm going to apologize if the start of the second scene was too descriptive. I didn't mean for it to go that way. There was just so much I found I had to cover there that it just happened.**

**Other than that, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I'll see you all next week!**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	5. 5: I Hate Blood

**Well, it's another Monday. Thanks again everyone for your continued support! I don't have any questions or suggestions from comments to respond to since last time. Other than an apology for mislabeling Malty as the second princess (If I could take it back, I would have labeled her as the 'bitch' princess). So without further ado, let's get to the chapter!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _33 more favorites, 38 more followers (Total: 208 Favorites, 240 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _August 26th, 4:58 P.M. MST_

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_As source of thy power, I decipher the laws of the world, and... nope, still can't think of a spell to make me own Shield Hero._

* * *

**Chapter Five:**_ I Hate Blood_

* * *

_The Next Morning_

Raphtalia sat silently in her spot of ground, looking down at the dying embers of the campfire in shame. Her ears were flat on her damp head, and her tail was wrapped around one of her legs. Her body was no longer covered by the Shield Hero's green cloak but was instead wrapped in a towel that Erhard had provided with the clothes. Said cloak was soaking in the water of the river in an attempt to clean it. She felt chills from the memories of her dreams from last night, and shame from the mess she'd made on her master's cloak when it'd gotten so bad that her body released its control on her bladder.

Naofumi looked back at her as he finished cleaning up his medicinal area. There were dark bags under his eyes from spending part of his night making medicine and the other part of it staying by Raphtalia to make sure she was okay. He had lost count of how many times he'd had to calm her down.

'_Another night with little to no sleep. Just my luck.'_ He thought tiredly. He might be a hero, and his shield might have a list of things it could help him out with, but apparently, sleep wasn't on that list.

...

'_Hell, just thinking about what happened…'_

His mind flashed back to last night. Raphtalia had cried even in her sleep, reaching out for someone who was no longer there. She continued to cry, even though he'd embraced her in a comforting hug the whole night… and when she said anything intelligible, it was her crying out for her mother and father… telling them not to die for her...

His mind returned to the present. Naofumi's fist was clenched on one side of the rock. '_I swear, if it was because of this kingdom that her parents are dead, then I'll never forgive them!'_ He thought angrily.

...

"Master?"

Naofumi looked up from his area. "What?" Naofumi asked, masking his voice with indifference.

She was still looking down at the fire. Her face downcast, and her eyes droopy. She looked small wrapped in her towel while her clothes sat nearby to dry in the light of the fire. "I'm sorry I kept you up again last night... and I'm sorry I peed on your cloak in my sleep…" She huddled closer to herself under the towel.

"I know it's not right for a slave to keep her master awake all night worrying for her. You've been so kind to me… and I've been nothing but a burden to you." She said, looking like a little child who was about to get scolded. Tears were filling her eyes again.

…

A hand started patting her gently on her head, and she looked up in confusion at Naofumi. Though his face was unreadable, the look in his eyes wasn't. "I don't care how much sleep I lose or how many times you wet that cloak at night. I care about if I can help you to get better or not." He said indifferently.

Raphtalia's eyes widened up at him, but before she could say anything he looked blankly behind him and walked over to the stream. "Come on. I'll let you get dressed again, and then we have to go deeper into the forest." He said, pulling out his cloak from the river and wringing it out. "There's a town I want to reach by the end of today."

Raphtalia sat for a few seconds more, staring at the back of Naofumi's head in wonder. He had seemed so bland, yet so caring… "Right," Raphtalia finally said, moving to get changed.

* * *

**Pop!**

The red balloon popped under Raphtalia's dagger. She breathed in and out heavily as the familiar experience bar showed in front of her face. When they'd first started a couple of days ago, some of these balloons had given them both at least over 10 experience points. Now, she barely got two experience points while Naofumi got one.

"Why do we get so little experience from killing these things now?" Raphtalia asked.

Naofumi looked around. "It must be because of the level difference. The higher our level is compared to the monsters, the less experience we're rewarded. And all of these have been level one or two." He said, also noticing at the same time that there were fewer balloons than before. "I'm guessing the higher our levels go, the less weak monsters like these will want to come out to fight you too."

Raphtalia looked around as well. She could see a couple of balloons deeper in the trees. But these ones didn't look willing to try and fight anymore. At seeing her glance at them, they shrieked in terror and quickly rolled away out of sight into the forest all around. '_Wow, they're really scared of me?'_ Raphtalia thought curiously.

That was different... yet really cool!

Naofumi kept on walking forward, his shield at the ready. Whether it be some monster or a knight or two from the Capital he didn't want to get caught off guard. He'd been lucky so far keeping watch during their monster grinding not to spot anyone else. But with how near to the Capital they were along with some of the roads that went through the forest, he wasn't willing to take any risks.

"I guess that's our signal to continue on, let's go Raphtalia-" Naofumi was saying back to Raphtalia when the bush in front of him started shaking. Causing him to stop speaking.

Raphtalia quickly raced up, holding her dagger up at the ready. Naofumi's eyes narrowed, looking towards the bush. His mind went through a list of shields he could possibly use in case it was a Capital Knight. Or if it-

A cute, circular white rabbit hopped out of the bush. It had a small red arrow pointing down at its head, indicating it was a monster. A level four monster. His screen called it a pill rabbit. The pill rabbit squealed happily.

"Master?" Raphtalia said confusedly as she lowered her dagger.

"An enemy, rabbit?" Naofumi asked skeptically. '_There's no way that's actually a level four monster-'_ He was thinking.

The rabbit suddenly squealed angrily as it jumped off the ground for Raphtalia. It's two large front teeth suddenly didn't look so cute anymore. Rather they looked like they'd been made to tear through flesh. Raphtalia's eyes widened in surprise.

"Watch out!" Naofumi yelled, jumping in Raphtalia's way.

The rabbit continued to screech menacingly as it bit down on Naofumi's left arm just above his elbow. His other hand grabbed the back of its head, pinning it in place. '_Even with my high defense stat, this thing stings!'_ He thought, feeling its large buck teeth trying to dig through his cloth chainmail into his arm. If it wasn't for his high defense, he had no doubt it'd be piercing his armor and skin.

"Kill it Raphtalia! Quickly!" Naofumi yelled.

"Heh, heh…" Raphtalia backed away breathing in fear, her face looking far more afraid than it had before.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?!" Naofumi asked, his anger starting to boil up again at the situation with the familiar lack of sleep. '_What the hell! She hasn't frozen up killing the other monsters earlier, so why is she doing it now!?'_ He thought, both angry because of how tired he was, and worriedly because if she couldn't fight...

"But, I, I can't. It will bleed if I stab it." She said fearfully. Her knife dropping to the side.

"Raphtalia!" He yelled again. '_Seriously!? Does this have something to do with her nightmare from last night!?'_

Raphtalia took a step back. "I hate blood." She admitted. She'd seen so much of it at her village... "I can't-" She tried to say when her slave crest started to glow purple again. She cringed, feeling the familiar pain go through her because of her unwillingness to follow an order.

"Raphtalia, listen now, and listen good," Naofumi said, his eyes glaring back at her. '_I can't protect her if we can't fight. And I can't take care of her if I don't get stronger. I'll be stuck in a loop without her here with me. She needs to hear this to know how serious I'm being. Bad dreams or no.'_ He pessimistically thought to himself. "If you're not going to fight, then I won't be able to take care of you." He said, his anger and tiredness from the last couple of days coming out. "If you can't fight. I'll never be capable of taking care of you. You got me?"

Raphtalia looked up in surprise at him. She looked stunned at hearing those words come from him. He continued to speak while she was stunned. "There's a wave coming that could end everything. I have to get as strong as possible before we're all wiped out!" He further explained to her, before looking forward again at the rabbit he couldn't hurt with his low attack power. "But defense is all I'm good for. I have no attack power with this shield. I need someone who'll stand with me, and fight when I can't! If you can't fight… then I'll have to find someone else, otherwise, we'll both be dead in the long run." He said, his voice dropping at the end. '_Like I'll be able to find anyone else willing to work with me…'_

Raphtalia gasped, and she leaned forward. Naofumi was about to say something else, but her next words cut him off. "You mean, you'll fight the Waves, of Catastrophe?" She asked.

"... I have to, that's my job." He said quietly. '_It's the only way I can return home… and it's the only way I can keep people like Erhard safe.'_ He thought. '_The ones who actually are good in this world at least…'_

...

"I understand." Suddenly, Raphtalia stood back up, gripping her dagger in both hands. Her face took on a determined look, and the slave crest stopped glowing on her chest. No longer did it look like an innocent little girl standing there. Rather, it looked like the face of someone who was determined to become a warrior.

Naofumi gasped in surprise at the change that came over her but quickly turned with the pill rabbit to hold it in place for her. "Aughhhh!" Raphtalia screamed, charging in with her blade.

The blade went into the rabbit, causing it to squeal in pain as blood came in bursts out of it. Its squeals became weaker and weaker as Raphtalia pushed, until with one last burst of blood it went limp in Naofumi's hands. Blood spattered on his face from the spectacle. It had been so quick, it surprised him.

Raphtalia breathed in and out deeply in front of him. Her blade, arms, face, hair, and outfit were covered with the rabbit's blood. An experience notification popped up, saying she had received 15 experience points. Her level increased to level 6. "Then, then I too, have no choice." She said. "Master, I'll fight for you. I'll fight for you as long as you need me to. Just don't, don't throw me away." She said begging to him at the end. "Please."

He got down on one knee and hugged the shaking girl close to him. "Deal."

Raphtalia wrapped her arms around his neck and cried softly into his shoulder. He continued to hold the dead rabbit while he allowed her to hug him. He could smell the rabbit's blood hanging in the air all around him.

'_This is reality, not a game.' _He thought, looking sadly from the ground to the side of Raphtalia's hair. Even though there were game mechanics to almost everything, he couldn't deny the underlying fact that it was real. Raphtalia wasn't an NPC. None of the people he'd met were NPC's. It was a real world with real people and real consequences, not some fantasy novel come to life.

'_I want us to live... So there's nothing we can do but fight! That's the only way we'll both get strong enough to survive the waves! And that's the only way we'll be able to survive being on the run from Melromarc and the Three Heroes Church!'_ He thought determinedly.

He separated from Raphtalia. "Put that dagger back in its sheath." He ordered.

Raphtalia looked surprised at his request, but hastily did so under the look he was giving her. He took the sheathed dagger from her, placing it back into his inventory. "Erhard told me to give this to you when I felt you were ready. It's not only got more attack power behind it, but the extra reach should help you to avoid getting blood on you in the future." He said, pulling out the sheathed shortsword.

Raphtalia's eyes widened at it, and then at Naofumi as he handed it to her. Tears started to leak from her eyes, and before he could say anything more she tackled him with another hug. "Thank you, thank you so much master," She said weakly. Feeling drained from the experience. "I promise... I won't let you down."

Naofumi's eyes slightly widened, but then he smiled softly while she couldn't see it. He wanted to hope that'd be true. He wanted to hope so much...

"Come on. We have to dissect this thing for its materials, then we can continue on." He said, holding the rabbit carcass out to her. '_I'm sure that won't be the last pill rabbit that tries to attack us on our way to Lute Village.'_

* * *

_A few hours later_

The sun was nearing the horizon when Naofumi and Raphtalia walked over a rise to look down at the valley below. In between where the forest ended and where the rocky cliffs of the mines stood was a village.

'_I don't know if it's the right one or not, this damn map is too damn hard to understand without a good landmark... we don't have much of a choice though. We've got to sell what we don't need, get more suitable camping gear, and besides all that we both need an actual warm meal and some time to rest in an actual bed.'_ He thought tiredly to himself. He looked down at the shield on his arm and moved it to his back where it'd be covered by his green cloak.

"Raphtalia. Remember to stick close to me. Once we get to the village, I won't be able to protect you with my shield if we get separated." He said to her.

She nodded her head. "Right." She replied.

The two walked down through the rest of the forest. A couple more pill rabbits appeared as they walked, but Raphtalia made quick work of them with her new weapon. And while Naofumi noticed she still looked afraid to get any blood on her, she didn't hesitate in killing them as she had before. She even dissected them for the monster materials herself as they walked, pulling out pill rabbit meat, fur, bones, and other materials.

'_I've only known her for a short time, but I can't believe how far she's already come. Even with what little of her past I know.'_ He thought. In a way, it made him proud of her… even if she did pee on his cloak that morning.

At last, they left the forest and walked up the road that led toward the gate of the village. After spending several days surrounded by trees, it felt weird to approach buildings again. There was a village guard standing on one side of the gate. As Naofumi and Raphtalia were about to walk past, the guard stepped in front of them. "Halt." He said in a deep voice.

Naofumi did his best to keep his face and posture calm. Though his heart was starting to beat rapidly in his chest as the guard glared at him. Raphtalia wrapped her arms around his leg, hiding her face in the back of his cloak. '_Did word already reach this village about me? Are Raphtalia and I going to have to flee back to the forest, or worse, will we have to fight this guy-'_ He tried to think of a plan.

The guard's eyes narrowed. "Everyone knows you have to pay the entrance toll before you can enter Lute Village." The guard said at last.

Naofumi's racing heart returned to a normal pace. "Sorry, I'm new to the area." '_That's a relief.'_ He thought. "How much?" He asked in an indifferent voice.

The guard looked him over… "50 Coppers." He finally said.

Naofumi took a silver coin from his pouch and tossed it to the guard who caught it in the air. "For the next time we enter," Naofumi said dryly.

The guard moved silently to the side, getting back to his post without saying another word to them.

Naofumi looked back down at Raphtalia, who let go of his leg to stare up at him. "Come on. We have some work to do before we head to the inn for the night." He said, turning to walk into the village.

Raphtalia glanced up at the guard who continued looking straight ahead at the road that led into the village. Then she quickly turned and ran to catch up to Naofumi.

If the front guard had been that scary then she didn't want to be separated from her master at all while they were here.

* * *

_That night_

Naofumi sat back on the bed. Staring up at the ceiling.

'_Holy hell, what a day.'_ He thought to himself.

He wasn't sure if it was because of how tired he was or if it was something else altogether, but today had felt like one giant emotional rollercoaster for him. Alternating between being extremely angry at Raphtalia for refusing to fight at first, to hugging Raphtalia because of how proud of her he was for being brave enough to kill a monster that bled. To also feeling guilty about what he'd said to her in the heat of the moment, to not really regretting it since it had in part been the truth. If he couldn't get stronger than he wouldn't be able to take care of her. He wouldn't even be able to take care of himself by the time the wave hit. She needed to hear it, and if it got her to kill monsters that bled than he was fine with it… mostly.

He appreciated the pessimistic part of his mind for speaking the truth. He did, however, think he could have put it a bit more lightly. He didn't want Raphtalia to hate him. Though he wasn't willing to extend as much trust to her as she did to him.

Then, of course, there had been their trip through Lute. True to her word, Raphtalia had stuck close to him the entire time. She didn't attempt to pull his cloak from off his back to reveal the shield or call him by his real name or anything. She had been perfectly obedient as they went from shop to shop, selling the monster materials, herbs, and other things they'd collected out in the forest. It made him appreciate her a little more. Even after his harsh words that morning, she had easily forgiven him...

He had visited many of the shopkeepers. Thankfully none of them noticed who he actually was. He had been able to sell off almost everything he hadn't needed. Of course, the orange balloon tatters had brought in the least amount selling for one copper per pair. Then the pill rabbit's parts had been worth 75 copper to a silver apiece. The medicine he'd made had been a real breadwinner. The leftover herbs sold for a little over a silver, while the medicine because of its quality and demand sold for close to five silvers a flask. Even his poor attempt at a nutritional pill had sold for 2 silvers.

It had been more than enough to pay for their food and night at the inn, buy Raphtalia a couple more sets of clothes, buy a couple sleeping bags so they'd be more comfortable out in the wild, and with his funds from the kingdom that he had leftover, he bought himself some simple compounding tools from the local apothecary so he could make medicine more easily… Tools he'd try out another night when he wasn't feeling so tired.

'_It doesn't help that the food here tastes bland too. I mean, I know I got the cheapest meal available here, but I was hoping it'd have some flavor to it.'_ He thought, thinking about dinner earlier.

The only thing that had made the meal worth it was the look on Raphtalia's face when she had an actual warm kid's meal placed in front of her. The poor thing couldn't eat with her hands fast enough and had almost choked on her food. It was a welcome change to see her being more open and happy instead of sad and closed off.

A ball landed on the bed next to him, and he looked down from his pillow at it. "Oh, sorry master! I swear I wasn't trying to hit you!" Raphtalia said, quickly apologizing to him.

Naofumi shook his head, having to do his best to hold back an amused smile as he gave her a head pat. "It's fine Raphtalia. You couldn't hurt me with a ball no matter how hard you threw it because of my defense stat." He said indifferently.

"Oh, right," Raphtalia said in relief before picking up her ball again. She went back to her corner of the room where she continued to play with it in young childlike joy.

His eyes followed Raphtalia to see her happily distracted playing with a ball. '_I still can't believe I learned how to craft that for her.'_ He thought to himself.

It had been a simple crafting recipe one of the first shopkeepers had on sale. He hadn't thought much on it until he saw Raphtalia looking to the side at a pair of kids playing around with a ball. The way her tail had been wagging as she watched had been all he needed to know to make the decision. And keeping a few orange balloon scraps so he could make the ball had been an easy decision too. Now that he saw her enjoying herself without fearing being punished for it.

'_There really is so much more to this world than I thought.'_ He realized. '_Crafting items from materials. Compounding. Fishing. Gathering herbs and other rare plants. Owning slaves. Dissecting and cutting apart certain monsters for drops... One of those shopkeepers even mentioned I could mine the ore in the coal mines if I was brave enough to face the monsters inside. There are just so many things for us to try...'_ He thought to himself.

The mining part was tempting. On the one hand, they could get their hands on some valuable ore before they had to move on to a different area. On the other hand, the shopkeeper had warned him that the monsters in the mines were stronger than the normal ones they were used to in the forest. But if they could get their hands on that ore, then they'd be able to upgrade to some better equipment. Meaning they'd be able to get stronger more quickly. And be better able to handle the next wave when it came.

Naofumi narrowed his eyes at his hands. '_But if we stay here too long, soldiers from the Capital could easily come in and capture us. And even if they don't, the agents of the Church could be here. Ready to cause us trouble by inciting the people against us if they found out who we were.'_ He thought.

The thought gave him a headache. Or maybe it was the lack of sleep that gave him a headache. Either way, he laid back on his own bed of the two-bed room. One bed for him, and one for Raphtalia. '_I'll make my decision tomorrow morning. After I've caught up on some sleep.'_ He thought, rolling over onto his side.

…

"Um, master?"

Naofumi peeked open an eye. Raphtalia's ball was resting on her bed, but the little demi-girl was standing at the foot of his bed staring down at him.

"What do you want?" Naofumi asked coldly. Showing his displeasure at being kept awake.

"Is, is it okay if I sleep with you tonight?" Raphtalia asked, looking off to the side. Her tail wagging slowly behind her.

Naofumi's eyebrow quizzically arched up his face at the question. Raphtalia continued looking off to the side. "It's just, I'm afraid of having more nightmares again." She admitted quietly.

...

She didn't need to say anymore. "Come here." He said, raising the blanket to allow room for her.

Taking her chance, she quickly snuggled up against him. Her childish face smiling happily as she closed her eyes. "Thanks, master." She said, sounding relieved and happy.

"Yeah yeah, just don't wet the bed tonight. I don't want a repeat of what happened to my cape." He said indifferently.

Raphtalia's face turned red from embarrassment. "Please don't remind me of that master!" She complained childishly.

"Goodnight Raphtalia." He said blandly.

…

"Goodnight."

* * *

_In the Middle of the Night_

**Bathump!…**

Raphtalia was falling back. A pair of hands, her father's hands, reaching out towards her. Or had they pushed her...

'No…'

**Bathump!…**

Her parents stood on the edge of the cliff face. Smiling one last time for their only daughter.

'_No…'_

**BathumpBathumpBathumpBathumpBathumpBathump!...**

The waves of Catastrophe swirled up above. She was falling, falling down the cliff's edge towards the water below. Her eyes wide, watching as the Cerberus Dog's heads bit down. Her Father produced a sword of light, striking at the monster. But it still tore her mom and dad apart all over again.

One continuous loop that kept on going through her mind, until-

"Noooooo!"

Naofumi awakened abruptly, hearing Raphtalia screaming in his ear. Her rapid heartbeat pounded into his chest where she was snuggled up tightly against him. She was crying again, eyes closed tight from the nightmare she was having.

"Mother, father. Don't leave me." She cried in her sleep.

"Raphtalia." He said calmly, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. His left hand moving through her hair in that same calming motion again.

"I don't want to be alone… don't leave me alone…"

Naofumi stayed silent, but he kept his hold on the half raccoon girl. Doing his best to help her calm down...

After another moment of soft crying, Raphtalia drifted back off into sleep. Yet Naofumi kept on rubbing calm circles in the back of her head. Almost all thoughts of sleep were forgotten, though it pulled heavily at his eyelids now that Raphtalia had calmed again. '_I'm sorry I can't help you more Raphtalia.'_ He thought sadly. Hoping it wasn't the incident with the bunnies that had triggered her nightmare again. He was only one person, suffering from mistrust and fear of betrayal. What could he possibly do to help a girl with her past trauma?...

"Sh-Shield Hero."

Naofumi widened his eyes in surprise and looked down at Raphtalia. To his further astonishment, she was still asleep. But she had a more peaceful look on her face. "Thank you for saving me, Sir Shield Hero. I know I can count on you to protect me and my family." She whispered, a smile spreading onto her small face. "Thank you for protecting us."

Naofumi continued to stare down in surprise at Raphtalia's face. Even though he knew she was having a dream, he still felt tears prick at the edges of his eyes, and he hugged the demi-girl more tightly to him.

"Yes. You can count on me to protect you Raphtalia. Even when I don't show it, even when I act like a total jerkface to you, just know that I want to protect you." He said out loud.

Raphtalia might have been his slave, but she was helping to care for him as much as he was for her. She helped him to come back from his anger at being betrayed before it consumed him. She kept on cutting it down with her innocent smile and quick forgiveness. His pessimistic thoughts never held much sway when she was around. The one that helped him to be a little more hopeful. The one that helped him to remain human despite feeling like an outcast.

He fell back to sleep, feeling slightly more hopeful that things would go better tomorrow.

* * *

_Outside of Lute Village_

A man in black robes walked up to the edge of the forest. He looked around, checking to make sure no one else was in the vicinity.

"Thomas."

The man jerked his head back to the forest and stood at attention. "Yes, lady Altara." He said formally.

"Has the Shield Demon and that demi-human of his arrived at Lute Village?" The noble nun asked, walking out from the shadows.

Thomas nodded his head. "Aye. I recognized them based on the description you gave our branch here. They're staying at the town inn tonight. Should I rouse the people and have the devil of the shield dealt with?" Thomas asked.

"No." Lady Altara said. "Pope Balamus made it abundantly clear after I voiced my complaints to him that the devil of the shield has to be taken down by monsters if we want to avoid contention with the other countries." She said authoritatively.

"But, but my lady. How are we to deal with the devil of the shield if we cannot face him ourselves?" He asked.

"Simple." Lady Altara said with a smile. "The agent that I planted as a shopkeeper here already gave the Shield Hero the idea of going to the coal mines tomorrow to get valuable ore that he'll need to purchase better gear. After gathering some research from various sources and discovering where his demi-human slave came from, I've had a monster moved from the church dungeons to the coal mines that they shouldn't be able to kill." She said, her voice like venom as the surety of the Shield Hero's death.

Thomas's eyes widened at seeing just how much this nun disliked the Shield Hero. "Wh-What do you mean, what monster?" He asked.

Altara smiled. "Oh, it's very territorial, so it won't leave the mines now that it's made its home. One of the knights captured it on the outskirts of Rurarona Village, and had a hell of a time bringing it back alive." She said, looking down at her hand. "The Church thought keeping such monsters in their dungeons could help the Legendary Heroes with their training. Releasing them into wild areas right as the heroes are passing through." Her hand formed a fist. "But now, this monster shall be used to end the pathetic life of the Shield Demon! It shall serve a higher purpose than any other monster!"

Thomas paled a little bit at Altara's words, but then he recovered and bowed respectively to her. "I shall make sure that no one else from the town approaches the mines then, milady." He said formally.

"Good. That is all I shall need from you, Thomas." Altara said, looking out over the town with a hungry gaze.

At last, the Shield Hero's short blight on her world would be over. A world that should have never allowed for the creation of such a mockery to God...

She only wished she could see the look of despair on Naofumi's face as the monster she'd had placed in the mines tore it off of his dying form. After, of course, having watched his demi-human friend get eaten by her greatest nightmare.

She turned around, making sure her white hood still covered her head, before disappearing into the darkness of the forest.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**This chapter was originally longer. But, with how many scenes there were in it and with how long it got after going through it a couple of times, I decided to split it in half. The last part of the last chapter and the beginning addressed her trauma over her parent's dying in front of her. The first part of this chapter, obviously dealt with Raphtalia's trauma for blood, and the latter end brought up her parents again. I have a feeling you all know the trauma that's building up for the next chapter. I just want to say a week in advance that I figured the circumstances around the two of them facing it were too convenient in the anime to not have an explanation. ;)**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	6. 6: The Church's Dog Monster

**To be honest, I almost forgot to update today because of Labor Day weekend. It's been amazing, I've gotten at least 10 hours of sleep a day the last few days! Highly recommend it!**

**For everyone who hasn't heard the news yet, Crunchyroll announced 2 more seasons of Rising of the Shield Hero last week! I'm still smiling about it! I mean, I figured after how well it did that there'd be a second season. But the fact that they announced the third season alongside the second season has really gotten me excited! I can't wait to see them both!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _28 more favorites, 31 more followers (Total: 236 Favorites, 271 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** September 2nd, 2019 10:00 P.M. (MST)

* * *

**Disclaimer:** _Don't own it, but I'd certainly make quite the conspiracy theorist about the Three Heroes Church._

* * *

**Chapter Six: **_The Church's Dog Monster_

* * *

_The next day_

"Okay Raphtalia. If there are monsters here, the moment things go south we run. You're gonna have to keep up with me if that happens. You got me?" Naofumi said back to Raphtalia.

"Yes master." Raphtalia said, her voice quiet and unsure.

The two of them were walking down a mineshaft. Naofumi held a torch in one hand, lighting the way for them through the wood supported tunnel. Raphtalia held a pickaxe that looked large compared to her. One of a few items they'd come across in the rest station outside the entrance to the coal mines.

Um, excuse me, master." Raphtalia said.

"What is it Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked.

Raphtalia took a moment to think about her next words. "I was just wondering, about why you reacted the way you did when you made that one shield earlier?" Raphtalia asked.

The incident she was mentioning had happened right before they had gone into the tunnel entrance. In the process of going through the mining supplies, Naofumi had absorbed several different items. Including a broken pickaxe, and some rope. The pickaxe shield was supposed to improve the quality of the ore he mined and make it easier to mine. The rope shield, however, had given him his first combat skill.

_"Rope Shield?" Naofumi muttered to himself as he looked down at the wound up rope shield on his arm. "This looks useless."_

_Raphtalia continued to look around with childlike curiosity at the various mining supplies while Naofumi looked at the shield's stats. "Wait a sec… did this shield actually come with a skill?"_

_After quickly pulling up his help guide to figure out how to use a skill, Naofumi raised the shield in front of him. "Air Strike Shield!"_

_A tall, glowing green translucent shield with a beautiful pattern etched into it appeared in the room. Raphtalia stared at the new glowing shield in awe. "So cool." She said quietly to herself._

_She didn't notice it, but a look of shock passed over Naofumi's face when he saw the design on the shield. "There's no way…"_

_Almost abruptly, he cut off the shield. Raphtalia turned to congratulate her master but was surprised when she saw the look of anger on his face. "Master-"_

_His face quickly became indifferent. "Come on. We have some ore to mine." He ordered as he walked to the exit._

_As he walked away, Raphtalia could have sworn he heard her master muttering something about not using that skill or something._

"It's nothing," Naofumi said indifferently.

'_Of course, the first skill I can actually use in combat, and it has to be a blunt reminder of the world I'm from.'_ He thought grumpily to himself. '_Just my luck.'_

Raphtalia was brought back to the present by her master's voice. "But, but-" She tried to say.

"Come on. We don't have forever." Naofumi said, slightly increasing his pace.

Raphtalia gasped in surprise and quickened her pace as well to stay close to Naofumi. She felt bad about trying to bring it up now. She just wanted to know why master had been frowning since summoning the shield.

...

Eventually, the tunnel came to an end, and the two walked out into a large cavern that glowed from the light of the ore veins sticking out of the walls. "Wow, so pretty." Raphtalia said to herself in awe. Already forgetting about what had happened in the tunnels on the way here.

_'The ore is glowing… that's strange.' _"Looks like the place," Naofumi said, looking down at the map he had gotten inside the rest station. This one had been easier to read, and he could recognize the wide-open cavern on the map.

He put it away and went to a piece of ore sticking out of the wall next to the waterfall. It had a green arrow pointing down at it that he assumed meant he could mine it. "Raphtalia." He said, holding his hand out to her.

Raphtalia gave him the pickaxe, and he, in turn, gave her the torch he'd been carrying. He then changed his shield to the new **Pickaxe shield** and started to mine the ore.

Raphtalia stood back, watching Naofumi mine. '_Master's sounded on edge ever since he summoned that one shield. I hope it doesn't keep him in a bad mood all day.'_ She thought, seeing him take a particularly powerful swipe at the ore, knocking a large piece off the wall. He continued on to the next one right by it. An alert on the top right of his screen telling him that he was steadily getting mining experience towards his mining skill.

Pretty quickly, Raphtalia got bored with watching Naofumi swing a pickaxe at ore again and again and she started to look around for something of interest. "Hmmm?" After a few seconds of looking, she noticed tracks on the ground. They looked like they came from a monster.

"Footprints?" She followed the footprints with her gaze. '_I know master said there were monsters in here, but I haven't seen any since we walked in… they look small...'_

"Hmmm." Naofumi picked up one of the pieces of ore to examine it. His screen identified it as Light Metal Ore. High-quality ore too, no doubt another benefit of his pickaxe shield. And he found out in the description that the metal itself held magic properties. '_So that's why it's glowing… you know, I might not be much of a fighter, but damn, I could be good for a lot of other things to bring in money.'_ He thought, finally feeling a little more upbeat after how easy it was to mine the ore.

"Hey Raphtalia, let's try a little further in and see what else we can find-" He said while pocketing the ore, but he stopped speaking when he noticed Raphtalia looking up at something in fear.

'_No, there's no way!'_ Raphtalia thought fearfully in her mind.

"Raphtalia-"

**Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom...**

Loud footsteps sounded, and Naofumi turned to see what Raphtalia was seeing. As he watched, a large two-headed dog monster lumbered out from the shadows of the cavern. Much larger than the footprints on the ground indicated it to be. Its body was easily over three quarters the height of Naofumi, and the long snarling drooling dog heads elongated enough to make it look like a giant compared to Naofumi.

Naofumi's eyes widened at the sight. '_What kind of monster is that!?'_ He thought, being completely caught off guard by it.

**BathumpBathumpBathump!...**

Raphtalia's heart started to beat faster in her chest. Looking at the two-headed Cerberus dog, she saw flashes of the three-headed one that killed her parents in between each heartbeat.

"Raphtalia! We need to run!"

Her fear consumed her in its terrible presence. She got that feeling again, that feeling of being powerless. Stronger than when she'd had to face the pill rabbit. This time it was all-consuming.

"Raphtalia!"

"Noooooo!" She yelled in fear, hunching over where she stood.

At her scream, the Cerberus dog roared and charged forward. Murderous intent gleaming in its eyes. Raphtalia didn't even bother to take out her sword. She was going through so much pain already in her mind. What more could its teeth possibly do?

"Raphtalia!" Right before the Cerberus dog could bite into her, Naofumi grabbed Raphtalia and jumped off the ledge down past the waterfall towards the water below. Raphtalia kept her eyes closed in absolute fear, even as she and Naofumi slammed into the water.

Seconds later, Naofumi broke the surface, pulling Raphtalia back above the water so she could breathe.

"Lasso Rope!"

A thing of rope shot out from his shield, latching around a rock on another ledge. He used the leverage to pull himself and a coughing Raphtalia from the water up to one of the cavern walls. '_And to think I thought it'd be useless earlier.'_

"Raphtalia! What happened there!? Why are you freaking out!?" He asked her.

Raphtalia coughed again. Her eyes were shut tight. "Dog, dog monster." She said fearfully. "One of them killed all the villagers back home... even my mother and father." She cried. In her mind, she was reliving that memory all over again. It hurt so much more than her nightmares.

There was only one possible explanation that came to Naofumi's mind. "During the first wave, huh?" He asked.

She gave him a sad nod. Naofumi's eyes softened, staring down at her limp form. '_So that's what happened to her parents...'_

It wasn't the Capital that'd done it. It was because of the waves...

Suddenly, up above, the dog creature barked in excitement as it jumped from a nearby ledge to another. It was getting closer to where the end of Naofumi's rope was. '_No!'_ He thought in slight fear. _'Raphtalia's in no shape to fight that thing! I have to get us out of here!'_

He hurriedly pulled them the rest of the way up to the ledge. He'd hoped to be able to run for it, but right as he climbed up the monster jumped onto the ledge opposite them. Blocking their only escape route out. _'Damn!'_ Naofumi thought with frustration.

Up above in the shadows, a man in black robes holding a magic orb recording the event for Altara watched the spectacle unfolding down below. "Yes, yes. It's all going according to plan." He said to himself happily. He set the orb on a stand and rubbed his hands in anticipation for the show going on down below.

As the Cerberus dog approached, Naofumi saw a purple arrow instead of a red arrow pointing down at it. He remembered while reading through the help guide that kind of arrow signified a boss monster. It was a lot higher level than the normal monsters in an area, and it was a lot stronger to boot at level 15. A big, growling mound of teeth and muscles.

'_I'm only level 6, and so is Raphtalia… but I have no choice. Raphtalia and I have to fight this thing if we want to get out of here alive.'_ He thought.

"Is that the same monster that killed your parents?" He asked for clarification.

"No." She answered.

"Then listen Raphtalia. I need you to take that thing out here and now." He said determinedly.

"Huh?" She was in such a state of fear, she assumed Naofumi had to have said something else. He hadn't been suggesting that-

"If you fight this creature right now and make me stronger, we'll fend off the Waves of Catastrophe together and make sure the tragedy that happened to you will never happen to any other kid again," Naofumi said, his voice sounding determined even though he was afraid on the inside.

Raphtalia looked at him. Her fear was still quite evident on her face. '_No, master can't be suggesting that. He can't be suggesting we fight this dog monster!'_ She thought, her body starting to go into a full-blown panic attack.

"Face it Raphtalia, your parents aren't coming back." His words hit her like a battering ram and hurt far worse. "But we can prevent other kids from going through what you experienced." He took a fighting stance. "You can do it! I know you can! And what I'm capable of doing is making sure you have the skills to fight as best you can!" He yelled, charging bravely at the dog monster with his rope shield still on his arm.

The dog monster growled as it also charged. The two met in the middle, with Naofumi blocking its charge and one of its heads with his shield. With him busy blocking the one head though, the other one came down over his shield and bit into his shoulder. "Augh!" Blood spurted out from the bite wound area, and Naofumi yelled in pain as the dog head's strong jaws tightened their grip.

Up above, the man in the black robes started to smile more widely. "Yes, yes. Yell in pain devil of the shield. It'll be the last time you ever get to." He said to himself happily. '_Oh, the Pope is going to be so happy when he sees this!'_ He thought to himself.

Raphtalia stayed standing in her spot, looking torn as to what to do. She wanted to protect her master, but she couldn't bring herself to face this monster. '_I, I can't do anything! I'm stuck! Mother! Father!'_ She thought in fear inside her mind.

"Raphtalia, you've got to kill it!" Naofumi said, grimacing in pain as the dog head didn't let go of his shoulder. "Grab your sword and kill this thing! Do it now!"

Raphtalia fell to her knees, still gasping from the panic attack she was suffering from. "I, I can't." She said fearfully.

"Augh!" She looked away when more blood from Naofumi spurted onto the ground from the dog monster tightening its grip. He yelled in pain again.

'_I, I can't.'_

"Raphtalia, if I die, you're gonna die too." He said, deciding not to sugarcoat his words. He had no time to beat around the bush. He had to get Raphtalia to see logic. He had to get her to fight if they wanted to live!

"Please no!" She yelled, still looking away fearfully.

"Then hurry up and kill it!" He grimaced, but not from the pain. It was because of what he was about to do. He had no choice. "That's an order. Do it now!"

"AUGHHHH!" Raphtalia screamed in pain as her slave crest flared up once again. It felt more painful this time than all the other previous times because of how unwilling she was to fight the dog monster, and because it was being compounded with the pain of the memories she was still experiencing. The memories that kept her in her panic attack. She bent over, the pain being too much. The suffering was too much.

The memory of the Cerberus dog biting through her mom raced across her eyes. The angry-looking wave up above swirling violently as the people who'd loved her the most were torn apart…

Raphtalia looked back up. Tears freely flowing down her face. Gasping in pain, but being unable to move. She couldn't shake the three-headed Cerberus dog eating her parents from her mind. '_I can't do anything. Even now, I'm still weak and useless.'_

It was too much. It was all too much. She looked dejectedly down at the ground. '_I'm sorry, mother and father.'_

Naofumi saw it. The look of trauma on her face. The way how this was hurting her in ways he couldn't even begin to imagine... It hurt him more than the dog monster was hurting him.

He couldn't make her do this.

"Alright then." He said, turning to face the dog again. "Just forget it!"

Raphtalia gasped in shock, and the slave crest stopped glowing purple. "If you can't fight then get the hell out of here!" He ordered.

"But, but what will you do Master?" She asked, her voice still sounding scared.

"I'll buy time for you to escape." He said, his voice sounding resigned to his coming fate. '_At least if I die, she won't have to suffer alongside me for the coming months. She could escape, get rid of her slave mark, and live a free life. The medicine and other treatments have cured her illness, so she could be okay on her own until the waves arrive.'_

"What? No..." Raphtalia's tears fell faster from her eyes. Her master's words and tone of voice hit her in such a way that the slave crest never could. "Then that'd be just…" She saw her parents in front of her, the three-headed Cerberus dog approaching. "Just like my parents." She was falling back down that cliff, looking up at her parents smiling faces.

"Hurry up, run!" Naofumi yelled in pain.

"Master, I can't." She said, also sounding in pain. Pain that came from her being torn in two.

"Argh!" Again, she had to look away as more blood spurted onto the ground from the dog biting Naofumi's shoulder. Naofumi yelled in pain again.

"I can't do this!"

The memory of her parents' deaths was overrun by different memories. More recent memories. The time her and Naofumi were on the side of the street in Lute, with him giving her a treat from one of the shopkeepers. Then the time he hid a smile after he gave her a ball he'd made for her as a gift. Finally, she saw the two of them at night. With him comforting her after going through her latest nightmare.

"You can count on me to protect you Raphtalia. Even when I don't show it, even when I act like a total jerkface to you, just know that I want to protect you." She had been woken up by him embracing her tightly, and she'd heard him. And he was doing that now. He was willing to die by this dog monster if it meant protecting her.

"No." She saw blackness, with her parents waving goodbye to her as they walked away. As much as that hurt, she saw Naofumi take their place. He waved goodbye to her and started to walk away. And that hurt her more.

"Don't leave me!" She yelled after him, and yet he kept on walking. Slowly fading away into the dark parts of her mind.

"Please don't leave me!" Raphtalia yelled, running forward in her mind. Her hands reached out for him, trying to stop him. "No! Please!"

In the real world, she got her sword at the ready. '_No!'_ Then she ran forward, jumping off the ledge high into the air with her sword held high. "Nooooooo!"

With a loud scream, and a well-aimed thrust, she buried her sword to the hilt into the head biting Naofumi's shoulder. Both dog heads roared in pain and the one head released Naofumi. For a split second she hung in the air, looking bewildered at what she'd done. _'I did it.'_

Her victory, however, was short-lived as it bucked her off, throwing her to the side. Raphtalia hit the ground sliding back, being pained from the impact. Her sword falling beside her.

The two-headed dog roared as it turned to face her, hatred burning in its eyes. She gasped in fright. '_No… that didn't, kill it…'_ She thought, fearing that this was the end.

The Cerberus dog pounced for her.

"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi yelled.

A large green translucent shield appeared in front of Raphtalia, and the monster plowed both heads first into it. They screeched in surprise and pain from hitting the unexpected barrier.

"Now Raphtalia!" Naofumi ordered, the shield disappearing.

Raphtalia got back up, gripping the shortsword with both hands. "Hahhhhh!" Raphtalia yelled as she thrust forward, and buried her sword into the center of the monster's chest.

Blood came spurting out in great clumps out of the wound as the monster's heart was destroyed. It screeched in agony one last time as it teetered on its two hind legs in the air... then it fell backwards onto the ground, limp and dead.

Raphtalia breathed in and out heavily. Once more, she was covered in blood from her hair to her legs. _'Is it… over…' _The experience notification popped up next to her face, telling her she'd just received 430 experience. Her level jumped from 6 to 9. '_It's… it's finally over.'_ She thought.

"Nice job kid." She looked up, and saw Naofumi gripping his arm under his hurt shoulder with a smile on his face. A similar experience notification came up in front of him, showing he had just received 340 experience. His level jumped from 6 to 8. "I knew you'd be able to do it."

Raphtalia stared in shock for a few seconds, then tears started flowing from her eyes again. Tears of relief. "Master-" She cried, running forward. "-Naofumi!" She finished, clutching Naofumi in a tight hug as she cried.

He gasped in pain again as Raphtalia continued to cry into his chest. "Careful, even with this shield's power this wound still hurts like hell." He said, grimacing in pain. But he rested a hand on the back of the crying girl's head.

"Promise me you won't ever die. Don't leave me alone Master Naofumi, please." She continued to cry into his chest.

'_She's chosen my name.'_ He thought calmly in his mind. It had been a while since she'd asked him what he preferred being called. And he honestly felt good about her using his name.

He continued to rub the back of her head with his left hand. "Raphtalia. I'm sorry I have to force you to do this. But as the Shield Hero, I can't wield any weapon on my own. That is why I need you to defeat these monsters for me. If you promise to attack, then I'll promise to defend. That way neither of us will ever have to worry about dying. You got me?" He asked calmly.

"Alright." She said quietly, her cries dying down.

'_There's our little girl.'_ She heard her mother's voice say proudly in her mind.

'_Good job Raphtalia. We're so proud of you.'_ She heard her father say next.

'_Make sure to take care of the Shield Hero for us.'_ She faintly heard her mother's voice say as her parents faded from her mind.

Raphtalia's tears slowed. For once, she felt peace in her heart about her parent's sacrifice for her. '_Thank you, mother, father.'_

"We'll get out of here once I feed this monster to my shield," Naofumi said, not wanting to risk the chance of finding another monster like the Cerberus dog to find more ore.

"Okay, Master Naofumi." Raphtalia said. She didn't let go.

...

"Come on, get up." He told her.

"Just a little longer?" Raphtalia asked hesitantly.

Naofumi sighed but allowed her to continue hugging him. '_She just took on most of her trauma head-on and came out on top. I think I can allow her a moment more to put herself together.'_

...

* * *

Up above, the black-robed man was still staring down below in shock. "What the hell." He muttered to himself. Still trying to process what had just happened.

Eventually, he slammed a fist on the ground beside him. "Lady Altara said the demi-girl's parents were killed by a dog monster like that! She shouldn't have been able to overcome her trauma and kill it! The plan should have been fool proof!" He said angrily to himself.

"I daresay, I thought the Church of the Three Heroes was filled with nothing but fools." A voice spoke calmly behind him.

The Church Shadow's eyes widened at being discovered, but before he could turn a blade went through his chest. He stared down at the red covered blade in shock, a gurgle escaping his mouth as the paralysis poison kept him from screaming out. "The Shield… he'll still… be hunted… whether I die… or not..." He quietly gurgled out. His eyes falling onto the crystal ball still resting on its stand. He'd die here today, but the Shield Demon would still be expunged, one way or another.

"Your compatriots in the Capital never got the message." The voice whispered in his ear. "I switched out your crystal ball with a fake before the fight started."

The man's dying eyes widened in realization. '_Then my death… was in… vain…' _His eyes slumped into the back of his head, and the shadow pulled her blade out of the man. He fell with a wet **thunk** onto the ground, dead as a doornail.

"And good riddance." The shadow said calmly, cleaning her blade off on the man's clothes.

The shadow looked down from high up above at the Shield Hero, quietly embracing the demi-human girl to him. The shadow retained a look of calm despite the heartfelt situation. "I shall dispatch of the other operatives of the Three Heroes Church in the immediate area. I daresay the Shield Hero has earned himself a short reprieve before the Capital or the Church learns of his whereabouts and attempts to intervene." She spoke to herself.

Again, one second she was there, and the next she disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

"With all the cash we made off that ore, you can eat all you want."

The table between Naofumi and Raphtalia was full of different dishes. There was all sorts of bread, veggies, fruits, cheeses, and meats to choose from along with sauces to dip food in.

"Thank you," Raphtalia said happily, before taking a bite of what she had on her plate.

Naofumi stared glumly down at his plate as she started to eat. His right shoulder was all bandaged up, and his cloak was off to the side for the moment. It hurt to have that thing over his shoulder. To ward off any suspicious stares, he'd turned his legendary shield into the **Light Metal Shield** he'd gotten after absorbing some of the light metal ore. Apparently it was supposed to increase his defense against magic, which he figured might come in handy down the road. But for now, it looked normal enough on his arm to not appear out of place.

He tested out a bite, hoping what had happened in the cavern was enough to allow him to be able to taste again. But unfortunately, the food was as bland as ever. _'So much for buying all this food if I can't even taste it.'_

...

Naofumi still felt bad. Even though they had both lived and made it back to Lute Village safely, he couldn't help but think that it was all his fault. He had been so focused on wanting to get some valuable ore. Ore that turned out not to be as valuable as Raphtalia was. Not because it was worth more than what he'd bought Raphtalia for, which it had come darn close to doing, but it was because Raphtalia was starting to become more valuable than money ever would be.

Even after being exposed to some of her worst trauma, she was smiling and eating away happily as if she had no cares in the world. It made him feel even more guilty that he'd tried to force her to face that trauma head-on. If he had destroyed this little girl's perception of life because of his selfish desire to live... '_I'd be no better than that redheaded bitch…'_ He thought again.

Naofumi looked back down at his plate. His head hanging down. He didn't realize that Raphtalia had been looking at him the last few seconds instead of eating.

"Master Naofumi."

Naofumi looked up from his bland meal down at the young version of Raphtalia. She paused in her eating and was smiling widely for him. "No matter what happens, we're going to survive. Together." She said happily with determination.

…

"Of course we are." He replied in an emotionless tone. _'Even now… after forcing her to fight that monster… she still wants to stay with me?...'_

It almost brought tears to his eyes. Tears that he managed to hold back. '_I'll just have to see what happens down the road...'_

Thinking on it a little more, he grabbed the little flag that had been on her meal and poked a finger into some red sauce. Raphtalia looked in childlike curiosity at him. "Hmmm?"

"Here, a kids lunch isn't complete." He said after he dabbed a little red dot on the center of the white square of paper. "Without this." He said, before showing her it.

"Huh?" She said confusedly.

Naofumi almost smiled at her childlike curiosity. It really was so much better seeing her look like a kid than like an abused child. "You see Raphtalia. This is the flag I have back at home where I'm from." He started to explain to her. "To me, it represents that no matter where I go or what I do, I'll still have a family, friends, loved ones… a home to return to. It helps me to remember that I have a reason to continue living despite the hell the world puts me through. That no matter what happens, everything will be fine since I know there's one place in the world where I'm accepted. A home."

He gave it to her. She looked in childlike wonder at it, again almost causing Naofumi to smile. Almost. The good memories he had of a home might have helped out a little bit.

"Why such a simple flag?" She asked.

His almost-smile turned into a frown. "Hey, that flag also represents the rising of the sun in my world." He said defensively.

"It looks like all you did was dab a red circle on a piece of white paper. "Raphtalia giggled to herself.

Naofumi's frown deepened. The look on his face only caused Raphtalia's giggles to turn into childlike laughs. He rolled his eyes and looked glumly down at his tasteless food. "It's not like a flag here would be any better." He muttered to himself as he raised another piece of the bland tasting meat to his mouth.

"Master Naofumi?"

The bite of food was left hanging below his mouth, and he sighed. "Yes, Raphtalia?" He asked as he set it back down on his plate.

She was smiling again and holding the flag close to herself like a treasured possession. "One day, we'll have a flag of our own raised up somewhere. That way, no matter where we are in this world, no matter how many waves you have to fight, you'll have a place you can call home Master Naofumi." She said brightly.

Naofumi stared at Raphtalia for a long moment. Studying her expression to see if there was any hint of her lying to him or not. He briefly wondered if she'd say the same thing if she knew how they were outcasts at that moment. That if the Capital were to capture them, then the chances of them being separated and stripped of everything except their lives, if they were merciful, was about 100%. But the happy look on her smiling face kept him from doing so. In fact, it helped him to picture a future like that being possible for them. At least, one day after this was all over.

A small smile appeared on Naofumi's lips. "Maybe."

"Are you smiling Master Naofumi?" She asked.

"Eat up Raphtalia. Otherwise, your food will get cold."

Raphtalia's eyes widened in surprise before looking down at the food she had almost forgotten. After being spoiled the way she had with nice warm food, she didn't want to be reminded of the cold tasteless food she had to eat while she was a slave. With gusto, she went to devouring whatever was on her side of the table.

Naofumi's small smile stayed on his face. _'You know, maybe I don't need a whole kingdom to approve of me... I'd be just happy with her approval.'_ He thought somewhat happily... up until he finally took a bite of his meal.

His expression soured again. _'Damn, why can't I taste anything!?'_

…

"Excuse me, are you Naofumi?" A familiar deep voice asked.

Naofumi looked up and froze in his spot. The girl opposite him continued eating, though her ears twitched with curiosity at the newcomer's voice. '_Oh hell…'_

Up above, the same burly village guard that had taken the toll from him to enter the village was standing by him. "Depends on who's asking?" Naofumi replied blandly, though he was tightening up in the case that he needed to fight.

The guard must have noticed this because he took a seat in the table behind Naofumi. He held up his hands to show he wasn't holding any weapons. "Only a simple friend of Erhard's that owes him a favor." The guard whispered.

…

Naofumi was still prepped to launch himself at the guard if need be, but he nodded his head to the guard. "Yes, I'm Naofumi."

"Good. I thought it was you when you first arrived, but I wasn't sure." He said quietly, glancing to the girl to make sure she was busy eating. "What went down in the coal mines was an attempt by the Church of the Three Heroes to dispose of you." He cut straight to the point.

"... What?" Naofumi asked, not expecting to hear that.

"I talked to one of my friends who overheard one of the Church's Agents in town. And apparently, the Agent helped a Church Shadow lead the dog monster you faced into the caverns yesterday. They thought you and the little demi-human would never be able to kill it for some reason. We're glad you did though. It killed most of the other monsters inside before you killed it, so the townsfolk should be able to get back to mining again."

Naofumi's eyes widened down at his plate. It was like he hadn't heard the good news about the dog monster being killed. "Where are they?" Naofumi kept the venom out of his tone, so as to not make Raphtalia worry about his quiet conversation.

"The Church Shadow that was supposed to report in the results was found dead in the mines." Again, Naofumi was surprised. "The three Church Agents in town were found dead by one of my patrols on the side of the road. All of them were poisoned. It wasn't by me or any of my guards. However, that means you'll have only a couple of days before the Church gets suspicious and sends more agents or a battalion of knights to investigate." The guard continued to whisper. "By then, you'll have to be long gone since they'll likely pin their murders on you."

The guard smiled up at a waiter who approached, and made light chat while ordering his meal. Naofumi continued to stare down at his plate. '_They… they know about Raphtalia…'_ He looked up across from him at the happy carefree girl. '_They knew what her trauma was! They not only wanted to kill me, but also HER!'_ He thought, his mind boiling with rage. It was bad enough they wanted him killed, but to want to kill someone as sweet and innocent as Raphtalia...

Raphtalia continued to eat happily, having been so focused on her food that she didn't hear the quiet conversation. Naofumi had to cap down on his growing rage and promises of giving those in the Church a violent end quickly before it showed on his face. He waited to speak until after the waiter walked away. "What do you recommend we do?" He asked.

The guard looked back to him. "I'd stay here a day more, and then continue to lay low out in the forest. Only go into towns when you need supplies until the next wave. Wait for that demi-human girl to grow up some and change in appearance so she isn't recognized if you have to. Even the Capital Knights will think twice before going into some of the areas around us, so it should give you plenty of time to hide out till the next wave if you keep moving around." The guard whispered, discreetly handing Naofumi a map.

Naofumi looked deep in thought. "Do you know when the next wave is?" Naofumi asked quietly.

The guard thought on it. "Erhard was lucky to overhear it from one of the heroes who came into his shop. Apparently, it's about twenty-four days from today." He replied back quietly.

The guard proceeded to take his food from the waiter and made small talk with the waiter again. Naofumi looked back down at his plate. Feeling like a thousand bricks had just been placed on his back again. The waiter eventually moved on, and the guard got up, carrying his food to go with him back to his post. "Good luck, sir Shield Hero." He whispered quietly before walking past.

...

Raphtalia finally looked up from her food. "Who was that Master Naofumi, and what were you two whispering about?" She asked.

Naofumi glanced back up from his plate. "It was a friend of Erhard's. We were only discussing grown-up stuff." He said blandly.

'_Twenty-four days to disappear and strengthen up for the next wave… I wish I could just say to hell with it and not participate, but if Raphtalia's home was destroyed by a wave before she was enslaved, then I can't stand idly by and allow other innocent people to become victims like her!'_ He thought determinedly. So even though his food had no taste to it, he forced himself to continue eating. If only to give himself the energy he needed to continue to fight.

"You're right Raphtalia. We're going to survive, no matter what's thrown our way." Naofumi said boldly.

_'Because I'll be damned if I don't go down against the Capital or the waves without a fight.'_

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Yeah, this last part here took a little after what I did in my fic "A Fresh Start." I liked what I did there so much, I took some of it and tailored it for the situation. I especially wanted to capture the moment in this here with more detail because of how crucial it turned out to be to Raphtalia's development as a character. So I hope you all enjoyed it, and have a great evening!**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	7. 7: Time For Some New Equipment

**Almost wondered if I'd get around to this today or not. I'm just feeling a little tired, and I'm a little disappointed because of my roommate. Still, I know there's a bunch of you looking forward to this, and since we passed the 300 Follower milestone today I decided to suck it up and publish this chapter for all of you! Hope you all enjoy it!**

**To answer a few of the reviews. It was never explained in the anime or the Novels (as far as I'm aware) why he lost his taste. Or how because Raphtalia chose to believe him and made him see that she believed him, he regained his sense of taste. Whatever the case, it's too late to back out now.**

**Also, I know the guest's reference from the Light Novel. I'm not quite planning that far in advance. I do know that I have ideas for Siltvelt though. And they're most likely not what you'd think. However, that won't be coming into play until much later.**

**Finally, to the one guest reviewer who asked if he could publish this story on Wattpad. I already sent a response via Wattpad. Just in case, I said no in polite terms.**

* * *

**Since Last Time:**_ 26 more Favorites, 32 more Followers (Total: 264 Favorites, 303 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _September 9th, 2019 6:20 P.M._

* * *

**Chapter Seven:** _Time for some new Equipment_

* * *

_Three Weeks Later_

…

...

"W-Wait!"

Naofumi groaned while sitting down on a large rock surrounded by tall green grass.

"Come back here!" Raphtalia yelled somewhere nearby.

'_When was the last time I slept in a decent bed... or ate a decent warm meal?'_ He thought tiredly. Three weeks of living it out in the wild had definitely taken their toll on Naofumi. Even with the good camping gear he'd bought before leaving Lute Village a while back, one could only endure night after night of camping under the stars for so long. Not to mention, there was him and Raphtalia constantly being on the move wherever they went, alongside the constant grinding of monsters.

One could only kill balloons, Mush, pill rabbits, PikyuPikyu, living plant life, poisonous creatures, and so many other monsters... While also being on the run, avoiding Capital Soldiers and Church Shadows wherever they went. Finding good places to hide out, gather herbs, and hunt monsters also proved to be time-consuming. Time that they couldn't afford to lose. Especially since the wave of Catastrophe was getting closer and closer.

Today, they were grinding outside someplace called Dragon Village. At least, that was what Raphtalia had called the place after she went in alone to sell their monster drops the day before. He had really hoped it wasn't called that because of the possibility of a dragon being in the area. Fortunately, as close to the mountains as they were, they hadn't seen one. Unfortunately, during their grinding, he had been attacked by a large, deadly, level 27 porcupine. (Think twice the size of the one in the anime)

Gritting his teeth, he pulled out the large porcupine needle from his bloodied right shoulder and put it into his shield. '_That thing was strong enough to even break through my high defense stat.'_ He thought, grimacing as his shield showed another option he had unlocked. The Animal Needle Shield. '_I let my guard down, and because of that I got hurt.'_ He hadn't gotten hurt since the Cerberus Dog in the mines. He should have never mistaken the porcupine to not be much of a threat.

"Master Naofumi! It's coming for you again!" Raphtalia yelled in the tall grass.

Naofumi looked up, and the large glowing red-eyed porcupine monster that attacked him earlier came charging out into the open area right in front of him. Seeing him, it screeched again and charged forward to attack Naofumi. Naofumi stood up, the shield on his arm changing into what was called the '**Pipe Shield.'**

"Shield Prison!" He yelled.

Suddenly, the large porcupine was surrounded by a series of plates and chains that formed a large green ball. It wasn't necessarily an attack skill, but it definitely helped him and Raphtalia out in their grinding. "Now Raphtalia!" He ordered.

"Hahhhh!" Raphtalia jumped from out of the tall grass nearby and brought her blade down right as the Shield Prison disappeared. The porcupine monster didn't stand a chance, and it died in a spray of blood all over the ground.

Naofumi allowed himself a small moment to smile before he grit his teeth again. He gripped his shoulder where he'd been wounded. '_Of course. Ten days after I finally took off all those bandages, and I get hurt in the same place.'_ He thought sarcastically, grumbling to himself. He was at least lucky to have the legendary shield's powers dull the pain and quicken his rate of healing. Though he wished he'd physically recover as fast as his HP gauge did.

An experience notification box popped up in front of him, saying he had just received 200 experience from the monster. His level also went up from 23 to 24 because of it. '_Oh well. At least we got stronger killing this thing.'_ He looked on the bright side.

"Master Naofumi! I did it!"

Naofumi finally looked back at Raphtalia, who looked very different than she had a couple of weeks ago. For one, she didn't look like a scared little kid anymore. Rather, at level 27, she looked more like a confident young adult. '_Erhard was right. It's like she changed overnight after increasing 3 levels that one day.'_ He thought to himself.

Besides the level change, Raphtalia had grown a shocking amount. She was up to his shoulders now instead of his gut. Her outfit was the same as the one she wore as a little kid. Thanks to the sewing skills he picked up from a shield (again, he had the thought that he was turning into some kind of butler), he'd managed to make the outfit a bigger size to fit her new more mature teenager form. Her tea-red eyes had also remarkably deepened in color and held a constant state of positive emotions.

Though he wouldn't admit out loud, she really was turning into a beautiful woman... _'Nope. Don't think of her that way. It's probably because I've been separated from other people for a long while.'_

He did, however, allow himself to feel a little pride. Seeing this former shy slave girl who feared the sight of blood proudly holding up the bloody porcupine carcass for him. '_Still, she really has come a long way. I'm proud of her.' _He grimaced again though from the pain he felt in his shoulder. '_But I think we're going to need new equipment if I'm going to be proud of her past the next wave.'_

Hearing his grunt of pain, Raphtalia finally took the chance to closely examine him with her eyes. "Master Naofumi! Why didn't you tell me the monster hurt you!?" She asked him angrily, dropping the porcupine monster to the side so she could use both hands to move the cloak and the beat-up cloth chainmail armor out of the way to better examine the new wound.

"It's fine. I can barely feel- ow!" He yelled at the end after Raphtalia poked the skin next to the wound. The shield might help to dull pain, but as he was as yet to check his status window, he didn't see that the needle of the porcupine had also given him a poison status effect. Making the flesh around his wound more susceptible to pain.

"Yeah right, and I'm sure that's why you screeched like a girl there." She said sarcastically, pulling out bandages and medical alcohol from her inventory. According to the status magic window, her master's HP bar hadn't dropped all that much. But he had a bleeding status effect on him that needed to be taken care of along with a poisoned status.

"I didn't screech like a girl, I was only yelling because of how hard you poked- holy hell!" He yelled at the end when Raphtalia rubbed some alcohol into the wound. Almost immediately after, the poison and bleed status effects disappeared from beside Naofumi's HP Bar in Raphtalia's stat window. It was cool that Naofumi had learned how to compound medical alcohol. Its description said it could heal any status effect... but it had to be applied to the affected area, and unfortunately, it still stung like hell on an open wound.

"Language master Naofumi. I swear you're acting like such a little kid with this wound." She said condescendingly, bandaging up his new wound after cleaning it.

"Who are you calling me a little kid?" Naofumi asked grumpily, though it was getting increasingly harder for him to deny that Raphtalia was the same little kid that he'd known before. Even as she matured physically, it was like her mind and emotions were growing at the same pace. In some ways, she proved to be more mature than he had been before coming to this world... Though, in his opinion, she still retained a lot of her immaturity.

"Master Naofumi, I am not a child anymore!" She said, standing up to pout at him childishly.

Case in point.

"Sure, and your current actions are really helping you out." Naofumi pointed out sarcastically.

"But I'm not a child!" Raphtalia again yelled angrily. Naofumi would have smirked if it wasn't for the fact that his wound still felt like hell. "And besides, I think it's about time we got you some new equipment Master Naofumi!"

"I was thinking maybe it'd be better if we upgraded your sword again and got you some armor since I have-" He was saying, trying to point out the fact that she still didn't have armor yet, and that he still had his cloth chainmail he'd gotten in the beginning.

"Master Naofumi, it's time you took care of yourself first for once! That cloth chainmail is so beat up, even that weak porcupine monster was able to burst through it! If a monster that weak was able to hurt you, how will you survive the wave in three days?!" She asked, getting into his face.

"But I'll be fine, I'm more worried about-" He tried to say.

"Master Naofumi." One of her fingers almost poked his nose as she stared down at him seriously. "Stop messing around with your life." Raphtalia pulled out the sword she had gotten from Dragon village. It was a long sharp blade made from magic iron, with a grip made from dragon scales (according to the blacksmith she'd purchased it from). "Or you will die!" She said, the blade of her sword shifting diagonally to reflect Naofumi's soul on it.

Naofumi stared at her with wide eyes. '_I… I don't know whether she's getting rude, or if she's learning to assert herself more. Either way, it's working.'_ He thought, finally giving in. "Okay, okay. I'll go to the village with you this time. But my identity still needs to be hidden at all costs." He said seriously.

That had been the main thing working to his advantage so far. The guard from Lute had been right. The Church had known what Raphtalia looked like as a small child. They hadn't known what she'd look like as a young adult. Or that she even looked like a young adult now. She'd been able to enter a town whenever they came close to one to sell the monster drops they didn't need, buy supplies they were in need of, gather information about what was happening in the kingdom (turned out, the town guard Captain had also been right in that the deaths of those Church Agents in Lute Village had been blamed on Naofumi) and any other errand he felt needed to be done when they were in an area. Although, there was a rather unnerving discovery that came with that. Apparently, she was a better salesman than he was. She could sell whatever they collected at a higher price than anyone else just by looking 'cute.'

'_Based on what she tells me it's like she has shopkeepers falling heads over heels to do business with her without her having to so much as lift a finger. What are they, a bunch of lolicons?'_ He thought. It was still tough to picture the girl in front of him without seeing the little girl he had known only a few weeks ago. He also felt slightly guilty because he still hadn't filled Raphtalia in on his reasons for wanting to remain anonymous. He always put it off with the excuse: "When you're older, I'll tell you."

Raphtalia gave a happy nod, and her tail started wagging happily behind her at winning a stubborn contest with her master. "Great! I'll pack up the campsite so we can spend the night in the village!" She said happily, running off to where they had been camping at.

"Wait, Raphtalia-" He tried to yell after her that he was okay with camping, but she had already disappeared into the forest. He groaned to himself and laid back on the grassy ground. '_She even retains the energy of a kid.'_ He thought tiredly.

He knew he couldn't complain when she got back. It was actually a good idea for him to rest up in an inn before the wave struck. He could use a little time to actually sleep on a nice soft mattress. Especially now that he had another wound he had to heal up from. '_This makes me wish that I could just heal it with magic or some potion.'_ He thought bitterly. '_I'm getting better at medicine and first aid. But it isn't enough. Not if I want to survive...'_

…

After a little while, Raphtalia came running back. Looking as energetic and happy as ever. "Come on Master Naofumi!" She yelled happily, pulling him back up off the ground.

He grimaced in pain again from the wound. "Careful Raphtalia." He said through gritted teeth.

"Oops, I'm sorry Master Naofumi!"

He sighed, covering his face in a soft facepalm. "Just don't call me by my name in town." He muttered quietly.

"You got it Master Naofumi!" She replied happily.

"Ugh…"

…

* * *

_About an hour later_

After paying the toll to the town guardsman Naofumi and Raphtalia entered into the small humble abode of Dragon Village. The sun was high up in the sky, and Naofumi had his cape wrapped around himself along with a green hood he'd made over his head to hide his face. '_I seriously can't believe I'm doing this…'_ He thought to himself.

"And that over there is where the shopkeeper who gave me all that free food lives. And over there is the bathhouse that has the best lotions I've ever felt in my life." Raphtalia was telling Naofumi excitedly, pointing from building to building as they walked.

Naofumi sniffed himself and grimaced. That had been another downside of camping for so long. Cold rivers without soap could only do so much to clean oneself. '_I'd stop by the bathhouse, but it'd have to be a private session if I wanted to keep my identity hidden.'_ He thought.

"Do they allow people to bathe privately in there?" He asked Raphtalia.

"Oh yeah! I didn't trust some of the men eyeing me when I first entered, so I got a room all for myself!" She responded happily.

'_Great, what are the odds that they were also lolicons. Probably 100%.'_ He thought sarcastically.

"And over here is the blacksmith's shop where we're going first to order you some new armor!" Raphtalia said happily.

"Yay me." He replied back to her blandly.

"Come now master-" She remembered his order just in time to cut herself off. "So and so!" She said awkwardly. "I bet you'll love whatever it is you decide to get!" She finished happily.

"Sure, and hell will freeze over eventually." He muttered out loud.

Keeping a positive attitude, Raphtalia walked into the shop, dragging her master by the hand behind her. "Aye, if it ain't my new favorite customer!" A big burly man said behind the counter in an accent Naofumi had never heard before. "And what can I do for you today Miss!" He asked her happily with a big happy grin on his face.

'_Hmph, freaking lolicon.'_ Naofumi thought to himself.

"Oh, my friend here is in need of some new armor. His old armor is starting to break." Raphtalia said happily. "The problem is he's a little shy around other people and doesn't like them knowing who he is," Raphtalia said, smiling happily back at Naofumi.

'_If that doesn't scream suspicious, then I don't know what does.'_ He thought with a mental facepalm.

He was pleasantly surprised, however, when the blacksmith laughed jovially. "It's alright Miss. I've met me plenty of shy people in my lifetime. You can just take him to the dressing room yourself and take the required measurements for me if you want!" He said happily.

"As long as I do measurements for her too. She needs armor just as badly as me." Naofumi finally spoke blandly.

He could feel Raphtalia glaring into the side of his head, but the blacksmith continued to smile jovially. "Of course! I'd be happy to make some armor at a discount for the Miss any day!" He said happily.

Raphtalia beamed happily at the blacksmith. "You would!? Thank you so much, Jerry! I don't know how we could ever repay you!" She said happily.

"It's my pleasure Miss! It's not often I get adventurers like yourself to visit my establishment twice!" He said happily, gesturing over to the dressing rooms where they could get each other's measurements. "Especially ones who buy from me precious stock of custom made weapons!"

Naofumi entered the dressing room first. It was small, barely six by six feet. Raphtalia entered behind him and closed the curtain on them both. "You're so lucky my armor's coming at a discount." She said icily to him. "Otherwise there would have been no way it could have fit our budget."

"Seriously? Are we going to talk about this now?" Naofumi asked her quietly.

"Of course we are." She whispered back a little angrily. "You know we can't spend our money left and right. Especially with the wave being so close."

"But we have plenty because of the monster drops. And from me compounding medicine and crafting items." He pointed out. He got a huff from Raphtalia at that. "Besides, I already have a naturally high defense. All you have is attack and agility. I'd feel a little better if you had some armor too." He said back with a small amount of care in his tone.

"I appreciate the concern Master Naofumi." Raphtalia didn't sound angry anymore. "But I'd also feel better knowing you could handle yourself should you be surrounded by monsters that are stronger than that porcupine."

Naofumi sighed. "Let's just call a compromise and get on with it." She suggested as she pulled out the measuring tape (not the modern kind that's all rolled up in a mechanical device, but a thing of wound up rope with lines etched into it) the blacksmith had given her and got to work.

"Sure, like you're totally giving me something in return for doing this against my will." He muttered dryly.

Raphtalia fumed behind him. "Just, drop the cloak and armor. Otherwise, the measurements will be too big." She ordered.

Naofumi took off the cloak and chainmail cloth without thinking too much about the changes his body had gone through because of the last few weeks. After all, it wasn't like there was too much of him that was appealing to begin with because of his former life as an otaku… at least, that's what he thought until he noticed Raphtalia hadn't moved behind him. "Raphtalia is everything-" He was asking as he turned around.

Raphtalia was red in the face staring at him with eyes wide. Her breathing had also gotten rugged, and her eyes were narrowed to slits. Naofumi's eyes widened a little bit in surprise at the sudden way she was acting. "Raphtalia-" He tried to speak.

She snapped out of whatever trance she was in. "Turn back around! I wasn't finished!" Raphtalia suddenly ordered him loudly. The red in her cheeks took on a brighter hue if that was even possible.

"But-" Naofumi tried to say.

"Is everything okay in there Miss?" Jerry the blacksmith asked from the counter.

"Yes! Everything's perfectly okay!" Raphtalia yelled back, her voice sounding a little higher than normal. "Now turn back around!" She ordered Naofumi loudly as she grabbed him forcefully by the shoulders and turned him around.

'_YEOWWWW!' _He thought as Raphtalia's gripped his wound hard accidentally.

Raphtalia realized what she'd done a second too late. "I'm sorry! Are you okay?!" She asked frantically.

"Never better." Naofumi gritted out as he stayed facing away. Not wanting to risk her having to do something like that again. "Just get on with it." '_What the hell is up with her today? First, she overreacts when I get injured, then she gets snippy with me about a budget, and now she was… hell, I don't even know what she was doing there.'_ He thought. The feeling he had got from it though was the feeling that prey got when they were being stared down by a predator. '_Maybe I'm just overthinking it. This is Raphtalia I'm talking about here.'_ He thought, trying his best to stay calm.

Raphtalia quickly went through the various measurements, muttering "I'm sorry." every now and then. After she was done, she turned around so Naofumi could measure her. He tried not to imagine it, but even with her facing away it still felt like she was blushing really hard. '_Seriously, what the hell is up with Raphtalia?'_ He thought to himself.

'_... I never realized how muscled he'd gotten underneath all that cloak and armor.'_ Raphtalia thought embarrassed to herself. She never would have thought how his hitting on balloons again and again while she took down regular monsters during their grinding would make what had started out as a lanky frame actually gain some texture. Not enough that he'd ever look like a bodybuilder. But rather enough that he now appeared fit, appealing... and attractive-

Raphtalia's face burned a brighter red. '_Oh no! I can't be thinking about that here! Then it might lead to us kissing, and then… then I'll get pregnant! And then things will get really complicated between me and Master Naofumi!'_

She tried to think of other calming thoughts. Not on the fact that Naofumi was carefully measuring her without a second thought.

Eventually, the two walked out of the dressing room. Naofumi had his armor, cloak, and hood back on. Raphtalia's face was still a light red from the aftereffects of all the blushing and measurements, but at least she had managed to calm herself down now.

"Did everything go okay in there Miss?" The blacksmith asked quizzically, seeing how awkward it looked between them.

"Oh yes, everything went great Jerry! Here are the measurements we took of each other!" She said quickly before telling Jerry their measurements. The blacksmith wrote down the numbers on a piece of paper.

When he was done, Jerry looked over it. "Hmmm, I don't think I have any inventory matching up to this… and I'm afraid I don't have all the materials needed to make armor for the levels you two have attained." Raphtalia's ears fell as some of her excitement disappeared. "But I do have a friend and fellow blacksmith who might." He said to himself.

Raphtalia's excitement came back all at once. "Really?! Where is this blacksmith?!"

"Oh, he lives back in the Capital!" Jerry said jovially.

...

'_There's no freaking way…' _"Let me guess, is his name Erhard?" Naofumi dryly asked.

"Why yes, it is!" Jerry responded happily.

'_Great… just great…'_ Naofumi thought to himself.

"Um, Jerry? Is there anywhere else you could think of where my friend and I could go to get some armor?" Raphtalia asked kindly.

"Not anywhere that you wouldn't be able to arrive in time before the coming of the next wave for you and your Shield Hero friend Miss," Jerry said. He gave a wink to the shocked Naofumi who sputtered at having been found out so easily. "Of course I knew who you were lad! I saw the way you matched Erhard's description the moment you walked through the door! Cold fierce eyes on the lankiest frame you could ever lay your eyes on!" He said, giving Naofumi a slap on the back that would have felled a normal person that didn't have a high defense stat as he gave a belly aching laugh. "Don't ya worry though, I ain't about to sell out the Shield Hero for anything! Especially after what my buddy Erhard told me!"

"Oh, um, what did he tell you-" Raphtalia tried to ask, still not having a clue about what was going on with Naofumi. Other than that one night she remembered gripping tightly to him as she heard loud yelling behind them, and a few vague conversations she'd accidentally eavesdropped on while in other villages or when overhearing travelers and Knights on the roads.

"It's nothing." Naofumi quickly cut her off, drawing a curious glance from Jerry and a hurt expression from Raphtalia. "Look, do we really have no other choice?" He asked. He was seriously wondering in his mind why he wasn't grabbing Raphtalia and running out the door. This person knew who he was! He'd overheard enough conversations the past three weeks between random travelers while hiding to piece together that his reputation, if he'd had one to begin with, had been ruined left and right by the Capital.

Jerry shook his head. "I wish there was laddy, but because of my lack of inventory, and with how high a level you two have already achieved, the only way you could get gear best suited for you would be to either go back to the Capital or travel to one of the other major cities farther than three days away that stocks gear suited to your level." He responded. "And though it pains my pride as a blacksmith, there's no one I'd trust more to make armor for a hero than my good buddy Erhard."

Naofumi sighed. '_I guess we couldn't always count on the small towns to have everything we'd need to survive.'_ "Fine, I guess since we don't have much of a choice. Is there a way we could sneak into the Capital to get to Erhard's shop?" Naofumi asked.

Jerry put a hand to his chin in thought. "There is one way, but you're probably not going to like it, lad," Jerry replied.

"What are you thinking of?" Naofumi asked, already dreading his decision not to run as soon as this blacksmith showed he knew who he was. Then again, he hadn't run to warn the town guard, so maybe he could be a little trustworthy...

* * *

_A few hours later_

"He was right, I don't like this plan at all," Naofumi said grumpily. He was already regretting trusting the blacksmith. Though to be honest, it was because of the sideways look Raphtalia had given him after he was told the plan that made him agree to it. Honestly, that girl could be damn scary when she needed to be.

"At least he made this crate big enough to fit the both of us Master Naofumi," Raphtalia said queasily next to him in the darkness where the only light came from small holes drilled in the sides around the sides of the crate. Sure, the crate was four feet tall, six feet long, and six feet wide. Even though he couldn't stand up, he could at least sit comfortably. "Although, you kind of stink." She admitted.

"Is it my fault we didn't get a chance to go by the bathhouses before we left?" Naofumi asked. '_Or the other shops, or the warm bed of the inn…'_ He thought longingly in his mind. He hoped the hardwood of the crate didn't make his body sorer than it already felt.

"He did give us an hour before he was going to personally deliver his latest shipment of rare monster drops and ores to Erhard." Raphtalia pointed out.

"Well, I was hungry for something that was hot and fresh that wasn't cooked by me," Naofumi said grumpily because of the fact that all their plans for how the day would go had changed… again.

"Even though you still couldn't taste it?" Raphtalia asked curiously.

And that was the other half of why he was so grumpy. "Don't remind me. I'm still disappointed by that." He muttered.

…

Raphtalia made gagging sounds next to him. "By the way, why are you feeling queasy?" He asked. "I can't smell that bad now." Though to be honest, he'd believe her if it was because of him.

"I've, never really been a fan of, carriage rides before." She said more slowly, sounding more nauseous than she had before. She was trying to keep herself from vomiting in the tight space the two of them occupied. A rough bump made her stomach flip, and he didn't know if it was just him or not but her face might have been turning green.

"You mean you get motion sickness?" He dryly asked. '_Glad to know that now. Who knows what would have happened if we discovered this down the road.' _Naofumi thought as he then sighed and put an arm over Raphtalia's shoulders in the dark. Though he didn't see it, Raphtalia's face burned a bright red all over again, eliminating the green color that had been filling it. "Here, move your head here and focus in on the sound of my heart. Drown out everything else." He ordered her.

Almost hesitantly, Raphtalia leaned her head against Naofumi's chest. Soon, she was hearing the sound of Naofumi's heart beating rhythmically in her ears. Tuning out everything else, she found her queasiness starting to dissipate. "Why am I feeling less queasy now?" She asked curiously. The road didn't seem less bumpy than before.

"To explain, in my world, we have transportation similar to this. Though it's a lot more advanced. Still, I got just as queasy as you… but my mom helped me a lot when I was little. When we rode public transportation together, she'd seat me on her lap when and have me listen to her heartbeat. I found out that focusing on it helped me to not feel so queasy." Naofumi said, quietly reminiscing on his homeworld for a moment. "Eventually, I got used to it. And nowadays I don't get motion sickness anymore."

...

"Master Naofumi, why don't you talk much about the world you're from?" Raphtalia asked curiously.

"I have my reasons for it," Naofumi said dryly. It was his way of trying to cut off a potential subject.

"You mean like the reason you don't use your Air Strike shield all that often?" She asked.

…

Naofumi remained silent. She could feel the way his shoulders were tensed though. As if she had stepped on a painful subject. "It's okay Master Naofumi. If you don't want to talk about it, then I won't push it." She said quietly, closing her eyes to continue listening closely to the beating of his heart.

…

He looked down at her, feeling guilty for almost wanting to lash out at her if it meant her not bringing it up again. '_I want to tell her… but I…'_ It wasn't that he didn't trust her somewhat now. Sure the pessimistic part of his mind spoke up every now and then against her. But he couldn't deny that he didn't trust her more now than he did when he first met her. It was just… there was some things he'd rather not talk about. With anyone. He just wanted to forget about it and move on...

One of his hands moved to rub the back of her head in a soothing motion. It was his silent way of saying sorry to her. She didn't speak again, but he could feel her smiling against him. After another moment, he could tell that she had fallen asleep. And despite how uncomfortable the crate was, he felt his eyes getting droopy too.

'_I hope we both get to sleep in real beds soon. The last thing I need is to sleep on the ground somewhere again.'_ He thought tiredly to himself. '_Or in some tight compact crate.'_

…

* * *

_Shortly after sunset_

Naofumi suddenly woke up as he felt the crate he and Raphtalia were in getting picked up. The jerking motion from it also caused Raphtalia to jerk awake. "Wha-" She tried to ask groggily when his hand covered her mouth. Through the darkness, she looked up at him in surprise. If it was dark, that meant it was night outside. And though he couldn't see as well as she could in the darkness of the crate, he gave her a face that clearly told her to remain quiet. She nodded her head against his hand to let him know she understood. He took his hand away and they both listened to what was happening outside after their crate was set on the ground.

"Hey, I already told the guards at the front gate what I was carrying lad?! Who are you and your goons to stop me and take out all me precious cargo?!" Jerry the blacksmith asked.

"It's a royal decree to inspect everything that goes in and out of this city." Naofumi didn't recognize the second voice. He suspected it was a Capital Knight. "We're only following orders."

"Bullcrap! I don't remember hearing about any of this!" Jerry cursed angrily at the man. "They certainly didn't tell me no bull like that at the gate!"

"Oh, but the royal decree for it is right here." A familiar bitchy voice said.

Naofumi's blood ran cold, and his body tensed. '_There's no way… is my luck really that terrible?!'_

Raphtalia looked up at him curiously. "Master Naofumi?" She whispered. His lips pulled back into a snarl, and a low unnatural growl escaped him. "Do you recognize who that is?" She asked quietly.

Naofumi could feel weeks up pent up anger and hatred yearning to be released at that moment. She was part of the whole reason he was having to live the way he had for the past month. Why he couldn't be seen in public, and why he was having to sneak into the Capital inside an uncomfortable hardwood crate. "Yeah. I know who that is." Naofumi said lowly.

"Oh, Princess Malty, I didn't see you there with the Knights. Oh, and the Spear Lad is also with you!" Jerry yelled.

"That's spear hero, thank you very much. And who else do you know that wields a spear like this?" Motoyasu asked, most likely making a show of showing off his spear.

"Anyways, we'll be looking through these crates ourselves. After all, it would be a pity if you were carrying something of value in there that the Heroes could use." Malty said in a low, seductress voice.

"Alright, you listen here lassie. Just because you're royalty doesn't mean you can-" Jerry tried to say angrily.

"Oh, but I can." Princess Malty said with a laugh. "After all, you wouldn't want to displease the King's wishes now, would you?" She asked, her voice bordering dangerously on a threat.

'_How can Motoyasu stand to be with her!? Can't he tell that she's exhorting this man out of his stuff!?'_ Naofumi thought angrily to himself. He wanted nothing more at that moment to burst off the top of the crate, surprise everyone that was there, and give both Motoyasu and Bitch a new nose job. However, he didn't because he knew what would happen if he revealed himself. Though at the rate things were going, it didn't look like he'd have much of a choice.

"And just what are you implying you bi-" Jerry was responding heatedly.

"Jerry, there you are!"

All the talking that had been going on outside stopped. '_Wait, was that-'_ Naofumi thought in shock.

"Erhard, I'm so glad to see ya old friend!" Jerry said happily, most likely giving an embrace to the equally large blacksmith. "How ya been!?"

"First, what's going on here? I've been waiting for you to arrive for three days now with the materials I requested." Erhard said grumpily.

"Well you see, the princess and her group here are trying to take some of the rare items you requested for your shop! Giving me some bullcrap about it being a royal decree!" Jerry quickly explained the situation.

There was a short pause. "WHAT!?" Erhard yelled angrily, turning to face the group of guards, the Spear Hero, and the second princess. Naofumi was trying to peek out of one of the small air holes to see what was going on outside. But all he could see was a couple of the knights shaking in fear inside their armor.

"It's a royal decree. Anything that could be of value to the heroes in their efforts to prepare for the waves-" Malty was saying in the same arrogant bitchy I own the world voice as before.

"To hell with your royal decree princess! If you want some of the rare items in here, you'll have to wait for me to put them up for sale and buy them like everyone else!" Erhard yelled with finality.

Some of the Knights gasped. Naofumi himself was amazed. He wished so badly he could see Myne's face. He would have loved to see the shocked look on Myne's face from being told off by Erhard captured in a photo. The thought made him smile widely, and love Erhard for who he was even more.

"How dare you speak that way to a member of the royal family!" Malty said with venom in her tone.

"I'll speak that way to the King if I have too! After all, he and I are on good terms since I supply most of his soldiers' gear at a discounted rate!" Erhard yelled, likely getting face to face with the princess. Naofumi imagined with him being a lot taller and being far more intimidating. "So unless you want me to close down my shop, move away from the Capital to avoid future problems like this, and explain to your father why his soldiers will be under-equipped for the coming waves in the future." He left the last part hanging in the air. A threat about word of this actually getting to dear daddy who most likely didn't approve of this kind of behavior from his precious daughter.

Naofumi had to cover his own mouth with his hands. He wanted to laugh so badly it was killing him to hold it all in. '_Erhard, I'm sorry for ever doubting you before! You're amazing!'_

He heard an angry huff, presumably from Malty. "Come on! We have other things we need to be doing!" She yelled at the group angrily.

"But what about the materials for my spear-" Motoyasu tried to complain.

"You heard him! We'll just have to wait until he puts them up for sale like everyone else!" Malty said in a commanding tone that left no room for argument. It was most likely her way of saving face from the situation.

Naofumi heard some footsteps going away. He was smiling so widely it was hurting his face. "Why are you so happy Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked. Still not able to comprehend most of what had just transpired. Other than that, apparently it had been a royal princess and the Spear Hero who had been the reason for the carriage being stopped.

"Let's just say that's one of the best things that's happened since I got to this world." He replied genuinely.

At that moment, the crate got lifted back up. Naofumi and Raphtalia felt themselves get settled back into the carriage with the other supplies. "Sorry bout that lad. We almost ruined your welcome back to the Capital." Jerry said through the wood.

"Yeah, never thought this was how we'd meet up again Shield Bro." Erhard's voice sounded close to Jerry's.

"Are you kidding me, that was the best welcome home present I've ever received," Naofumi said lightly with a smile on his face.

"Master Naofumi," Raphtalia said in surprise below him. Not having understood much of what had gone on outside.

"Seriously, if you'd known what she did to me, you'd want to laugh yourself." He said to her happily.

"Then why don't you tell me?" She asked.

"Oh, I will... When you're older." He replied.

"You say that to me every time I ask about what happened before you bought me!" Raphtalia complained.

"Because you still act like a little kid when I say no."

"I do not!" She said like a little kid.

Outside, the two grown men looked at each other. "Were they like this when you first met them?" Jerry asked his friend curiously.

Erhard shrugged. "I didn't get to know them for all that long. Maybe you could fill me in on what you know after we put them in a real bed." He replied. "Also, I'm guessing you brought them here because you couldn't provide them armor?" Erhard asked.

"Yep. They're too high a level for me or any of the other small town blacksmiths to provide them with suitable armor. I barely had the materials handy to make the Miss a proper sword!" Jerry said happily.

Erhard sighed. "And I'm guessing you want back pay for the princess inconveniencing you?" He asked.

"Oh absolutely!" Jerry readily agreed. "I almost peed me pants when I realized it was the royal princess stopping me little wagon." He looked down at himself. "Actually, I'm mistaken. I did pee me pants."

Erhard sighed again. "This better be one expensive suit of armor the kid wants me to make." He grumbled to himself.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I'm going to say it here since someone will probably point it out. The three week time skip was on purpose. One reason was so that we could get right to before the wave. The second, more important reason I have is that I honestly don't know what I'd fill that time gap with that'd be as interesting as the coming wave. The third reason that's actually a little good is that it gives me maneuverability later in the story to dictate at key moments what happened during that time. So if you're wondering why I skipped right to before the wave, the above is the reason.**

**Anywho, hope it was an enjoyable read. Wish me luck this week (I'm going to need it) and I'll see you all next week! P.S.: Keep the comments coming!**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	8. 8: Preparation for the Wave

**This chapter was a bit of a doozy to prepare. I first wrote it down a little over a month and a half. And since then I've revisited it every now and then to make minor tweaks and changes. Including one that came from a review from last chapter (thanks again geddiep91)**

**I made sure to PM a couple of other people based on what they pointed out to me. Thanks again for the comments and support! I hope you all enjoy this longer chapter!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:**_ 28 more Favorites, 27 more Followers (Total: 292 Favorites, 330 Followers)_

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**Updated:** _September 16th, 2019 9:05 P.M. (MST)_

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own it, but I really wish I could help out in it.

* * *

**Chapter Eight: **_Preparation for the_ Wave

* * *

_Next Afternoon, Two days before the Wave_

Naofumi walked out of the dressing room. He was looking down at himself skeptically. "I appreciate you making this armor for me Erhard, but doesn't this make me look like a typical villain?" He asked, showing off his new armor.

He was wearing a breastplate made out of light metal and shaped almost exactly like the legendary shield in its default form. His green cloak had been outfitted with plush from the pill rabbits he and Raphtalia had killed. His joints, instead of being covered in metal, were covered with thick porcupine skins with Pikyu feathers stuffed in between the skins. Erhard's reasoning was that he wanted Naofumi to not only keep a high defense rating but a high agility rating as well.

"So cool!" Raphtalia said, gazing admirably at the armor from below him. "It's really perfect! You look amazing!" She continued in awe.

"I call it, Barbarian Armor. You rock kid!" Erhard said happily while Naofumi held up his cloak, looking down skeptically at the armor. "Now you look like a real bandit!"

Naofumi looked up blandly at Erhard and Raphtalia. "I'm supposed to be a hero you know." He responded with a tint of anger in his tone.

"But it's dashing, and it's so cool!" Raphtalia complimented again, finding it hard to contain her excitement.

"Well, you did make it for me. It'd be a shame not to wear it." Naofumi said wearily, realizing that there was no way of him getting away from this armor. "Besides, it probably didn't help that I said no to getting a new chainmail set."

"Yeah, you put that last one through the wringer kid," Erhard said, the memory of the torn-up black chainmail still fresh on his mind. Yet he happily put an arm over Naofumi's shoulders. "But with this armor, I can upgrade it for you instead of making you a new set when you get stronger! How about that?!" Erhard said happily.

"I guess that's a plus," Naofumi said skeptically. '_You mean he could improve on this armor? I'm just not a high enough level for that yet… seriously, this world still feels like a game at times. Even with everything pointing to this being real.'_ He thought to himself.

"Oy, I finally finished unloading and organizing the last of the ores Erhard," Jerry said happily coming out from the backroom. "And damn, ya never fail to impress me old friend! Ya can make even the Shield Hero look marvelous! Makes me a little jealous it does." He finished, clapping a large hand on Erhard's shoulder. Naofumi didn't know whether to be complimented... or offended.

"That's what you get when you're in the business for almost 20 years," Erhard replied back, sharing a mirthy laugh with his friend. "Oh, and I can't forget the finishing touch," Erhard said quickly as he raced to grab something hidden underneath the counter.

"What do you mean-" Naofumi started to ask.

"Tada!" Erhard yelled boisterously as he revealed a set of shiny metal… gauntlets?

…

"Gauntlets? As in, more armor?" Naofumi asked dryly.

"Not just any gauntlets kid!" Erhard said excitedly as he handed them to Naofumi. "I'm calling them Barbarian Gauntlets! Used for close melee attacks!"

This piqued Naofumi's interest, and he examined them more closely. He hadn't noticed at first glance, but there were small sharp spikes protruding from the knuckles of the gauntlets. He remembered a game he'd played a while ago. It'd had most of the typical weapons he'd seen in the world so far. But unlike a lot of others, there had been a class that used only gauntlets as their attack weapon. "Are these normal in this world?" Naofumi asked, looking in awe at them. '_Those spikes look sharp enough to pop a balloon without me having to punch it into oblivion!'_ He thought excitedly.

"Well, I remember you sharing your frustrations with me about punching balloons while that red-head was looking at armor…" Erhard trailed off as Naofumi glared at him for mentioning she who must not be named. "*Cough* *Cough*, anywho, I remember you mentioning how frustrated you were way back when with having no way to wield a sword... so I came up with these for you!" He finished excitedly.

...

"Do you mean, I can actually attack with these?" Naofumi asked for clarification.

"Well, they're still considered armor. I didn't want to call them weapons after what happened with the sword. But these will give the wearer a nice attack boost. I figured if you can't wield a weapon, you'd still be allowed to use your fists!" Erhard said happily.

"Wow, thank you so much, Erhard!" Raphtalia said happily. The way Naofumi was smiling now, it was like he was a child who'd just been given an early Christmas.

'_Yes! Finally! I'll finally be able to raise my attack stat a little bit! I'll finally be able to do something more than guard with a shield-'_ Naofumi thought as he hurriedly put one of the gloves on.

**Kchhh! **"Aughhhhhh!" Naofumi screamed as he started getting electrocuted by the gauntlet he was wearing.

"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia cried in worry.

The notification, **Warning! The Legendary Hero can't wield any weapon other than the Legendary Weapon he or she has been assigned!** Flashed on his screen. Despite that, the gauntlet wasn't flying off and was continuing to electrocute him.

"Get it off! Get it off!" Naofumi yelled.

"Ahhhhh!" Erhard and Jerry both panicked.

* * *

_A couple of minutes later_

Naofumi stood panting, cradling his slightly burned right hand to himself. The set of gauntlets laid on the counter as far away from him as possible. He was giving his shield the stink eye. '_Seriously! The main purpose of the gauntlets was for freaking ARMOR! THEY WEREN'T CONSIDERED WEAPONS!'_

The Legendary Shield gave him no response. Other than a faint spark emitting off the gemstone.

"Well, um, I guess we can rule out having Shield Bro here use attack gauntlets," Erhard said with a nervous chuckle.

"Maybe if we didn't call them attack gauntlets?" Raphtalia suggested questioningly. Unsure if it would work after seeing her Master get shocked for over a minute straight while she, Erhard, and Jerry tried to pry the gauntlet off. Last time the sword had just zapped him and fell to the ground. This time, it was like the Shield had wanted to make sure Naofumi would never try to betray it again in such a way in the future before allowing the gauntlet to come off.

"Alright, I'm done with getting equipment for myself," Naofumi said coldly. Still pissed off about the fact that he wasn't even allowed to wear armored gauntlets that had a secondary purpose of attacking others. "How about getting us some armor for Raphtalia?"

Erhard considered the young curious demi-human. "Hmmm, I don't think it's time for her just yet." He said to himself. "It looks like she has one last growth spurt remaining in her. And the last thing we'd want to happen is for her to outgrow her armor in the middle of fighting a wave." Erhard said.

Naofumi looked from Erhard to Raphtalia. She smiled brightly for him as a way of saying 'I told you so.' "You're kidding, right?" He asked. '_She already looks like a young adult. Did he mean before when he said that demi-humans grow up as they level, that she'll be growing up to adulthood?'_ He thought to himself.

Strangely, he didn't find himself as bothered by that thought as he thought he should have. It was a ten-year-old girl he was talking about here. A ten-year-old girl that already looked fifteen, and would look twenty within the next couple of weeks most likely. '_Crap, maybe I'm turning into a lolicon now!'_ Or maybe it was because the Legendary Shield had fried a few of his brain cells. Either option seemed possible.

"I wouldn't kid on the pretty little lady's life," Erhard said seriously.

"And I can vouch for him!" Jerry said. "I've seen plenty of demi-humans who ran into that problem!"

Naofumi sighed to himself. "Fine, we'll get you some armor after the wave then." He said defeatedly to Raphtalia. "That way if she hits her 'growth spurt'-" He muttered the last part sarcastically. "- she won't be in danger of being choked by her armor while facing a monster."

"I knew you'd see it my way Master Naofumi," Raphtalia said happily while flashing him a smile.

_I wasn't being serious, but whatever.'_ Naofumi thought tiredly. Still bitter over the fact that he'd had another option for offense taken away from him after being given hope of finally being able to do something offensive rather than defensive in a fight.

"Now we won't have to go over our armor budget!" Raphtalia said happily.

Naofumi sighed again to himself. Sure, the Barbarian Armor had been 180 silvers, but they still had a good amount left, right?... he pulled up his status screen to open the bank tab. He had accidentally gotten the skill a week ago when he tried absorbing a bag of 500 silver coins into his shield as a joke to scare Raphtalia. Only, his shield had absorbed the whole bag without a second thought before their shocked eyes. Almost two weeks of grinding, compounding, and mining efforts had been absorbed in less than two seconds.

If it hadn't been for the discovery that it unlocked the **Peddler's Shield**, a shield that unlocked the bank tab in the menu for allowed members in his party, the fact that Raphtalia had a slave crest on her chest that'd keep her from intentionally harming him, and the realization that he and her could still access the money he'd put inside the shield using the bank menu that appeared on their status windows; it was very likely that Raphtalia would have killed him for that little joke.

He was surprised to find only 320 silvers in their account. '_But how did we get so… Oh yeah, she did say she got her magic iron sword at a discount, but Jerry still charged her nearly 300 silvers for her to get it since everything is more expensive outside of the capital. Then there's all the supplies and the upgrades to our sleeping bags and other camping gear… yeah, I guess it makes sense.'_ He thought in his mind.

"Look, kid, I know you probably need somewhere to stay down low for a while before the next wave hits. So how about you continue to stay upstairs in my place for now." Erhard suggested.

Naofumi grimaced. "You're kidding, right? The next wave isn't for another two days." He said.

"Ya saw what happened when we came into the city lad. Who knows what'll happen if we try to leave the same way ya came in." Jerry said, resting his arms on the counter.

"And I hate to break it to you kid, but you smell like you ran around in the sewers," Erhard said seriously, stepping away from Naofumi while covering his nose. "Hell, I'm surprised the guards didn't stop the carriage at the gate with that smell coming out of it. Not even my barbarian armor's fresh new smell is enough to mask it."

"I took a bath last night though. And I didn't hear Raphtalia complaining about it on our way here." Naofumi dryly whined.

Raphtalia looked down at the floor. "Actually, I did complain to you about that Master Naofumi." She said.

Naofumi opened and closed his mouth, trying to formulate some response. She was right. She had complained about it. He had merely brushed it off though since he never got the chance to try out Dragon VIllage's bathhouse. "And while you did bathe last night Master Naofumi, you still stink worse than that dog monster we faced in the cave." She admitted.

'_... ouch.'_ His self-image had just taken a rather large hit because of that.

"The Miss is right ya know! Heck, every man knows a Miss is right when she says that to a man." Jerry said happily.

Raphtalia smiled happily to Jerry. Naofumi rolled his eyes to himself. '_Freaking lolicons.'_ The familiar thought went through his mind. Along with a tang of jealousy. "Fine, I guess we can continue crashing upstairs for now. But there better not be any Capital Knights like last time. I don't want my bathe to be interrupted!"

"You mean like how you interrupted my bathe back then?" Raphtalia asked with her hands on her hips.

Naofumi grimaced. "That's a totally different story, that I'll explain when you're older." He defended himself.

"Urghhh..." Raphtalia pouted at once again being told to wait till she was older.

"Don't worry kid. I already gave the King an earful about what his Knights did to my shop before. He's threatened to have any of his Knights beheaded if they so much as touch something I don't want them to touch in my shop." He said, crossing his arms proudly.

Naofumi gave them a wave of dismissal as he walked up the stairs to the hallway up above Erhard's shop. "Fine, then I'll take that bathe now. Since I stink worse than a dog monster apparently." He muttered grumpily to himself. '_And so I can forget about the fact that I can't have something to enhance my punches. As dumb as that is.'_ He thought bitterly.

Again, the Legendary Shield on his arm gave no reaction.

...

"Eh, he seems like a nice lad to me," Jerry said upbeatedly.

...

**Boom!**

The door to the bathroom slammed loudly upstairs.

Erhard shook his head humorously. "If you think he's nice now, you should have seen him when he first walked into the shop. Never seen a happier, go lucky guy in my life. It's really a shame he found out what the princess was plotting to do with him the way he did."

"Wait, Mr. Erhard," Raphtalia spoke up. "Are you saying that Master Naofumi used to be kinder than he is now?" She asked curiously.

"Of course. He was probably the nicest customer I'd ever have in my shop. He was also a little on the naive side, but who could blame him. He'd just been summoned as one of the four Cardinal Heroes." Erhard looked up as he spoke, smiling with fondness at the memory of Naofumi trying to cheat him into selling armor to the princess for free. He then frowned. "After that princess though... I was afraid he'd want to run away and never return." He finished sadly.

"... um, Mr. Erhard, what princess? And what did she do to Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked nervously.

Erhard looked down in surprise at Raphtalia. "You mean, he hasn't told you?" He asked.

Raphtalia looked around nervously. "Well, you see. Every time I ask about anything before he met me, he just tells me to wait till I'm older. And I've only heard enough from villages I've visited to watch out for the Shield Hero because he's supposed to be evil. I don't know why they say Master Naofumi is evil... but I could understand why he'd want to remain hidden from people like that."

Erhard sighed to himself and rubbed a hand across his bald head. Maybe it was out of habit from a time when he had hair. "That dang kid. Even now he still has trust issues with other people." He muttered to himself.

…

"I think I'll take me leave now. Don't want me anvil to collect dust back in Dragon Village you know. Make sure to come by another time Miss!" Jerry waved an awkward goodbye before he left out the back door.

...

"Tr, Trust Issues?" Raphtalia finally managed to ask. She could understand needing to wait until she was older. But trust issues?

Erhard sighed to himself. "Look, I'm not sure how much I can share with you Raphtalia." He said, addressing Raphtalia by name to show how serious he was. "I'm guessing he's still hurting from what happened. And the only reason he hasn't shared it with you yet is that he doesn't want to risk pushing you away."

"Master Naofumi couldn't do nothing at this point to push me away!" She said determinedly, and then she looked shy again. "But, but I wonder why Master Naofumi won't talk to me about it? I mean, I've trusted him with everything about me from before we met." She pointed out.

He sighed again. "Everything?" He asked.

Raphtalia bit her lower lip. Sure, she had shared a lot with Naofumi in their travels. But… "Well, I guess there are some things I haven't told him about." She whispered. An image of her destroyed village passed through her mind.

"Any particular reason?" Erhard asked wisely.

Raphtalia's answer came immediately. "Because I'm not ready to talk about those experiences with anyone else." She said.

Erhard gave her a nod. "That kid's in the same boat. What happened to him hurt him deeply. You'll just have to wait for when he's ready to share the details with you." He then took in a deep breath. "However, while I won't share any details with you, I think it's dangerous that he hasn't told you why he avoids being seen, and why he finds it risky staying here in the Capital. After all, if it's discovered that you're here, it could become very dangerous for both of you." He said seriously.

Raphtalia, realizing she was about to learn something, leaned in to pay close attention.

* * *

Naofumi sighed to himself, feeling weeks of stress, stench, and discomfort leech from his body into the warm bubbly water around him. '_This is nice…'_ His mind thought in utter relaxation.

He couldn't remember a time when he'd last relaxed for a while in a hot bubbly bath. It was like he was sitting on a cloud, looking down at everything below with fresh eyes… even the realization that he couldn't use attack gauntlets didn't bother him now...

Knocking sounded on the door, pulling him out of the cloud back down to Earth. He groaned and wished to sink below the water and ignore whoever it was that wanted to talk to him. He could have sworn he'd only been in that state for thirty minutes when the knocking sounded. And it continued at an annoying rate. "What is it?" He asked grumpily.

"Master Naofumi, are you still taking a bath?" Raphtalia asked.

"Yes, now what do you want Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked, wanting to go back to enjoying his comfort and relaxation. "There better not be any Knights searching for us downstairs again."

"I just, um, needed to use the bathroom." She said.

Naofumi sighed to himself. "Can't you go to the inn or somewhere else to do that?" He asked. After all, she could walk freely around the Capital. Unlike him...

"I'm… I'm scared to go outside now, Master Naofumi." She replied nervously.

…

…

Naofumi had never gotten dried and dressed so quickly out of worry in his life. He opened up the door and saw Raphtalia looking at the opposite wall. Her tail was drooped behind her, feeling guilty for having to interrupt her Master's bubble bath. "Raphtalia, what's going on?" He quickly asked.

Raphtalia slowly turned and looked up at him. She really did need to use the restroom, but... "Is it true that the King is trying to capture you for committing a crime here?" She asked.

Naofumi took in a sharp breath, but then he calmly exhaled it out. Still, he felt like a landmine. One wrong step and he'd explode. "Did Erhard tell you?" He asked blandly.

"He didn't tell me everything. Only that the King is searching for you because you were accused of something you didn't do." She said quietly.

"Not just the King," Naofumi said, looking pointedly to the side. "But the Church of the Three Heroes as well." He added bitterly.

...

'_So Erhard was right… both of them want to capture Master Naofumi…' _She thought sadly. She still didn't know why, but their first night together inside the Capital made a lot more sense to her now. Though her memories were fuzzy from sickness and fatigue and a whole slew of other things. "Is, is it okay if I ask you why?" She asked quietly.

… Naofumi stood silently for another moment. Then he shook his head. "I'll tell you when you're older." He said dryly, wanting to drop the subject. "For now, I just want you to trust what you know and not make any dumb mistakes. If the Church finds out that you're the same grown Raphtalia they tried to have killed off with me in the coal mines a while back, then you'll be a target again just like me." He said, walking away from her back down the hallway. He couldn't go back to the bathe now. Not with all these dark thoughts swirling inside his mind.

"But how am I supposed to trust you if you don't trust me Master Naofumi?!" Raphtalia asked angrily behind him. The anger at him dodging the subject again. At being kept in the dark. At the realization that what happened long ago had been set up to kill them. All that trauma she'd had to reexperience had been because of some evil people who wanted them dead.

Naofumi stopped at her words, gasping in shock. "You keep on treating me like a little kid, and I'm sick of it Master Naofumi! I don't understand everything that's going on, but I'm in as much danger as you! I want to know what happened so that-..." Raphtalia stopped speaking in shock. The rest of her sentence died on her lips.

Naofumi's shoulders were tightened, his hands were clenched into fists. The gem on his shield started pulsing a strange red color. "You don't trust me... After everything we've had to go through!?" His calm voice was as hard as a rock and as dangerous as a volcano nearing eruption. "Do you think I'm evil too!?"

Raphtalia realized she might have just pushed him dangerously to the edge of his temper. She whimpered in slight fear and bowed her head fearing what was to come. A trace of her former life as a tortured slave showed through at that moment.

Naofumi heard her whimper, and his eyes widened. '_What the hell am I doing?'_ He thought. He relaxed his shoulders, face, and hands as his anger and hatred reined back into his subconscious. He'd almost unleashed all his pent up anger and hatred at the world, the King, the Church, Myne, and various people he'd overheard in their travels… at Raphtalia of all people… a guilty look came onto his face while he was facing away.

"I'm sorry... I don't know why I can't trust you Raphtalia." He responded tiredly, guilt lacing his tone. "I wouldn't trust myself if I was in your position." He said defeatedly before walking down the hall. "Don't ask me about it. I'll tell you when I feel you're ready to know. I don't want the same mistake to happen to me again."

_'And I don't want you to know what I was accused of… and what I ran away from...'_ He thought pathetically to himself.

Raphtalia stared at his back as he walked away. She put a hand to her mouth in shock at what she'd just done. Even with her master turned away, she could tell that her words had hurt him. She'd never felt so guilty before in her life. '_Master Naofumi…'_

She wanted to chase after him, but her reason for interrupting his bath went through his mind again. And pounded at her bladder. So instead she ran into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her.

* * *

_The Next Day, the Night before the Wave of Catastrophe_

Naofumi finished compounding his latest batch of medicine and stared up at the ceiling. Dinner that night had seemed much more like a somber affair than before. The food still tasted bland to Naofumi. Erhard had been more mellow than he usually was. And Raphtalia…

'_She hasn't said a word to me since the hallway.'_ He realized.

Hell, he hadn't seen much of Raphtalia since the hallway. She'd spent time outside the shop getting last minute supplies they'd need from different merchants. Spreading out her purchases so that it wouldn't look like she was preparing herself and a Legendary Hero to fight the wave. When he had seen her in the shop, either he would, or she would scamper off to do something else.

Mealtimes had been the exception, since they had both been forced to sit at the table with Erhard. Yet Raphtalia had looked more subdued at dinnertime than he'd ever seen her before. The only time he'd remembered her being more subdued was when he first found her in Beloukas slave tent. She'd talk when she was talked to, and ask for food when her plate ran out, but other than that she had remained quiet. He didn't know if it was because of the wave being tomorrow, or because of what happened in the hallway. Either way, he felt guilty about it.

'_I feel bad. I want to tell her what's happening… but how can I know that she won't just turn on me like that bitch Malty?'_ He thought pessimistically to himself.

Immediately after having the thought, he shook his head, feeling ashamed. '_Even after everything we've gone through, can I still not trust her?'_

…

Naofumi cleaned his supplies off the desk and stood up from the desk. He looked out the window of the room Erhard had lent him at the dim lights of the Castle in the distance. '_I can't trust anybody in this world because of them…'_ He realized. '_I can't trust them with my past. I can't trust them with my present. Hell, I can't trust this world with my future… not when it feels like everyone here hates me...'_

He sighed, and then sat down on the edge of his bed. '_I wish I could trust somebody with… with something. If I only knew they… wouldn't stab me in the back afterward...'_

That was what it came down to. In the brief amounts of time, the time he'd spent eavesdropping on travelers in the forest, Lute Village, Dragon Village, outside of other villages, hell even while listening to customers that came into Erhard's shop the last two days; that was all he'd heard about. Everybody, from the Knights on patrol to the merchants peddling their wares, thought the Shield Hero was evil, an abomination.

He'd overheard plenty of gossip about the Shield Hero raping the king's daughter. About how people thought the Shield Hero was this weird psycho dude who murdered those who got in his way. Extorted money from those who had little. Brainwashed people into complying with his sinful desires. They spoke highly of the other three heroes that they worshipped like Gods, yet him; he was nothing short of a devil to them.

The Devil of the Shield, as he'd heard one Knight put it the night before below his bedroom window.

'_Nobody here will believe I'm innocent._' Deep inside, he even felt that maybe Erhard might not believe him, despite everything the old man had done for him... but if Raphtalia really didn't trust him, after all the things they'd gone through together the last few weeks, then he truly had no hope left for this world… He buried his face in his hands. '_Why did I have to be summoned to this forsaken world?... I just want to return to my world...'_

...

He was still in the middle of his depressing thoughts when he heard his door open. He looked up and was surprised to see Raphtalia standing there. She was dressed in night clothes Erhard had given to her, and she was holding her hands together in front of her. Her face was looking down at the floor. A moment that felt like a day passed by, and still, she didn't speak.

...

"What is it Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked.

Raphtalia stayed looking down at the floor. She tried to open her mouth to speak, but couldn't bring herself to. He looked more closely and saw her eyes were red from crying. "Was it another nightmare?" Naofumi asked worriedly.

She sniffed and then nodded her head.

The thoughts he'd been having since the hallway left his mind. "Come here." He said, patting the side of the bed next to him.

Raphtalia quickly took his invitation and sat down beside Naofumi before leaning into him. He moved an arm around her shoulders, letting her settle into his body. For a while, neither one of them spoke… and he allowed her to silently cry...

…

…

"It was about the time after the wave destroyed my village…" Raphtalia started.

"Your nightmare?" Naofumi asked.

…

"Yeah."

* * *

_A young version of Raphtalia and her friends looked up at the rubble all around them. She was trying to cheer on others to help them rebuild. It was having mixed results, but they were making progress. And besides, she'd always been told by her parents that things always get better when the world couldn't keep you from smiling. And she didn't want to stop smiling when she and her friends needed to rebuild their village. They needed the hope that came from her smile._

_The few adults that had survived with the kids were also helping out. Determined to help rebuild their homes and take care of each other. By the looks on their faces, you wouldn't have thought that they'd just lost their homes, loved ones, and friends to a bunch of monsters. In fact, you'd think they were just moving in, ready to start their new lives in a different place. An optimism that was inspired by Raphtalia's hopeful smile._

"_We tried to rebuild the best we could. We vowed that even though the wave had destroyed everything we had, we'd rebuild our village. It'd be greater than it ever was before. Me and my friends couldn't wait for the time when we'd be able to raise our flag over our village again…"_

_Suddenly, an adult villager nearby screamed. An arrow was sticking out of her chest. Raphtalia stared in shock as the woman demi-human that had been her babysitter before the wave fell to the ground, the life draining out of her eyes and her chest._

"_What happened?" Naofumi asked._

"_**Kill the adults! Leave the children alive!"**_

"_The Knights and Adventurers the Capital had sent to deal with the wave came back. And instead of helping us to rebuild, they tore down what was left standing by the monsters." Raphtalia continued bitterly in the background._

_All around, the young Raphtalia looked in shock. Knights and Adventurers, laughing greedily, came from out of nowhere. They slashed with swords, swung heavy spiked maces, nocked bows, wielded spears. All of them bore evil grins._

_Adults she'd known her whole life left and right were slaughtered. Some soldiers in their madness for destruction pulled down the weakened supports for buildings, bringing them crashing down on the demihumans hiding inside them. Their screams of terror cutting off long before the rubble settled._

"_They killed… all the adults. They didn't leave one alive." She whimpered._

_Some adult demi-humans went down screaming in terror. Some begged for their lives on their hands and knees, only to be cut down in a spray of blood. A few tried to fight back but were killed as easily as a spider killing a fly in its net. Blood spattered Raphtalia and her clothes from one adult who was beheaded mercilessly by an ax nearby. Her breathing became heavy, looking down at the blood on her hands._

"_**No. Please no."**_ _The young Raphtalia whispered to herself._

_One adult demi-human stood out from the bunch. A large giant of a demi-human in her therianthrope form named Sadeena. She was surrounded by knights all around, and yet she still fought like a lion (or in her case, an orca). Dodging past blades, knocking soldiers heads together, impaling those who were there to kill for pleasure with a special harpoon-like weapon. But soon even she disappeared under a pile of knights, and Raphtalia couldn't tell what had happened to her._

"_The other kids tried to flee, but they were surrounded by the soldiers. Those who tried to resist were knocked out, those who were resilient to the hits were killed."_

_One of her childhood friends kept on getting back up, even after being hit repeatedly in the head. _"_**Stay down, damn you!"**_ _The soldier yelled angrily, trying to knock out the demi-human again. However, the tiger-like kid bit down on the soldier's hand, causing him to yell in pain. The demi-human took the chance to try and flee._

"_**Urgh! Kill that brat!"**_ _The soldier yelled as he pointed to the fleeing kid. The archers treated the runaway like target practice, boasting about who'd kill him first. It turned out, several did at once, as several arrows impaled the kid from multiple directions at the same time._

_Raphtalia just stood there in the midst of it all, too shocked to make a move._

"_**Ah, what do we have here?"**_ _A Knight snidely asked, picking up Raphtalia by her hair._

_The young Raphtalia grimaced in pain. **"Why, why are you doing this? What did we ever do to you?"** She pitifully asked._

"_**Don't talk back to me you damn demi-human!" **__The soldier said angrily, backhanding the young Raphtalia across the face. The young girl was shocked by the pain of the hit. She remained silent as she was thrown into the back of one of three prison carriages. She saw some of her other friends held in the other two. She weakly gripped the bars, her young eyes unable to comprehend the scene of bloodshed before her. Unable to comprehend what had just happened to her village. She had thought the wave had been terrible… but this..._

"_I was taken from my village, me and all the other kids. The soldiers stayed behind, and they… and they torched the place."_

_From her view in the prison wagon that slowly started to move away, she saw some of the soldiers taking out torches. Setting many of the buildings, both those that were being rebuilt and those that had been undamaged during the wave, on fire. Some of the other soldiers threw the bodies of the dead into the fires. Her heart clenched as she saw those she'd known for most of her life get consumed in the flames, never to be given a proper burial. It hurt almost as much as seeing her village's flag taken, and thrown into the largest fire of them all. The flag that had symbolized so much hope for her and her friends..._

"_**No…"**_ _She whispered to herself. Falling back onto the cold hard seat as she was taken away from her home for the first, and possibly the last time ever. _"_**This wasn't supposed to happen… the Shield Hero was supposed to protect us…"**_

"_We were all separated, and I moved from Master to Master. My best friend and I were eventually sold to the same noble, and shortly after that, I was sold to Beloukas. To this day, I have no clue what's happened to the others, or if my best friend is still alive or not…"_

_Around her, the other demi-human children began to cry. Some screaming in sorrow at having their parents taken away from them at such a young age. Raphtalia looked at them all, not wanting to believe what had just happened. Eventually, tears filled her eyes, and she started to cry just like all the others._

"_The wave might have destroyed my home, but it was the Knights of Melromarc that destroyed my village."_

* * *

Time returned to the present. Raphtalia had tears falling down her face, and she was clutching to Naofumi. Her body shaking from the memory that had so badly affected her in her sleep. Naofumi was now hugging her to his chest with one arm, while his other hand rubbed calming soothing circles on the back of her head.

'_Raphtalia…'_ He thought sadly. He couldn't even muster up the focus to be angry at the Knights. He was too worried about her to even think about being angry.

"I'm… I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it before, Master Naofumi. I just, I didn't know if I was ready to tell anyone about that horrible experience. I didn't think anyone would believe that the Knights of Melromarc could ever do such a horrible thing! I…" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I didn't know if you'd believe me if I told you." She whispered quietly, her tears continuing to drip onto his chest.

…

"Don't worry. I believe you." He whispered.

Something inside him brought the next words to his lips before he could stop them. "I don't like the Air Strike Shield because of a girl I met in school."

Raphtalia looked up at him, wiping tears away from her eyes. "You… you never told me you were a nobleman in your world." She said curiously, her sadness being shelved by her curiosity.

Naofumi almost wanted to chuckle, realizing a little bit more just how much his world was different from hers. "Actually, in my world, all kids are required to go to school. Trust me, it isn't all that great. And I wasn't really much of anything in my world." He said humorously before his face fell. "And you asked about it before… I just didn't know if anyone would believe me if I told them about it or not."

Raphtalia continued to look at him, resting her hands in her lap. "Go on." She encouraged.

...

Naofumi took a deep breath. Part of his mind was yelling at him to stop. But the other, more logical part was winning through. That keeping this experience bottled up wouldn't help anybody. In fact, it was likely hurting him more than it would if he talked about it with someone who he could trust talking about it with.

And that meant he had to take this small step, and put a little more trust in his Companion instead of telling her this once to wait till she was older. "She was the first girl I had liked. And I had wanted to get her something special to show my feelings for her..."

* * *

_A young eighteen-year-old Naofumi, dressed in a school uniform, gripped a gold encased locket in his hand. He looked around the hallways of his High School nervously. Students in similar-looking uniforms walked up and down the hallways, absorbed in their phones or books. Each one was studying for their final exams which were later that week like their lives depended on it. And with college around the corner for most of them, their future lives and careers did depend on how well they did right here and now._

_Naofumi gulped, clutching the necklace close. "You see, in my world, those of us who graduated school could move on to a higher school called college. There were different colleges that offered this higher education to us, and this girl and I had chosen different colleges to go to… so the last day of school I'd brought a gift for her."_

_Naofumi walked out from his secluded spot in the hallway past different students. He felt nervous, but he was also smiling in excitement. Not even the threat of finals seemed to put a damper on his mood._

"_I'd thought that she liked me. She'd led me on with all sorts of hints over the last few months… I'd gotten her the gift to help her to remember me while we were far apart."_

_He entered a side hallway where there were no students in view. It was a much less used area of the school, where students would go to hang out with their friends when Finals weren't looming like a two-headed Cerberus Dog. The nervousness was growing, but so was his excitement. He was finally going to do it. He was going to take the first step with admitting his feelings to a girl!_

_He started to round one last corner, wondering in his mind what he was going to say… only to stop, and then hide back behind the corner._

…

_..._

"_What happened?" Raphtalia asked in the background._

"_I found out that it had all been a lie," Naofumi said blandly. It was that simple. His world hadn't shattered, but his heart certainly had._

_Naofumi stared in shock. He saw the girl he'd gotten the locket for, the one he'd thought he was falling in love with, lip-locked with another student. Their hands moved all over each other in this secluded part of the school where no eyes would find them. Naofumi breathing heavily with tears filling his eyes._

"_So, when is that one kid coming with your gift?" The guy asked his crush._

"_Oh, he should be here any minute now. The poor sap actually thinks I'll think about him after graduation. I'm sure he'll bring in a nice gift like all the other losers. After all, he said to one of his friends he was planning on spending a hefty sum of his college money to get it for me." The girl responded seductively to her real boyfriend. "It might just be enough for the two of us to have some serious fun tonight."_

"_Babe, I love you." The guy said, going back to lip-locking with the girl._

_Naofumi felt tears pricking at his eyes, tears that he quickly wiped away. He looked down at the locket in his hand. It wasn't shaped like a shield, but the design etched in it was almost exactly the same as the design shown on his air strike shield._

_"I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to think it might have been a joke. I wanted to think that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't what it looked like." Naofumi clutched desperately at the locket. His eyes not wanting to believe it._

_"I love you too, Yuno."_

_He never thought hearing somebody saying those words could shatter his reality. But it happened. He could finally see how false this bitch of a girl was. She didn't even know the meaning of what she'd said, yet she threw that word around like it was a pretty penny. Love._

_She didn't have feelings for him. Hell, he could tell she didn't have feelings for that guy. She was just a girl who loved to use people for her own ends. The thought that he'd actually fallen for a person like that without even realizing it..._

"_I'd realized how she'd played me like a fool. She'd actually thought of me as just another boy. Someone she could bend around her finger and extort to her heart's desire…"_

_Naofumi gritted his teeth and stormed back down the hallway. The locket gripped tightly in his clenched hand. "... And after that, I didn't trust another girl in my world again."_

* * *

The time returned to the present, and Naofumi found himself staring into Raphtalia's eyes. She had stopped crying and was simply staring up at him. The two were silent for a moment, and then he looked down at his hands again.

"I… I didn't know." Raphtalia murmured quietly.

"I spent some time after that trying to drink myself out of my misery with some friends. But I quickly found out that I have a high alcohol tolerance. No matter how much I drank, I wouldn't get drunk. I found the stuff so disgusting that I eventually stopped drinking altogether and became a shut-in instead. I didn't like going out into the real world except to visit the library. I didn't talk to girls if I could manage it. I rarely even interacted with my own family unless it was serious. I just didn't…" He trailed off. He didn't know why he'd even started talking about this. It wasn't making it hurt any less… in fact it probably only made him appear weak in Raphtalia's eyes. Just as it would in Malty's… "I didn't want to be hurt like that again." He whispered. "And seeing the locket's design on that shield was like a slap to the face about what happened back then." He growled angrily.

...

Raphtalia embraced him in a warm hug, much to his surprise. "Did it happen again when you came to this world? Was that princess we heard while inside the crate responsible?" She asked.

_'I thought when I came here that it'd be a new world. I'd have a new shot, a new chance for me to find the one... Until Myne shot it all to hell by plotting to accuse me of rape so I'd be killed off…'_ He thought bitterly.

"I'd rather not talk about that right now. I think I shared enough for one night." He said, feeling tired. The fact that he didn't deny it though gave Raphtalia part of the confirmation she needed.

…

"Thank you Master Naofumi." She said quietly.

He looked down at her. "What for?" He asked. Surprised that she wasn't begging for more info like she normally did.

"Thank you for trusting me with a little about your world. Even if I am a girl." She had a soft smile on her face, hidden by her hugging him. He had finally trusted her with a little piece of his past. "And thank you for still using that skill to save my life. Despite the pain it brought you."

"Well... you're different than those other girls I knew. And besides, it wasn't anything like what you told me." He said, feeling a little embarrassed about the whole memory now that he'd spoken it out loud. "I mean, thinking back on it, I can't even remember that girl's name. I just overreacted to what happened."

"Who's to know what I would have done if I was put in your shoes," Raphtalia said. "Had I been there and a guy played me like that, I would have broken his arms and legs and hung him outside to make an example of him to anyone else who thought it'd be fun to play around with a girl's feelings." She said it so casually, she could have been mistaken for talking about something at the dinner table while asking someone to pass the salad.

Naofumi's face paled. '_I'm starting to feel glad she wasn't in my situation now. In my world, she could have gone to jail for doing that.'_ He thought. Maybe losing faith in girls and fully delving into his hobby as an otaku hadn't been the worst thing he could have done… especially since it'd helped him to save his brother when he fell off the beaten path.

"We might be from different worlds Master Naofumi, but that doesn't mean our past challenges weren't hard for us to deal with," Raphtalia said.

...

Naofumi looked down at Raphtalia in wonder. '_How did this young girl become so wise?'_ For once, he could feel emotions other than anger bubbling up inside him, wanting desperately to be released. When he realized it though, he coughed into his hand. Wanting to dispel those thoughts from his mind. '_Nope, those are thoughts a lolicon will have. And though she looks closer to my age now, that's still technically loliconning.'_ He thought. "Anyways, we should probably get to sleep now. The wave of Catastrophe's tomorrow." Naofumi said.

"Alright… Is it alright if I sleep here tonight, Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked.

Naofumi looked down confusedly at her. "Aren't you a little old for that?"

She blushed a little bit. "I, I'd feel better if I wasn't alone after that nightmare." She admitted.

...

Naofumi sighed to himself, unable to resist the begging Tanuki face she was giving him. "Fine. But you better not wet the bed." He said seriously.

Raphtalia glared at him. "Master Naofumi, I haven't wet anything since your cloak after my first panic attack nightmare with you!" Raphtalia said childishly.

"Doesn't mean I'm going to forget about it," Naofumi replied dryly.

Raphtalia sulked, but she still cuddled up to Naofumi as they laid back on the small bed. It was just like what she did when she was smaller.

"Goodnight Raphtalia," Naofumi said.

"Goodnight Master Naofumi… and... thank you for believing me. I promise I won't let you down." She whispered. Drifting off into her own dreamworld next to him.

…

Despite his best efforts, a smile forced its way onto Naofumi's face. '_Damn it, I'm starting to trust this girl, and I don't even mind that I do!'_ He realized.

…

'_I swear if this blows up in my face like Malty and that girl from school, then I'm not going to trust anyone ever again! Not even Erhard!'_ He promised himself. Raphtalia shifted her head and moved into the crook of his neck. Her ears tickled his chin, and her tail started to wag gently along his leg in her sleep, showing that she was happy.

...

'_Is it bad if I really hope that everything works out though…'_

If anything, he was hopeful that things would work out… that maybe he'd be able to open up to Raphtalia about what had happened when he first came to this world. Because... because he downright terrified of what'd happen to him if it didn't work out. If she left him after hearing what it was he had been accused of...

He shook his head and closed his eyes. That was a worry for another night.

First, they had to survive the Wave of Catastrophe tomorrow.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I've actually been rewatching the rest of the season as I'm planning what I want to do later. I think I've written up to about Chapter Twenty now? Not entirely sure. It's been a little slow going since I branched off from the main storyline shortly after the Wave of Catastrophe. Either way, this story will have steady updates for a long while yet :). Any suggestions are still welcome. Compliments are even more welcome! (So click that Favorite and Follow button, do an author a favor) ;)**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	9. 9: The Wave of Catastrophe

**Sorry for the length of the Chapter. I wrote it a while back and made revisions every now and then. Coming up with an idea to get Naofumi registered for the wave also complicated matters a little. But I have really enjoyed reading this finished chapter over myself, so I hope you all enjoy it too!**

**To respond to a few reviews. Naofumi getting registered has been dealt with. (Many mentions were made to that) I love the enchanted armor idea. Not sure about Zeltoble mercenaries getting involved since, you know, mercenaries can also tend to be unpredictable (one of the finest examples being Deathstroke The Terminator). A guest already kind of answered it, I have it written out in a later chapter. The best way I could add to it is what another reviewer said. The Shield is a jealous harlot. XD**

**Also, we'll see about Rifana. So far, the plot I've written out advances far more quickly than it did in the show. Idol Rabier could be seen before the 2nd Wave of Catastrophe hits (Just as like, a spoiler for down the road).**

* * *

**Since Last Time:**_ 26 more Favorites, 27 more Followers (Total: 318 Favorites, 357 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:**_ September 23rd, 2019 10:20 P.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it.

* * *

**Chapter Nine: **_The Wave of Catastrophe_

* * *

_Morning of the Wave, Castle Town Square_

Naofumi looked around himself from under his hood. '_I never thought I'd see the other heroes like this.'_

Motoyasu and his harem of girls were to his left. They didn't seem to be talking strategy or anything, rather they were oohing and awing over him; telling him how great he was going to be in the oncoming waves and so on. He was so braindead around girls, especially ones in his party, that he could likely be called an idiot by them all and still think it was praise being heaped on him. Especially if it was from Malty... Myne, Bitch, whatever her face was that hung off his arm, her armored breasts pressed up against it like a whore.

'_What the hell did I ever see in her.'_ Naofumi thought in disgust. They were walking into a building, so his eyes moved on.

Ren was calm and composed, as was the rest of his party. Just one look as they walked by and Naofumi could tell that he had a quiet aura of calm and charisma coming off him. Even though his first words to his party had been along the lines of them being worthless to him if they couldn't keep up, his party members trusted him with their lives.

Yet at the same time, he could also see some personal pride in Ren as well. Pride in that he saw himself not only as the best swordsmen in the world but the best out of the four Cardinal heroes. He didn't rub off on Naofumi the same way Motoyasu did, but he didn't like him nonetheless.

'_Wish I could know what he'd think if he saw me now.'_ Naofumi thought. He wished he could know if Ren believed in the lies or not. No matter what Naofumi thought of his brief observation of Ren as he walked away with his party, he knew he could use an ally.

And then there was Itsuki, happily waving to the people around him. Out of everyone, he definitely looked to play and act as the common folks' hero. The Robin Hood of the group. Naofumi hadn't heard as much about Itsuki as he had the other heroes activities while on the run. What little he had heard didn't sit well in Naofumi's stomach.

Itsuki was definitely like Robin Hood. Taking from the rich and helping the poor based on a sense of judgment for corrupt individuals. And as admirable as that was, it led Naofumi to believe Itsuki held himself with a prideful sort of arrogance. An arrogance that suggested he was always right and the criminal was always wrong. And that was what Naofumi was then, a criminal. So Naofumi continued to stand by an empty carriage on the side of the square, hood over his head. Staying out of interest of the other heroes and the people around him. Not talking to any of them.

'_If I'm right about the other heroes, then this world is screwed.'_ Naofumi thought pessimistically based on his short observation. He let out a sigh.

"Alright, the wave should be starting in twenty minutes and twenty-two seconds," Itsuki said nearby to his party. "Let's make sure that we're the first ones to take down the boss monster.

"Right!" The rest of his group responded simultaneously.

'_They even have it down to the seconds, huh? I wonder why he's able to see the timer when I can't.'_ He thought frustratingly to himself.

He was glad to have at least read part of the help guide that morning before leaving Raphtalia woke up. He hadn't found where it explained how the heroes got the timer. But apparently, when some timer the heroes were supposed to see hit zero, all the heroes and their parties would be teleported to the sight of the wave. He just… didn't have that timer for some reason. Probably meddling from the trash King Aultcray he was sure.

...

Actually, because he was either feeling really brave, stupid, a mixture of the two, or maybe because of a lack of interest from everyone else, he dropped his hood. '_Even if I'm recognized now, there are less than twenty minutes before me and Raphtalia teleport away. They won't be able to do anything about it.'_ He thought, his eyes continuing to calmly look around.

At that moment, Itsuki looked and noticed Naofumi standing by the carriage. "Wait, is that…" His eyes widened when he finally recognized Naofumi.

"Master Naofumi."

Naofumi glanced to the side at Raphtalia, who was facing away. She sat on the back of the empty wagon with her own hood drawn up. "Why did you pull down your hood?" She asked without looking back.

"Stay facing away for now Raphtalia. Just in case." He whispered to her. It didn't answer her question, but she didn't press for the moment.

"Well, I'm surprised you're even here Naofumi," Itsuki said as he approached, his voice not exactly cold, but not welcoming either.

Naofumi glanced up at him. His own face was a mask of indifference. "I was summoned as the Shield Hero. It's supposed to be my job to fight the waves too you know." He said dryly.

"And you're saying a hero is allowed to commit any crime he wants?" Itsuki asked incredulously. "Don't you realize that the King wants to imprison you in his dungeon when he catches you?"

"Oh, so that's the punishment that piece of trash and his bitch daughter decided for me bailing out. Funny, I could have sworn Myne told a nun that the King would make me an outcast for what she was going to accuse me of. Guess she was wrong." Naofumi replied indifferently.

"Why are you here Naofumi?" Itsuki looked baffled. "You disrespect the king, you disrespect his daughter, heck you even tried to-" He was saying when Naofumi glared up at him. Something in Naofumi's glare caused Itsuki to back up in fear.

"I will say this only once. I didn't do any of what I was accused of. None of it." He stated blatantly, a snarl in his tone. "You can choose whether to believe me or not. Either way, I'm disappearing again after this wave until the next one hits. Because unlike you, the people here could give two craps about what happens to me." Naofumi said, before looking straight ahead.

…

"Maybe they'd care a little more if you turn yourself in and told the King yourself what happened," Itsuki suggested.

"If you really believed any of what I just said, you wouldn't tell me to do that," Naofumi said sarcastically. '_Because the King is likely to believe his own daughter over me.'_ He thought only to himself.

"It'd be the just thing to do though," Itsuki said back quickly.

Naofumi chuckled dryly. "Yeah, and I'm sure I'd say the same thing to you if you were in my shoes. Living a life on the run, framed for something you didn't do, and being unable to do anything about it because the King already hated your guts before you got here." He said sarcastically.

Itsuki frowned. "You never know if you don't try." He said. When Naofumi didn't respond, Itsuki walked away to rejoin his party. '_Yeah, you keep on thinking that Itsuki. There are only two other people I give some amount of trust in this world, and you aren't one of them.'_

...

"Do the other heroes really not believe you about what happened Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked. Still not knowing in full what had happened before.

"You heard what he said," Naofumi replied dryly. "They just think of me as a common criminal. No, worse than a criminal. They think of me as a devil. Even though I did nothing wrong."

Though Raphtalia still didn't know exactly what he'd been accused of, she decided not to press. "If you knew that would happen, then why did you lower your hood?" Raphtalia asked.

"Maybe I wanted to confirm how others would respond." Naofumi shrugged. "Or maybe it's because this is my personal way of making fun of the king. You know, I managed to sneak back into the Capital without him realizing it, and now it's too late for him to do something about it." He replied. "I mean it's not like we're coming back after this wave." He said.

"Is it just because you're a wanted man by the King?" Raphtalia asked, glancing back at him.

"Not only that… Look at the people Raphtalia." He said, looking at the people on the streets that were finally beginning to notice the Shield Hero was there. Some started to point, others whispered amongst themselves, a few looked afraid while others appeared angry. The rest tried to discreetly move away from his area of the street. "They obviously don't want me here. None of them do. They think I'm lower than the dust beneath their boots." He let out a sigh at that. "None of them would believe me, no matter what I told them. Even if I'm a hero today during the waves, they'll all hate me." He said quietly.

…

"I wouldn't," Raphtalia whispered so quietly, Naofumi didn't hear what she said. He only heard a slight mumbling from the Tanuki girl.

"Was there something else on your mind? Now would be the time to let it out." He said to Raphtalia. He got the feeling she had something to say.

"Well." Raphtalia looked nervous. "I, I just, I wanted to say…" She took in a deep calming breath. "I'm truly grateful, and honored to have met you Shield Hero."

He turned to face her then. Damn what any of the other citizens thought of him talking to a hooded demi-human. "Why would you be grateful to have met me?" He asked. His voice held himself with self-loathing.

"Because… you gave me medicines and cured my illness when I thought I was doomed to die. You made me warm meals even though you couldn't taste them. You gave me toys to play with when we were tight on money... you showed care for me when I thought no one in the world thought that I mattered anymore Master Naofumi…"

She had tears in the edge of her eyes. "And most importantly, you taught me how to live."

"_Face it Raphtalia, your parents aren't coming back. But we can prevent other kids from going through what you experienced."_

"You helped me work through a dark time of my life, and gave me a reason to survive... to fight. To fight the waves. To protect the people in this world. And, and that's why..."

She took a proud stance. "I swear to be your sword forever." She pulled her sword out and held it to her side for emphasis. "Wherever you go, I'll be there with you. Even when everyone else hates you, I will never hate you, Naofumi Iwatani." She whispered the last part. "I believe in you."

Naofumi's eyes went a little wide at her words. She was saying some of the words he'd wanted to hear from someone for so long... He looked off to the side, his eyes now appearing distant. He couldn't think about it now. '_She might just be saying that because of how nervous she is about the waves.'_ He pessimistically thought.

Besides, there was a wave to take care of first. "Let's survive this wave first, and then we'll see what happens." He whispered to her.

If Raphtalia was disappointed in his reaction, she hid it well. Though she was certain this wouldn't be the last time she'd bring it up to her master. She'd come to figure out in part why her master wasn't trusting towards others. And she was going to figure out the rest of it so she could get through to him. Whatever it took.

...

"Naofumi."

Naofumi looked up. Itsuki had approached again. He looked conflicted with himself for a second, and then the next thing he knew he'd received a party invitation from Itsuki to be a squad leader. "What is this for?" Naofumi asked. '_Has Itsuki lost his mind or something?'_

"You need to be with someone registered to the dragon hourglass to teleport to the wave. Since it's obvious you haven't registered at the hourglass…" Itsuki looked away as he grimaced. "As long as you'll stay out of my way during the wave, I'll bring you in so you can help out."

Naofumi stared at Itsuki, allowing his words to sink in. "You're saying you need to be registered to fight in the wave?" Naofumi asked.

"Yeah, it's in our help guides, or have you not been reading it while you were busy running?" Itsuki asked condescendingly.

Naofumi didn't respond as he quickly pulled up his help menu and looked at the section on fighting the waves. His eyes slightly widened when he saw Itsuki was right. '_You mean, unless we're registered or partying up with someone who's registered, we won't teleport to the wave?!'_

_..._

"Well, Naofumi?" Itsuki asked.

Naofumi barely heard him. He was thinking to himself at that moment. Itsuki's words had made several realizations come to Naofumi's mind. _'We aren't going to be forced to teleport there as I thought. That means technically we aren't required to fight in any of these waves. We could just walk away from all this and cut ties with everyone here… we could run away and never look back at this place… besides, I'm sure the three other heroes could handle themselves just fine...'_

He glanced from Itsuki and saw Raphtalia, who was staring away from him down the street. His thoughts about running away, which had seemed so confident before, burned away. Inside, he felt something constrict in his chest. _'But if I were to do that, then I'd risk more kids having to go through what Raphtalia went through… and I'd have to face the guilt of letting innocent people die when I could have helped... and after Raphtalia went through a lot the last month so she could keep a repeat of what happened to her village from happening... am I really that evil to be okay with that?'_

_..._

He realized not only in his mind but in his heart that he couldn't do that. Even if most people would rather treat him like crap for being the Shield Hero who ran away from his crimes than thank him for saving them. He couldn't stand by and let innocent people die. Good had to start from somewhere. And if they weren't willing to take that step, then he had to do it himself.

"How long is it until the wave?" Naofumi asked.

Itsuki became confused. "About fifteen minutes." He said.

'_I could accept Itsuki's invite and teleport with his squad… but he obviously doesn't trust me. But the Church is five minutes away, and they already hate me for no reason…'_ Naofumi refused the party invitation and turned to walk away. Not in the direction of the exit of the town, but towards the Three Heroes Church.

Raphtalia, already having a feeling what her Master was planning, followed behind him. She was smiling a little, feeling proud of her Master for deciding to fight. _'I'm not going off the back of one of these losers. If I'm going to fight in the wave, I'm going to fight under my rules, not theirs.'_ He thought determinedly.

It took a few seconds for Itsuki to overcome his shock at Naofumi rejecting a chance to join him in fighting the Wave of Catastrophe. "Naofumi, what are you doing?!" He angrily asked. "Are you really being a coward now!"

"Simple. I'm going to fight the Wave." Naofumi dryly responded.

"And how are you going to do that?!" Itsuki demanded.

"Simple. I'm registering at the Church's Dragon Hourglass, whether they want me to or not." Naofumi responded back dryly. _'Even if they hate me, they won't stop me from helping out in the wave, right?'_

* * *

The two robed priests backed away from the locked doors. Looks of fear were on their faces. Surely this would hold the Shield Hero back, right?

"Air Strike Shield!"

A green translucent shield slammed into the doors, bursting them wide open. The Barbarian Armor clad Naofumi stood in front of open doors, his hand still extended out in front of him.

"You monster! These ornamented doors are priceless!" One of the priests cried. Indeed, with how much wealth the Church had accumulated over the centuries, even their doors were made of the best materials. Inlaid with the finest cut gems. Some of which had been cracked by the force of the Air Strike Shield.

"It's all your fault for trying to lock me out and for keeping me from registering at the Dragon Hourglass to fight the wave," Naofumi said blandly.

"We'll stop you Shield Demon! You might have decided to attack us right as most of our Knights were preparing for the wave! But we'll allow no devil to step foot on the ground of the Holy Sanctuary!" One of the priests yelled. Naofumi got the impression they were still ignoring what he'd been trying to tell them the whole blasted time.

The priests turned around, both of them raising their hands at the double doorway behind them. "As source of thy power-" They started to chant. Preparing to use magic to lock the doors like the last one.

'_Sigh, it's like they aren't even listening to me.'_ Naofumi thought dryly to himself. He guessed he didn't have a choice.

"Shield Prison!"

"Augh!" The set of priests found themselves encased in a green-plated green chain ball.

"Change Shield! Animal Needle Paralysis Shield!" Naofumi yelled.

A series of thin spikes appeared out of the walls inside the Shield. The two priests started screaming in pain but were soon cut off. A second later the Shield Prison disappeared. The two priests were lying on the ground, small holes poked into their robes. Both of them were afflicted with the paralysis status effect and couldn't move.

_'I didn't realize how handy that animal needle shield would turn out to be.'_ Naofumi thought as he walked past the two downed priests. Not only did it add needles to the Shield Prison, but for an extra SP cost, he could add an effect to the needles based on the types of porcupines he'd absorbed into his shield so far. He had paralysis and poison unlocked. According to the description on the Shield though, there were other effects he could soon unlock by killing and absorbing various kinds of porcupine monsters.

"Master Naofumi, did you have to do that to them?" A hooded Raphtalia asked as she caught up to him, after having led one of the few squads of knights she'd found away.

"They kept on locking every door in between me and them. I got annoyed by it." Naofumi replied dryly.

Raphtalia pursed his lips but decided not to press it. "Besides, the Church already hates me for being the Shield Hero." His shield on his arm changed to its default form. "Might as well give them an excuse!"

Naofumi slammed the shield into the doors, damaging them while throwing them open. On the other side was a large dome-like room. On both sides in aisles, nuns and priests who'd been in the middle of some prayer session turned to look at the source of the noise that had interrupted them. There had to be dozens of them. '_Aw hell, I wasn't expecting there to be this many-'_ He was thinking. However, before he could think anymore, they all started to scramble away in fear.

"The devil of the Shield is in the Dragon Hourglass Sanctuary!"

"Our Gods have failed to protect us!"

"Run, run for your lives!"

They all yelled various things as they scrambled for the exits to the room. _'I never thought being feared as the Shield Demon could have its pluses.'_ He almost wanted to go demon there and see how scared he could really make these low leveled nuns and priests. However, he had a feeling that Raphtalia wouldn't approve.

"Master Naofumi, up there!" Raphtalia pointed up.

Naofumi looked up above. He saw the Dragon Hourglass from below for the first time. However, he didn't have time to try and examine it then. It had taken him slightly longer to get through the Church than he'd expected thanks to those two priests, and he could see the sand was almost depleted into the bottom portion of the hourglass.

"Alright, Raphtalia-"

"There he is! Stop him!"

Naofumi turned around, a squad of Knights was running down the hallway, heading for Naofumi. It was the original squad Raphtalia had distracted so Naofumi could get into the Church. Raphtalia had thought she'd lost them, but they'd figured out Naofumi's target and found them.

Still, it was too late. Just before the Knights could charge through the double doorway, the hooded Raphtalia slammed the doors on them. She then held it against the squad of Knights that cursed and pushed on the other side. Their strength wasn't a match compared to Raphtalia. "Hurry Master!" She yelled to him.

Naofumi wasted no time in giving her the order he had planned to give her, and instead booked it up the stairs. Taking the steps three at a time. '_Alright. I'm not letting some idiotic Church stop me from doing my job!'_ He thought determinedly.

On the opposite side of Raphtalia, another group of knights led by a Church Knight Captain burst through a different set of double doors. These had been called in by the fleeing priests and nuns. "Up there! Stop him!" The Captain ordered.

Naofumi shoved a surprised priest out of the way and then booked it up the last flight to stand on the balcony in front of the Dragon Hourglass. Here, the Dragon hourglass looked much more magnificent. On both sides, gold dragons looked to be taking flight, staring away from the Dragon Hourglass itself. Two red gems like eyes looked back at Naofumi from the center hourglass.

"We've got you now Shield Hero-" The other squad of knights was running up the other set of stairs.

"Air Strike Shield!"

A green shield thrust from his palm down into the squad of Knights. The Knights, who hadn't expected the Shield Hero to have such a skill, were hit by the force of a sledgehammer. Sending most of them falling backward back down the stairs. _'That should buy me enough time.'_ Naofumi thought with some satisfaction.

'_Now, according to what I read in the Help Guide on the way here, I'm supposed to simply…'_ He revealed his Shield from under his cloak.

A green beam of light came out from his Shield, hitting the center of the Dragon Hourglass. If there had been any more priests or nuns watching nearby, they would have found the scene blasphemous. The Dragon Hourglass, allowing the devil's Shield to interact with it. After a second, the beam stopped. Then, finally, a purple and an hourglass symbol timer appeared in Naofumi's vision. There were 15 seconds left on the timer.

'_Ha, just in time.'_ He thought smugly.

"That does it!"

Naofumi boredly looked up again as the squad of knights that finally came running onto the same platform as him. Raphtalia watched with concern from down below, still trying her best to hold the doors back. "We've got you now Shield Brat!" The Church Knight Captain yelled.

Naofumi was silent for a few seconds, and then he smiled widely. Unnerving a few of the knights, including the Captain. "Do you now?" He asked.

Behind him, the sand finished emptying into the bottom, and a bell rang loudly in the air. The Knights looked around in surprise, and then light started to surround Naofumi and Raphtalia down below. Outside, the sky turned a strange blood-red color. Naofumi made a rude gesture at the Knights. "Better luck next time losers." He muttered.

"No, stop him!" The Knights charged forward. But Naofumi and the hooded Raphtalia down below disappeared into the light right as the knights tackled the ground where he'd been standing. It was like watching a heap of metal cussing at itself in front of the Dragon Hourglass. Down below, the other squad of Church Knights came charging in, looking confusedly around for the demi-human and Shield Hero that had disappeared.

"Curse you Shield Hero!" The Church Knight Captain yelled to the air.

* * *

"Lady Altara?"

The middle-aged nun sighed to herself as she closed the volume she had been reading from. Today was the day of the wave, and she'd just been about to finish her studies and head down to the Dragon Hourglass Sanctuary to pray with the other nuns and priests for the success of the heroes during the wave when she'd been interrupted. "What is it, Alice?" She asked.

"Um, well, I was sent to inform you, that, um…"

Lady Altara sighed again and opened the door on her surprised and clearly nervous acolyte. "Just spit it out already. I don't have all day child."

The blonde-haired girl nervously gulped and moved a hand through her hair. "The Shield Hero just broke into the Church and registered at the Dragon Hourglass, my lady. The knights and Shadows never saw him coming until it was too late." She muttered quietly.

…

Altara's left eyebrow twitched angrily. Alice quickly turned around and ran away. Not wanting to face the middle-aged nun's wrath. _'You mean, not only is that devil still alive, but he also broke into our holy Sanctuary, and-'_

"Am I surrounded by imbeciles!?" Altara's angry scream echoed throughout the Church. "How could you let that devil roam our halls like he was God himself!?"

Soon after, she slammed her door shut behind her. The Holy Sanctuary had obviously been defiled, so she'd pray, alone, in her holy room. She'd pray that the other heroes would fend off the wave and that God, in his infinite mercy, would smite the Shield Hero for the devil that he was for daring to not only live but step foot in the holiest of places in the world.

The Three Heroes Church.

* * *

Naofumi and Raphtalia came out of the light onto the top of a hill. All around down below them was a forest. "I can't believe we managed to break into the Three Heroes Church Master Naofumi," Raphtalia said.

"Yeah, well it's their fault their priests didn't take to kindly to me appearing to register for the wave. Now where are we Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked, looking around. It seemed familiar, but he didn't know why.

"Master Naofumi?!" Raphtalia gasped in shock, looking up to the sky. Naofumi looked up as well, and his face became flat.

"There it is."

Several swirling masses of purple moved across the sky in front of him. Each mass connected by a pink comet-like trail. "The wave of Catastrophe."

'_It looks… bigger than I imagined it being.'_ He thought in slight fear. He then looked over at Raphtalia and saw she was shaking looking up at the wave. He understood why. The last time she'd seen a Wave of Catastrophe, it had killed her parents and destroyed her home.

He looked back up and saw hundreds of different monsters come flying out of the purple masses in the sky down towards the forest below. '_So, they're a lot like portals, huh?'_ He thought. Still, he was shocked at just how many there were. '_This is definitely not a game. This is real.'_

He suddenly heard a rockfall below him and looked down to see Motoyasu and the other heroes with their parties running through the forest down below towards the oncoming wave. "Those guys... Let's move Raphtalia!" He said to her determinedly. '_Now's our chance to show them! We can show them who's really the least worthless out of all of us!'_

Raphtalia, however, looked to the side and gasped at what she saw. She realized why the area looked familiar. "Look over there! The village of Lute!" She yelled in worry.

Naofumi's original thought of showing up the other heroes stopped. He realized why he could recognize the area now. Hell, he could recognize the cliffs in the distance as easily as the village near the base of them. "The hell!?" Naofumi quickly reined in his shock. "Was everyone evacuated?" He asked worriedly.

A loud **pop** sounded, and a flare started to rise into the air outside the village. '_I'll take that as a no. Damn it!'_ He thought. '_Of course, the wave just started, and they'd had no idea where it'd hit. There's no chance that they could have been evacuated!'_ "A flare? They think it's enough to just let the knights know where they are?" He said to himself.

He saw more undead creatures starting to fall inside and around the village, making craters wherever they landed. "The castle isn't far away, but by the time the knights get here the village will be wiped out."

Naofumi gritted his teeth. '_Urgh… I can't just leave them defenseless! Some of them might not like me, but some of them helped me and Raphtalia! They don't deserve to die!'_ He thought. That town guard from before had saved his life and bought him time, now it was time to repay the favor.

"We're going!" Naofumi ordered. Raphtalia looked at him in surprise because of his tone. "To Lute Village!" He ran forward.

"Right!" Raphtalia said confidently as she grabbed her sword.

Instead of chasing after the other heroes, the two ran with all the speed they could muster towards the village.

* * *

The village was crawling with all sorts of the undead. Undead dimensional zombies. Undead dimensional bees. Undead dimensional skeletons. You named a monster you saw, it was likely to be A. Undead B. From another dimension. C. Rotting. And D. Very likely trying to kill anything living.

"Aghhhh!" A young villager screamed in fear as a skeleton armed with a sword prepared to kill him.

Right as the monster brought down its sword, Naofumi got in the way, blocking it with his shield. Before the zombie could register the new threat, another sword sliced it's head off. Raphtalia got her sword at the ready position as more monsters approached. "Sir, are you alright?!"

The man grunted an affirmative, he looked to be in pain from some wound. Naofumi quickly bandaged the man up while Raphtalia dispatched the dimensional skeletons that approached them.

"Raphtalia, help him and the other villagers to evacuate!" Naofumi ordered her.

Raphtalia looked to Naofumi in surprise. "But what about you?" She asked.

"Don't worry, I'll lure them away from the others. Join me again once the villagers have been cleared out!" Naofumi ordered.

"Right!" She replied. He ran off while Raphtalia escorted the hurt villager away. She killed another skeleton that tried to get in her way while doing that.

In the distance, he could already see where a large group of people were surrounded by monsters. They were armed with pitchforks, pickaxes, and any other equipment they had on hand before the wave hit. However, most of them didn't look like fighters. Besides a couple of town guards and adventurers with them. And almost all of them looked afraid of the monsters slowly moving in to kill them all off.

As Naofumi approached, some of the villagers noticed him. "Huh, one of the heroes is here!"

"Which hero is it?!" Another asked.

"It's the Shield Hero! He's come to save us!"

"You mean the rapist Shield demon?" Someone asked more quietly.

Naofumi ran with his shield covering his head. Dimensional Bees slammed off of it as he charged forward. "Yaaaaaaa!" With a guttural yell, he punched one of the skeletons away from the villagers, grabbing it and all the other zombie's attention. "Listen up everybody! I'll keep these zombies busy! So all of you get out while you can!" He yelled, running between the large group of zombies away from the villagers.

It worked, the zombies started to follow Naofumi. The villagers who had been surrounded before sighed in relief. "I don't care if he's called the rapist demon or not. That was a selfless thing to do, saving our lives." An old lady protected in the back of the group said.

One of the town guards looked to the villager who pointed out Naofumi as the Rapist Hero. "She has a point."

* * *

Naofumi continued running down a small side street, looking around for people who were still alive.

"Ah! Aughhhhh!"

"Air Strike Shield!"

A shield appeared between another screaming villager and a skeleton, protecting the villager from the skeleton's sword. "Run, get out of here!" Naofumi yelled to the guy while he continued to run. The skeleton turned to chase Naofumi.

A swarm of dimensional bees flew past Naofumi, and he saw their target in front of him. A little girl and her mom who were crying out in fear. "Mommy!" The girl screamed in fear.

"Shield Prison!" Naofumi yelled.

Right before the dimensional bees could attack the two, a green ball of chains and plates surrounded the two. Deflecting the onslaught of bees before they could attack. Naofumi ran past with the rest of the dimensional bees following him. "When that disappears, run away as fast as you can!" Naofumi ordered while running by.

Once more, he found himself punching another skeleton to get it and the rest of its group attention off a small terrified family of two kids and their father. It hardly did any damage, but it grabbed its attention. "Go, get out of here!" Naofumi yelled, running off so the zombies and other monsters chased after him.

One of his hands gripped his side. He felt an ache developing in it from running so strenuously. "Damn it." He muttered. '_I'm attracting them alright. But I don't have any way of getting rid of them!'_

He ran towards a collapsed building that was on fire, sliding under a burning wooden beam to find if anyone was inside or not. The dimensional bees that had been closely pursuing him paused outside the fire, waiting for Naofumi to come out.

After a couple of seconds, Naofumi jumped back out. Wielding a fiery torch in one hand. The dimensional bees scattered when the fire got too close, but began to circle around Naofumi again when they saw he was only carrying one torch. He was really glad that his shield wasn't counting the torch as a weapon, otherwise, he'd be a lot worse off than he was now. '_Good thing no one was inside.'_ He thought, seeing the monsters massing around him.

"This way you stupid zombies! What's the matter, can't take the pace?!" He taunted the undead around him, before running off again. The dimensional bees and skeleton zombies continued their pursuit.

He felt a sword strike at his armor, but his high defense made it glance off. A bee tried to sting him in the face, only for its stinger to break. He was truly the definition of a tank right now. He didn't have to worry about protecting himself. Right now, he was the Shield for everyone around him.

"Air Strike Shield!"

Another shield appeared, protecting a little girl for long enough that she could scramble away.

"Shield Prison!" He yelled again, trapping a group of zombies so an old lady could be helped out of the rubble by her son.

"Rope Shield!" He yelled, extending the rope of his shield to scatter the dimensional bees in an area so another small group of villagers could escape the burning building they had been hiding in.

'_Why am I risking my life to defend total strangers?'_ He thought while breathing heavily. '_Most of them have done nothing for me, and I have nothing to gain from helping them.'_ He waved his torch in front of him, blocking a swarm of what looked like undead locusts from hitting him. He continued running for the next villager in the distance. One he couldn't even recognize from his brief time in Lute.

His tired face twisted into a scowl. '_I'm such a fool. But I have to help them in whatever way I can!'_

He wouldn't let another tragedy like what happened to Raphtalia's village happen here too. It was the least he could do for these people.

"Air Strike Shield!"

* * *

"Everyone! Come this way! Hurry!" Raphtalia shouted to the villagers, directing them towards the rest station she and Naofumi had visited outside the coal mines. Some of the villagers went inside where others were huddled in fear. They gasped in relief when they were reunited with family, friends, and other loved ones.

"But, but the village was overrun-" A husband who worked as a miner thought he'd lost his wife and kids forever and was thus shocked and overjoyed at being reunited with them.

"It was the Shield Hero. He saved us by punching a zombie and drawing its attention from us." The wife said, still crying tears of joy at being alive and well.

Most of the villagers remaining outside had turned to face back towards the burning village. Where the Shield Hero who had helped most of them to escape was still at.

"Do you think he'll be okay momma?" The little girl who was saved before by Naofumi's first Shield Prison asked.

"I don't know sweetheart. All we can do is pray the Shield Hero will remain alright." Her mom told her sweetly.

"I can't believe he used some of his precious SP just to protect me." A man said in disbelief to his wife and kid, who held onto him tightly. "If it wasn't for him, I'd be a goner."

"Devil or not, he's the only hero I've seen in the village trying to save our lives." The villager who had first called Naofumi the rapist demon was now defending his name to his friends and fellow believers of the Three other Heroes. "And somebody who'd risk saving his lives for people like us is no demon to me." The old lady who'd been saved with him looked at the young man approvingly.

Raphtalia looked towards the village. Not only worried about the villagers that were left, but also for Naofumi. '_He's already saved so many… but he must be getting so tired…'_

"Raphtalia, right?" A deep voice asked.

Raphtalia turned around and saw the familiar heavy set town guard from before. "Me and the remaining town guardsmen can set up defenses here. Right now, the Shield Hero needs your help." He said.

Raphtalia gave him a nod. "Thank you." She said gratefully. She turned and ran off back towards the village.

"Alright, men! Let's prepare to defend this area if we must!" The guard yelled to his men that had managed to evacuate because of Naofumi.

"Yes, sir!" They shouted in unison. Getting to work to make sure they could make the area defensible should the monsters of the Wave leak out to their location.

* * *

Naofumi breathed in and out heavily. His side was aching something terrible, even with his shield's powers. "This won't work. There's too many of these guys." He muttered.

All around him, most of the monsters who had been initially interested in him had moved on looking for prey with lower defense. Even the dimensional bees were ignoring him now. At the rate the monsters were losing interest in him, the village would be destroyed before he could gather them all away. It didn't help that he didn't have any solid offensive capabilities to use against them either.

"I can't draw them away. I've got to minimize the damage to the village somehow."

Looking ahead, he saw a wooden guard watchtower poking up above the houses of the village. Having an idea come to mind, he ran for the tower. '_It'll cause a little bit of damage, but it should prevent a lot more if it works.'_ He thought.

"Air Strike Shield!"

He made another diagonal shield in front of the only zombie in the way and used it as a stepping stone to jump over the zombie. With the path now clear, he ran for the ladder of the guard tower. Still holding tightly to his torch since it'd be an essential part of his plan now.

"Get the hell out of here. Just stay back!" Two of the town guards, having been caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the wave to dress in full armor, yelled at the monsters surrounding them. They brandished their swords threateningly at the undead that had them cornered. There was so many though, and the guard sounded more scared than confident when he yelled at them.

"Get away from me!" The other yelled, definitely in a scared voice. "Stay away, you hear what I said-"

**Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!**

At that moment, the guard tower's warning bell started to ring loudly again and again. At the sound of it, all the monsters in the area turned away from their targets and looked to the tower.

'_Well, it worked…'_ Naofumi looked down below at the monsters approaching from all around. Then he looked up at the sky that was still full of the swirling wave masses, releasing hordes of more demons to fight. '_But damn, this wave is showing no time of stopping.'_ A look of frustration came onto his face. '_What are those guys doing? Aren't they supposed to take down the boss?! What the hell could they possibly be waiting for-'_

The rest of his thoughts were cut off as the guard tower shook violently. He grimaced and looked down below, where zombie skeletons were climbing on top of each other. Trying to get up the ladder to reach him. Dimensional bees flew all around the Tower, trying to discover where the source of the noise had come from.

'_Alright, while they're all gathered here.'_ He thought, dropping a flammable liquid he'd gotten from a monster drop a few days ago onto the floor and onto the ladder down into the face of the top zombie. Hoping his own plan didn't kill him, he dropped the torch to the floor, immediately igniting the highly flammable liquid. It quickly traveled down the ladder to the zombies, which lit up even better than the dried tinder.

He jumped through the rapidly developing flames off the guard tower. Gravity taking its hold to bring him to what would be a painful landing with the ground down below. His Air Strike Shield still needed a moment to recharge, but luckily the other part of his shield was still usable. "Rope Shield!" He yelled, the rope shield on his arm unraveled. Gripping it with both hands, he used the rope to try and catch himself onto a burning wooden beam. However, while it did slow him down, he had misjudged the beam's strength, and it broke almost immediately after catching himself on it with the rope. The rest of the building collapsed around him in a heap of rubble that put out the fires on it.

Naofumi groaned as he pulled himself out of the rubble. '_At least I'm alive.'_ He thought, looking back at the burning guard tower. All the zombies that had been around it were also being consumed by the flames. The guard tower itself collapsed into the town square, squashing swarms of dimensional bees and more zombies under it. An experience notification appeared next to Naofumi's head, and it kept on going up as it tallied the total amount of monsters killed. He'd done it. He'd found a way to take down hordes of monsters on his own. He should have felt ecstatic, but he felt more tired if anything.

'_It isn't enough still.'_ He thought despondently, Already, more zombies were appearing from different streets, and the dimensional bees in the air were being joined by more of their brothers and sisters coming out of the portals up above. '_I don't have any more ideas. There's nothing I can do...'_ He thought, seeing more zombies approach his position.

"Hahhhhhh!"

In one smooth slash, Raphtalia appeared from behind the skeletons. Beheading the whole group in one smooth motion. "Master Naofumi!" She called, running towards the rubble pile he was in.

"Raphtalia?! But the villagers!- ***Cough* *Cough***" Naofumi tried to say before he started to cough on the dust particles around him.

"The town guard is setting up defenses for them at the coal mine. I found the last group and convinced them to evacuate. Right now you need me more." She said determinedly, refusing to leave as she pulled him from the rubble. After she'd pulled him out, she handed him a glass bottle filled with a liquid.

"What is this?" He asked, not recognizing it.

"It's a health and SP elixir. One of the evacuating shopkeepers on my way here gave it to me to give to you." Raphtalia quickly explained.

Naofumi grimaced. '_You mean this world does have freaking potions you can buy!'_ He drank the whole thing down, and he felt most of his wounds disappear. Including the new one he'd acquired in his shoulder from the porcupine. '_That's a crap ton more effective than waiting for it to heal! Damn, I wish I knew about this sooner!'_ He thought. He briefly wondered if he could make such potions or not, but figured now wasn't the time to think about that.

"Fine, but stay close." He ordered, as more zombies and dimensional bees appeared around them. '_I didn't want her in the main fighting since she doesn't have any armor, but I guess I have no choice if we want to deal with these things.'_ He thought. It was part of his reason for not having Raphtalia fight in town.

"Got it!" Raphtalia replied.

For the next few minutes, all Naofumi saw was fighting. He punched, he defended with his shield, he took enemies attention so that Raphtalia could sneak in and dispatch them with one slice of her deadly sword. Without having to worry about the safety of more villagers, the two were finally able to fight focusing on protecting each other and the properties of the villagers around them.

"Shield Prison!" Naofumi yelled.

The familiar green plate and chain shield wrapped around a large zombie, leaving only the head visible. It struggled in vain to try and get its body below its neck to escape in time. "Hahhhh!" Raphtalia jumped over it, slicing her sword through the center of its head in the process. She also used the body to jump high into the air and slice through a swarm of dimensional bees.

Naofumi turned to the side, seeing another group of zombies approaching. "Air Strike Shield!"

The green shield thrust outwards from his open palm and went flying towards the zombies. It impacted the center of each one, sending them flying back while also causing minor damage to them. "Now Raphtalia!" Naofumi ordered.

Raphtalia quickly charged from the group she had been whittling down to the latest victims. Cleanly slicing off their heads before they could get back up off the ground whilst running by.

Naofumi punched away another zombie and then saw a large zombie bringing its massive arm down towards him. He barely raised his shield in time, blocking the oncoming blow from it. Though it still pushed him down onto one knee.

Before the massive zombie could raise its fist for another strike, a series of gashes appeared on its body all at once. Blood burst out simultaneously from all of them, and then Raphtalia landed on the ground next to him. "Are you alright Master Naofumi?" She asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Good job Raphtalia." He said as the large zombie fell away. He looked back up around them. They had already increased two levels and were close to another from fighting all these monsters, but more were still appearing all around them. '_At least they're focused on us instead of trying to destroy the village.'_ He thought.

"Rope Shield!" His shield let out a length of rope, and it wrapped around another group of zombie skeletons. Immobilizing them for long enough that Raphtalia was able to dispatch all of them. He then charged in and jumped into a large zombie Captain's face, allowing Raphtalia to come in from the side and dispatch it in a series of quick slashes.

"Their numbers aren't diminishing master." Raphtalia tiredly pointed out.

"Guess that means we'll have to keep on fighting," Naofumi muttered just as tiredly. Seeing the waves of monsters in front of them not slowing down.

Before the two could charge forward, Naofumi heard a series of loud sounds and looked up to see several streaks of yellow light shooting into the air from outside the village. "What's that?" Naofumi asked, shocked by its appearance.

The lights met up far above, and then coalesced into a bright yellow ball. Before exploding outwards down below in a series of light arrows. Naofumi's eyes widened at it. '_That's not an enemy attack, that's an offensive skill meant for the monsters!'_ He realized, and he and Raphtalia were right in the center of it.

"Look out!" He yelled, quickly grabbing Raphtalia and putting his shield above them both. It changed into his light metal shield, and a blue dome of protective magical energy appeared over them both. The arrows hit against it and the ground and buildings all around. Raphtalia could do nothing but watch in wide-eyed shock from under Naofumi's cloak what was happening outside their dome of protection. The monsters were all burned up, but buildings, carts, and anything else outside his immediate area was also hit by the arrows. Damaging, or in some cases, completely destroying whatever they touched in the process.

'_What the hell. That did even more damage to the village than what the monsters did!'_ Naofumi thought angrily. '_Just who would be stupid enough to do something like that!'_

"Huh, this is a surprise."

From out of the smoke of the fires all around walked a group of knights. "The Shield Hero here? I knew we were dispatched to take out the monsters, but I didn't think I'd get lucky enough to get a shot at you too after hearing you broke into the Three Heroes Church." The mustached knight from before said smugly.

"That's right. They wouldn't have cared if we died in that attack or not." Naofumi muttered to himself as he grimaced at them.

Raphtalia's eyes widened, and then her pupils became deadly small. A growl escaped her lips. Before Naofumi could do anything, she flew right out from under his cloak and tried to strike at the commanding knight.

Unfortunately, one of the knights beside him got in front of his officer just in time to deflect the blade. However, the look on the mustached knight's face was priceless at how he'd almost been beheaded. "Did you know Master Naofumi was here?" She asked threateningly. "Answer me or I'll have your head!"

The knight captain looked back at the others. "Draw your swords." He ordered his comrades.

Raphtalia backed away as the other knights took out their swords. "What's this demi-human doing with the Shield Hero?" The mustached knight asked, recomposing himself to be the brave and fearless leader again. "I thought he ran away from the Capital alone."

"I am Master Naofumi's sword. Respect him or die!" She said in a calm angry tone.

"Damn demi-human. How dare you point your blade at the royal knights alongside that piece of filth!" The knight responded in the same condescending tone.

Raphtalia's lips curled, and she looked ready to kill the knight if she had to. "What type of knight neglects the people he's supposed to defend!? What type of knight would release such a powerful attack just to kill one of the Cardinal Heroes!?" She asked. By the tone of her voice, it was like she recognized who this knight was.

Naofumi had a good feeling why. It only made him hate this particular knight a little more. "Raphtalia, forget it." He said as he approached beside her.

"But, I-" She tried to respond.

"Just let it go. It's not worth it." Naofumi responded blandly, gripping one of her shoulders to let her know he was being serious.

"Excellent advice Shield Hero. If you stay out of our way, we'll even make sure to not beat you too much on our way to see his Majesty after the wave for breaking into the Three Heroes Church, alongside your other crimes." The commanding officer said.

"I guess you're right," Naofumi said, much to the knight's surprise. "I guess it would look like I broke into the Three Heroes Church since I couldn't register for the wave anywhere else." He said logically. "So if you'd rather I hadn't been here to fight, then I suppose I could just sit tight, and watch the zombies munch on all you morons." His face took on an evil look. "Which wouldn't be the worst idea for scum like you!"

At that moment, the knights finally realized that a large zombie with reinforcements had appeared right behind them. The mustached knight turned around, and his face took on a look of fear. "Hold your ground, get into formation!" He ordered his other soldiers quickly. However, the large zombie was already striking down at him with its large arm. He came so close to screaming like a girl.

**Ksch!**

A loud sound emitted as Naofumi blocked the strike with his shield, and the knight fell back onto the ground in shock. '_Did they really think that I was so evil that I would stand back and do nothing.'_ He thought incredulously. '_This knight's opinion of me must be as low as King Trash's.'_ "How about dying an honorable death in battle? Is that what you want by having me stand off to the side?" He asked the knight on the ground. "Now Raphtalia!" He ordered.

Raphtalia jumped over Naofumi onto the zombie's arm. And then jumped forward, slicing through its head and chest. The large zombie fell dead back onto the ground. Raphtalia landed next to Naofumi, and both of them faced the horde of monsters approaching them.

"I didn't break into the Church to cause trouble! I only did it so I could do my job and fight off this wave! If any of you believe me, then listen up! We're going to buy you time! Use it to get into formation so we can protect the village together!" Naofumi yelled, not looking away from the monsters. '_Not that I expect them to want to help. If anything, they'd rather just watch us die by the hands of zombies.'_ He thought. "Raphtalia, take off!" He ordered.

"Got it!" Raphtalia yelled, running forward to slice another zombie's head off. She succeeded, and Naofumi took her place, blocking a revenge strike aimed for her by another skeleton. Then Raphtalia took his place, killing the monster that had tried to strike at Naofumi. The two kept on working together in this way, taking down monster after monster. Even the other large zombie of the group didn't stand a chance, with Raphtalia jumping onto its head and stabbing down into it. It fell to the ground, revealing the knight Ake who stood there in awe, watching the Shield Hero and his companion work.

"Let the Shield handle this!" The commanding officer yelled. "We'll let them tire out, and then take them captive after the wave ends!" He walked away as he ordered the rest of the knights to fall back.

The knight Captain who had originally blocked Raphtalia's strike stood in his spot. Him and a few of the other knights looking uncertain about doing such a crappy move to the Shield Hero. Especially since that put the village more at risk. "Get over here! That's an order!" His commanding officer yelled to them.

Naofumi blocked another strike with his shield, and then Raphtalia took his place dispatching the zombie. The knight captain stared hard at them both as if he was having an internal conflict within himself. Seeing the burning buildings around him though, the burning buildings caused by some of the knight's foolishness (which he also noted those particular knights as missing from the group), he finally made his decision. "All Knights! Three lights formation to support the Shield Hero!"

Ake and the other knights looked surprised but then smiled widely. They quickly gathered in front of the Captain in two rows, their swords, and shields at the ready. "Three lights formation!" They all yelled in unison.

The captain pointed his sword forward. "To battle!" He ordered.

The group of young knights charged forward, screaming as their formation cut into the ranks of the monsters. The knights easily dispatched zombies and dimensional bees left and right with a bloodthirsty excitement that was marvelous to behold.

"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled to a tired Naofumi. "Look at the knights!"

Naofumi stared in surprise at the knights that were supporting him and Raphtalia. '_Are they really trying to help now?'_ He thought in surprise.

The mustached commander grimaced. "Those idiots." He muttered to himself, however, he and the two other knights with him didn't walk away. The Shield Hero couldn't be allowed to escape after all.

Naofumi finally smiled a small smile. '_I think we'll be able to hold them off now.'_ He thought. He saw another large zombie burst from a wall to the right of the knight's formation.

"Shield Prison!" He yelled again.

Just like the previous one he used the skill on, this one was encased up to its neck before it could strike down at a surprised Ake. Ake, in turn, looked at Naofumi. "Is this the same Shield Hero I saw that one night?" He murmured to himself out loud.

He remembered that night well. How the Shield Hero at only level one had burst through a shield wall he and the other knights had set up. Destroying all their shields, weapons, and armor in the process. He had been told like all the other knights that he was a threat and needed to be captured. "Yet he still saved our lives." He muttered to himself.

"Hah!" Raphtalia appeared from behind the trapped large zombie and sliced up its back through its head. When the Shield Prison disappeared, it fell forward. Blood oozing from out the large cut.

"Air Strike Shield!"

Naofumi had already turned, forming another a shield in the air below Raphtalia. She landed on it and used it as a springboard to jump onto the roof of a building. She ran across it before jumping back down. Bringing her sword in a slicing arc that sliced off the heads of two large zombies and several dimensional bees.

Naofumi appeared beside her, blocking an attack to her head with his shield again. All around them the knights pressed at the ranks of the monsters. Destroying many, and pushing the rest farther and farther away. "Come on! Their numbers are starting to thin!" Naofumi said excitedly. He and the knights continued to fight against the monsters.

However, Raphtalia wasn't focused on the monsters anymore. Rather, it was like she felt a change in the air. The same thing that had happened when the three-headed Cerberus dog was killed in her village. "Master Naofumi. The sky." Raphtalia pointed up above.

Naofumi looked up. At that moment, the swirling portals of the wave up in the sky disappeared. The sky became a normal blue again, with the sun reappearing closer to the western horizon than it had been before. "We, we actually did it," Naofumi muttered to himself.

It had taken almost half of the day. But the wave of Catastrophe had finally ended.

As if on cue, the remaining zombies that stood in front of them shrieked in pain at the appearance of the sun. The dimensional bees fled into the forest outside the village. The skeleton zombies and zombie captains started to fall into heaps of armor and bones onto the ground. The remaining knights stood looking around happily.

"We did it!" One of them yelled.

"Woohoo!" Another cried with joy.

The knights gathered together, basking in the victory they had obtained with protecting Lute Village. Naofumi looked towards them, his face as calm as ever. '_As much as I don't like them, at least they were willing to help us here.'_ He thought to himself.

"Master Naofumi."

Naofumi turned, and Raphtalia approached with some of the monster loot that had been on the ground. "I can go through the rest of the village to make sure there are no more monsters while grabbing this." She said.

Naofumi took the materials from her. He was oddly reminded of the days when he first trained her to gather monster loot after the fighting was done. "Go ahead. Make sure the villagers know its safe to come back. And check the forest for more monsters while you're at it." Naofumi ordered her. He was already absorbing some of the monster parts into his shield while placing the surplus in his inventory.

Raphtalia gave him a nod and then ran off to do as he said.

"So the Shield Hero doesn't keep a leash on his demi-human."

Naofumi turned from where Raphtalia had run off to face the smirking mustached commander. "That's too bad since it would have been better to bring you both in before his Majesty." He said. "I guess we'll have to settle with stripping you of everything and throwing you into the dungeons in the name of the King." Naofumi noticed the Knight Commander had at least dropped breaking into the Church off his list.

Naofumi glared at the mustached Royal Knight Commander. "Do you want to make me regret saving your life earlier?" Naofumi asked.

The knight laughed at him. "I don't care how many times you save my life Shield Hero, I'm supposed to bring you before the King. And by golly, I'm going to do just that." He said.

Naofumi glared at him and the other knights and was about to say something when the Captain stepped forward. "We won't be bringing the Shield Hero in on arrest charges, nor will we be stripping him of his equipment. Rather he'll come as a guest for the celebration the King has prepared for the Cardinal Heroes."

The mustached captain looked at his subordinate. "What?!" He yelled down at him as if he'd gone mad.

The Capital Captain coldly glared up at his superior officer. "He is one of the four Cardinal Heroes, who helped to protect one of our Kingdom's villages, unlike you, sir. Whatever his misdeeds in the past, he can be forgiven for this one night of celebration in the face of your blunder, can he not?" He asked.

The Knight Commander looked menacingly down at his Captain. The Captain's cold face only became colder. "Or would you rather I told the King of how his cowardly commander tried to destroy the village instead of fighting the monsters head-on?" He calmly asked.

The Commander gritted his teeth. "Are you threatening me-" He tried to ask.

"If that isn't enough, I guess I could just stand aside and let the demi-human go at you when she learns about how you tried to arrest the Shield Hero for protecting this village." The Captain added, looking down at his gauntlets boredly as if examining them was more interesting than protecting his superior.

A look of fear came over the Knight Commander. If he was being honest, he had never felt more scared of anything before in his entire life. The look of hatred that had been on that girl's face... And if his captain was implying what he thought he was…

The Commander huffed, trying to hide his fear. "Fine, for this one night, I swear on my honor as the Capital Commander that he and his demi-human will be allowed inside the Capitol and be immune to arrest by the knights. But I make no promises for what his Majesty does during that time!" He said heatedly, before walking off with his two subordinates to find the other heroes.

Naofumi looked from the three to the Knight Captain. "What was that?" He asked.

The captain looked at him coldly as well, before sighing and looking away. "You saved our village here. No matter your misdeeds in the past, you deserve some rights like all the other Cardinal Heroes to be free to join the celebration at the palace." He said calmly.

"Okay. Sure, and I think the King would love to have me there." Naofumi responded sarcastically. Why return when he could just take off with Raphtalia after they were done with the cleanup?

"Our commander swore on his title that no soldier there could touch you. Being the Royal Commander of all of Melromarc's forces, not even the King can write a royal decree to try and break such an oath. It's a promise that for at least one night you'd be immune to arrest inside Castle Town." The Captain explained.

Naofumi thought to himself calmly. '_If I go, the King might still try to pull something on me… but I'd be able to stop by Erhard's shop to get Raphtalia armor. And maybe the apothecary to learn how to make better medicines and those Healing Potions if I have time…'_ Naofumi nodded to the Captain. He was seeing more pros than cons in his mind. Plus, he was oddly tempted by the idea of being able to parade around at the King's party and watch the King glare at him while being unable to do anything. That last part seemed particularly appealing to him. "Fine. I'll come." Naofumi responded.

The Captain gave him a return nod and looked to his soldiers. "Let's go back and inform his Majesty of what happened here." The Captain ordered his men. "And by that, I mean all of us. And not our fame stealing Commander."

"Sir yes sir!" And with that, the Captain and the rest of the knights left to return to the Capital. Leaving Naofumi to ponder over the decision he'd made.

* * *

_A couple of hours later_

Naofumi stood at the entrance of the village, looking out towards the road leading to the Capital. Behind him, various villagers who'd come back from the coal mines were hard at work cleaning up the place. A couple of them were still being bandaged. A few stood at the sight of fresh graves. The few that Naofumi had failed to save.

He looked down at the ground in shame. '_Damn it! I tried so hard to keep everyone alive and I still failed!'_ He thought.

That had been the worst part of the last couple of hours. Seeing the bodies of those he had failed to save being lowered in the ground. He almost swore that he recognized two of them. Not from his past time being in Lute, but because he had used a skill or a fist or, or something to save them from a skeleton. A swarm of bees. Then he'd run away hoping they'd known how to get out of there...

He'd tried looking towards the graves, but seeing a daughter and her father crying over where their dead mother/wife had been buried brought tears to his eyes. He faced away so nobody would see them. The woman had been one of the two he recognized. And now he'd failed her family in keeping her alive.

'_DAMN IT!'_ He wanted so badly to just punch something.

...

"Master Naofumi…"

...

"What is it Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked tiredly.

"There aren't any more monsters here. I killed them all." She said. Her voice, for once, wasn't filled with emotion. Rather, it seemed she was still in a state of shock.

...

"That's good," Naofumi responded tiredly.

"I guess it is… but did we win?" She asked.

Naofumi glanced back at the fresh graves from before. There had to be at least half a dozen that had been buried in the town's graveyard. '_I don't know if this was a win if I'm being honest…'_ He thought sadly. It seemed like so many people. Especially when a couple of them had been ones he tried to save...

"Sir Hero!" A voice called out behind him.

"Hmmm?" Naofumi turned at the voice.

The Lord of Lute and many more of the townspeople stood behind him. The Lord was bowing to Naofumi. "Thank you very much. Please accept our gratitude, there's no way we ever could have survived without your help and courage."

Naofumi was caught off guard by the Lord's statement. '_He's… he's right.'_ He thought. Realizing that he'd seen this Lord and most of the rest in the first large group of villagers he had rescued.

"Well it wasn't me, we were lucky," Naofumi responded.

"No, if you and your friend hadn't been here, we would have never been able to push those monsters back all on our own." A younger villager who had been fighting the monsters said.

"Our homes would be destroyed instead of damaged." A woman holding a little girl said. "We'd have nothing."

"We'll never forget what you've done for us." The big burly town guard said. All the villagers bowed with their lord.

"None of us will." The villager who'd called Naofumi the Rapist demon before said determinedly.

...

"Yeah, whatever," Naofumi said, having to turn around. Again, he felt tears pricking at his eyes. '_Damn them for making me realize that we won here today!'_ He thought sadly in his mind. People had died, some he'd even tried to save, but many more had survived because of him and Raphtalia. He might have failed those people, but he had managed to save their friends and loved ones. That had to count for something…

The villagers eventually turned away and walked back towards their various homes.

"Master Naofumi, they looked truly grateful," Raphtalia said more happily to him. Her eyes were focused on one of the villagers holding a little sleeping girl lovingly to her shoulder.

"I… I guess," Naofumi said tiredly.

"Well, one thing's for sure at least." She looked down at the ground. "We did save some kids from going through what I did…"

"... yeah. We did… good job today Raphtalia."

…

"... Master Naofumi… …" Raphtalia sniffled. The bout of happiness had finally pulled her out of her shock. Now, the emotions that had been held back by it were unleashed. "I killed, so many monsters." She said, holding back tears from her eyes.

Naofumi turned to look at her. His eyes, though tired, were sad as well. '_I wonder how much she had to fight against her memories of the wave that destroyed her town during today…'_ He felt slightly guilty for her having to go through it to protect him. That had been the rest of the reason for why he had sent her to help evacuate the villagers. He hadn't wanted her to have to go through the trauma of reliving her experience of the wave monsters destroying everything. Holding it all back just long enough to make it through to the end…

"Come here." He said, embracing her in a hug. One of his hands moving to rub calming circles on the back of her head. She finally let the tears start falling onto his shoulder as she cried.

"I killed so many… but the pain from watching my village be destroyed isn't gone." She cried into his shoulder.

"It's okay Raphtalia. I'm proud of you." He said to her quietly, trusting her with being this close even out in the open where everyone could see them. He even allowed himself to smile down at her. "You helped the people here to win Raphtalia. We won today. Because of you."

Raphtalia sniffed again, and one of her hands moved to wipe some of her tears away. "Thank, thank you Master Naofumi." She whispered gratefully.

He backed away a little bit, wiping away the rest of her tears from her face. The action caught Raphtalia off guard somewhat. "And I'm sure the people of your village, along with your parents would be proud of you for what you did today."

She looked surprised for a second more, and then her face gained a heartfelt look to it. "Thank you." She said again, bowing her head to him. The tears running down her face were no longer tears of sadness and heartache for her lost village.

Naofumi looked up at the sun that was nearing the western horizon. Even though the day had been a dark one, it looked to be ending for the better.

"Let's go. Apparently we're being allowed in the Capital for tonight to celebrate." Naofumi said.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I have no idea how many times I watched through this part of the third Episode trying to decide on what to include and what to add and what to take out in the fighting. This took me a lot longer than I expected, but I like the result. Plus, with what we all know is most likely to come up, we're nearing the part where we'll finally break off more from the main story in different directions. For now, I'm just enjoying how Naofumi is more of a softie than he normally is in the show. Or maybe he's just allowing the soft side of him to show since it wasn't totally crushed this time around.**

**One difference I'd like to point out is something I noticed as a variation between the Light Novel and the Anime. In the Light Novel, it portrayed Raphtalia after this wave as being in one of those modes where she'd enjoyed fighting the wave. Whereas in the Anime it showed her break down after the fighting was over. It was a change I really came to appreciate in the anime. And I wanted to bring that out here too. Anyways, I hope you all continue to enjoy!**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	10. 10: The Sacred Duel

**I thought I'd mark a milestone here. This story is now the most popular story I've been writing on this site. Thanks again for all your love and support!**

**Also, sorry again about the length. The next chapters I have written up aren't nearly as long. But for now, enjoy!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _32 more favorites, 31 more Followers (Total: 350 Favorites, 388 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:**_ September 30th, 2019 2:05 P.M._

* * *

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own it. But man, I'd love to help with animating the fight scenes in shows._

* * *

**Chapter Ten:** _The Sacred Duel_

* * *

Naofumi stared at the party all around his table. Talented musicians on the stairs were playing a calming and beautiful tune for the partygoers, using violins and other string instruments. Servers went about bringing dishes and drinks to all the various guests. All sorts of high-class nobles talked amongst themselves or tried to speak to the Cardinal Heroes. Besides Naofumi. Who sat alone with Raphtalia at one of the side tables of the party on the lower level.

"It's unbelievable how the addition of the Cardinal Heroes turned back the wave of Catastrophe so easily." A nobleman said graciously in a group of nobles.

"We owe everything to our heroes." A sweet old noble lady added.

"It wasn't just them. I did my part as a royal knight, and stood my ground against a giant monster." The mustached Royal Knight Commander boasted in his group.

'_Wow, some party this is.'_ Naofumi thought boredly, before looking towards where the King was sitting on a throne in the upper levels. The King was staring pointedly in a different direction so as not to look at the stain on his kingdom's celebration. '_Sitting here's a little boring, but it was definitely worth coming here.'_

Naofumi smiled to himself at the memory of what had happened when he walked into the party and sat at his current table like he owned it. The king had gone from shocked, to outraged, to downright furious. The first being because the Shield Hero had come to his celebration. The second being because the SHIELD Hero had come to his celebration. The third being because the Shield Hero had come to his celebration, and because of his idiotic Royal Commander he couldn't do anything about it except sulk… and possibly take the head of his Commander later.

That had ended up being his main reason for being there and enjoying the celebration. Much to Raphtalia's ire. He didn't want to converse with anyone or eat any of the food. He just wanted to sit at his table, smiling like a kid at a pinata party while his one night stand of diplomatic immunity infuriated the Trash King to no end. It was pleasing in a way Naofumi had never thought possible.

He hadn't seen much of the other heroes and their parties so far bring on the lower level. Although, he did catch Ren glancing at him every now and then. Some of Ren and Itsuki's party members were sitting one table over from Naofumi. Itsuki was talking to many other different nobles on the lower levels. And Motoyasu, well if that wasn't a scowl Naofumi kept on looking at on the 2nd level of the party, he didn't know what it was. Maybe part of his face had been hurt during the fight with the Wave Boss, and now it was to forever look like he was scowling at everyone.

'_Probably still assumes that I raped that bitch or whatever since she joined his party.'_ He thought without much care as he looked away.

"Yeah right, we were the ones that did all the fighting while you cowered behind a barrel shaking in fear."

Naofumi looked back to the one group. The young Knight, Ake it looked like, had approached the boastful Commander and his group of nobles with a few of his fellow knights. "Don't listen to this man." Ake continued. "We were the ones who fought all the monsters while he cowered in fear behind us."

"What, I don't know what you're talking about-" The commander started to say indignantly.

Ake gasped. "Sir, there's a Zombie Captain behind you!" He said, pointing behind the Commander.

A large hand grabbed the Commander from behind, and a high pitched girlish scream escaped the Commander's lips. Ake, his fellow knights, and the one knight that had grabbed the Commander from behind started laughing at the simple prank working on one of their superiors. "Ake!" The mustached Commander bellowed.

_'So I guess some knights aren't so bad after all.'_ Naofumi thought with a hint of satisfaction at watching the now disinterested nobles move away from the distraught Royal Knight Commander.

One of them passed by a familiar-looking face resting against a pillar. He tried to remember where he had last seen it when he finally made the connection. '_That's the nun from the Three Heroes Church. Altara, I think.'_ It had been a while since he'd overheard the nun and Malty scheming together in the dining room of the inn. But he could still remember that face from anywhere.

At that moment, he saw Altara glance at him, only for her to scowl and walk away. Naofumi smirked to himself and leaned back in his chair. '_Heh, I guess she's still mad that she hasn't been able to kill me off. And that I broke into her Church so easily.'_ He thought. It was weird to take joy in having such a thought.

He'd learned shortly after arriving at the party that, apparently, Altara and the rest of her Church had never received confirmation if he and Raphtalia had survived the mines or not. They'd suspected the two had lived since they eventually found their dead agents and pinned their murders on him. But it hadn't been until he had broken into the Church earlier that day that they'd finally known for sure that he was very much alive. The skill that had damaged a lot of Lute Village had been a desperate attempt meant to kill him and Raphtalia off since they were surviving the monsters. But after seeing his shield withstand the attack and after seeing how angry the monsters had become towards them, the Church Agents who had been hiding amongst the knights had fled back to the Capital to report their failure and blame it on the Commander.

Oh, and the reason Naofumi had learned about it was that he had overheard Altara speaking angrily to someone out in the hallway who looked like a high priest. She had looked like a devil with how angry she had been. '_Seriously, I wonder what her problem is. She already hated me before I broke into the Church so I could fight the wave.'_ Naofumi thought boredly.

Then again, he could have easily accepted Itsuki's party invite and avoided the damage he'd caused to the Church on his way to the dragon hourglass. But where was the fun in that?

Either way, Altara and the other followers of the Three Heroes Church knew what Raphtalia looked like now since she'd fought by his side during the Wave. He guessed they couldn't hide that fact from them forever. However, now that it was known, he realized it was going to be harder for them to sell their wares in whatever village they went without being recognized by the Church's agents unless he came up with a different idea to avoid being recognized. Which, was future Naofumi's problem, since right now, present Naofumi knew that nobody could lay a finger on him. And no one wanted to deal with him since they were afraid of the rumors circulating about him and his demon-like tendencies.

"Mmmm, master you should try this. It tastes delicious," Raphtalia said happily next to him as she dug into some dessert. It looked like a rich creamy chocolate cake. No doubt it was made from the finest ingredients.

He smiled for her. "Sorry, Raphtalia. Still can't taste anything." Naofumi pointed out.

Raphtalia rolled her eyes. "Come on, you haven't even tried it." She said. She put some on a fork and moved it towards Naofumi's mouth. "Eat." She ordered.

"I already said I don't want to," Naofumi said, rolling his eyes at her as he crossed his arms and looked away.

Raphtalia pouted. "Master Naofumi. You're acting like such a kid." She scolded him.

"Okay, I am not acting like a-" Naofumi said, facing her again. "Umf!"

Raphtalia smiled in victory. "I can't believe the same trick you used on me when I didn't want to eat something also worked on you." She said happily.

Naofumi gritted his teeth, forcing himself to feel the food Raphtalia had put in his mouth. Besides the different texture to it, it tasted the same as everything else he'd ever eaten. Like nothing was there. He swallowed it. "There, I still couldn't taste anything, happy now?" He asked her grumpily.

She smiled widely for him. "Of course." She said happily.

Naofumi groaned. '_Yeah, right? And to think Raphatlia had wanted to explode on the spot earlier when I said we were going to the palace for the celebration.'_ Which was understandable. She didn't trust the knights or their promises. She also didn't want to see her master get thrown into a dungeon because he had wanted his unarrestable presence to infuriate the King. However, as soon as she'd seen the food they were offering here, it was like she had completely forgotten why she hadn't wanted to come. And now she was eating like she had been before she shifted from a child to a young adult.

"Careful, you'll probably get fat if you continue eating like that," Naofumi said dryly, with a hint of humor in his voice.

"After how much I leveled up today I don't care, I'm starving!" She said, not even trying to defend herself.

Naofumi's stomach grumbled unhappily in response. He grimaced as he looked down at it. '_She has a good point. I think we both increased 4 or 5 levels because of the wave today.'_ It had been the most they'd ever gone up in a day before. Just to make sure, he quickly checked their levels. His had gone up to 29, and hers had gone up to 33. '_Hell, we did go up a ton today.'_ He realized.

"And I'm sure it'll make up for us not getting any reward money Master Naofumi," Raphtalia reasoned happily, continuing to eat.

...

Naofumi realized that Raphtalia made a very good point. So instead of teasing her more, he accepted her logic, steeled himself and grabbed some food off a passing server's tray. "Then continue eating till you can't eat anymore. If that piece of Trash won't pay us for defending his village, then you're going to eat him out of house and castle."

"Mmkay!" Raphtalia shouted happily through a mouth full of food.

Naofumi looked down at what appeared to be a slab of steak with some vegetables on the side. It looked like it had been cooked to perfection, but one bite confirmed that it still held no taste despite receiving the best cooking. '_Damn… just... damn…'_

He forced himself to continue eating. '_Someday, I'm going to figure out why I can't taste food anymore. Then I'm going to learn how to taste food again. Because I'm getting sick of this bland taste in my mouth.'_ He thought despondently. Not even the nasty glares he received from the king every now and then were enough to improve his mood while eating.

"And the latest reports say that there were very few casualties. Less than ten in the whole village." He heard a nobleman say nearby in a different conversation.

"But in the last wave, there were hundreds of casualties in the region of Saetto." A noble lady said in surprise.

'_I'll ask Raphtalia about that later. She did say her village was destroyed in a wave. I wonder if that was the area it was in.'_ He thought.

"We can thank our heroes and knights for keeping the numbers so low." The nobleman replied.

"Are we sure we can thank all the heroes though?" The noble lady asked skeptically.

He could have sworn the two nobles were glaring at the back of his head at that moment. "To believe the nerve of that Commander. Letting that useless thug into our midst." The noble lady said indignantly.

"There's nothing we can do about it, Lady Diana." The nobleman said to her calmly.

"Then why don't our heroes try to do something to deal with this filth?" Lady Diana asked the nobleman.

Naofumi stopped listening to their conversation. '_Because they're too busy with the party to want to bother with me. And unlike you, they realize that Raphtalia and I were defending that village.'_ He thought. Honestly, this was also why he and Raphtalia got a table for themselves. He could have never survived having to talk to the puffed-up idiots in tuxedos and gowns around him since it looked like all of them hated him for one reason or another. For the shallowest and most ignorant of reasons.

Typical of nobles.

"Wait, one of them is going to him now." The noble lady behind him said excitedly.

Naofumi looked up and saw Itsuki. Only, the lady had been mistaken. He was walking by, not going to him. "Hey, Itsuki, based on how everyone's acting, do you still think it was a good idea for me to come here?" He asked loud enough that he knew the Bow Hero would hear him.

A soft scowl appeared on Itsuki's face, other than that he ignored the Shield Hero and went to converse with some other nobles that wanted to talk to him. '_Yeah, that's right. Eat your words from earlier you spoiled Robin Hood brat.'_ Naofumi thought smugly in his mind. '_They wouldn't believe me even if the evidence was right in front of their faces.'_

"So master Naofumi, how much longer are we planning to stay here?" Raphtalia asked.

"Well, since you reminded me that the King decided to take the reward money he had set aside for me and used it to finance this party... We'll leave after I feel like you've eaten back all our reward money." Naofumi responded, smirking up towards the king. He received another glare in response. '_Hell, I might receive my reward just by watching the faces the King is making right now.'_

"Got it." She responded happily as she continued to eat.

'_If I'm seriously getting no reward for defending a whole village, then I might as well get my money's worth out of this.'_ He thought. And based on how much Raphtalia had already eaten, and the rate that she was eating, he was very sure he'd reach it within the hour. '_Though that also means that we might not be able to afford everything we'll need before leaving the Capital…'_ Naofumi then realized. '_Damn. That King just keeps on wanting to make it harder on me, doesn't he?'_

...

He had taken another bite of his food and saw that Myne had managed to detach herself from off of Motoyasu up above to speak to the King. Then somebody sat down in the chair next to him. He turned his head and saw Ren sitting down to stretch his legs out. "You do realize it was a mistake to come to this party, right Naofumi?" He asked, not turning to face Naofumi.

Naofumi shrugged. "I helped defend the Village of Lute. I was promised not to be harassed by the knights while I was here. I deserve at least something for doing that." He responded.

"That's not what I'm talking about Naofumi," Ren said, he turned his face away as if to make talk with one of his party members sitting across from him at the other table. The other table's seats were full, as all of Ren and Itsuki's party members were now sitting, eating, and chatting with each other. It looked perfectly reasonable for Ren to sit at Naofumi's table so he could talk to his party members. Only, the party member, already knowing Ren's plan, started to pretend to talk back to Ren while Ren actually spoke to Naofumi. "The Knights are all sworn to not attack you tonight because of the Commander's Promise. But the Knights of the Church of the Three Heroes made no such promise."

Naofumi froze midbite. "What do you mean?" Naofumi asked, his curiosity hooked.

Ren didn't face Naofumi and continued as if he was talking to his party member. "Some of the knights here aren't Capital Knights. They are under a different chain of command than the Royal Knight Commander." Ren nodded his head while pretending to talk to his squadmate, who talked back meaningless chatter to fulfill the ruse. They didn't want it to be shown that one of the four heroes was talking to the Shield Hero, lest Ren was suspected by Myne too. Fortunately, Myne and her Father were busy talking with each other in hushed tones.

Naofumi glanced at the direction where Ren had nodded his head, and saw a knight in full armor glaring at him from a side hallway. He did not look like Ake or any of his fellow knights. And when looked at closely, the Knight had a rosary hanging around his neck.

Realization lit in Naofumi's mind before Ren continued speaking. "The Church of the Three Heroes has some of their own knights planted here without the King knowing of it. They're not strong like Capital Knights, but I overheard that as soon as you and your slave friend leave this party, they're going to ambush you out in the courtyard and make it look like you were attacking a squad of Capital Knights. At that point, the Commander's promise will become void since everyone will be convinced that you initiated the attack and they'll be able to imprison both you and your friend." Ren said seriously.

Naofumi's eyes narrowed down at his plate. '_What the hell. Couldn't I just have one night of peace since I helped to defend against the waves!'_ He thought angrily. He'd figured the Three Heroes Church would be angry with him for breaking into their Church and registering himself to the Dragon Hourglass without their consent, but this was ridiculous! He freaking fought off the wave and likely protected some of their followers!

"Any idea why they'd do that since I helped to defend the village during the wave?" Naofumi asked.

Ren shook his head.

"Raphtalia, I want you to finish up," Naofumi said to the still eating demi-human.

"Hrmm?" She asked through a mouthful of food.

"Finish up. Both of us are leaving. In a hurry." Naofumi said to her. '_And I was really hoping to stop by Erhard's shop. I guess we won't have a choice now. Not like we had much money to spare anyway.'_ Naofumi thought grumpily.

Raphtalia shrugged. She had been close to getting full anyways. After eating through three cakes, enough parts to make a whole pig, and goodness knows what else the servers had passed by with on their trays; she was starting to get... somewhat full. She could have eaten another pig if she wanted. Increasing five levels really gave the Tanuki girl a serious appetite.

"Even if you try to leave now, it sounded like they'd be ready and waiting for you with slow magic on your exit," Ren warned. "You won't be able to avoid them."

"Then why are you telling me about this?" Naofumi asked Ren, doing his best to keep down his frustration.

Ren still pretended to talk to his squadmate who pretended to talk back. "Because I found it suspicious that night when the King's daughter claimed that you raped her, only for her to quickly end up in bed with Motoyasu." Ren turned his head to glance at Naofumi. "I had a good friend back in my world who almost got raped in a VRMMO. Even though I managed to save her in time, she was conscious of other people outside the VRMMO game we played for the longest time. I know what rape victims look like. And Myne hasn't acted like a rape victim one bit since you left." His eyes narrowed. "I don't fully trust you since you ran away Naofumi, but I trust the King's daughter even less."

'_... Well, he still comes off a little prideful to me. But if he's really willing to help me out.'_ Naofumi thought. Besides, Ren was supposed to be worshipped by the Church. It was likely he knew more about them because of that… and it warmed him a little that Ren was somewhat for him. "Okay. So how are me and Raphtalia getting out without the Church knights attacking us?" Naofumi asked.

"You don't." He looked towards Motoyasu at that moment. Naofumi looked and saw that the Spear Hero had Myne at his side again, and she was whispering something into his ear at the balcony up above. "Through my eavesdropping, I also figured out that Myne was looking for the perfect idea to hurt you since you couldn't be arrested formally. I had a squadmate who knows a thing or two about your friend leak some information to Myne. If she's really the type of person I suspect she is, then she's setting up her own way of trying to knock you down right now." He said. "And if she goes through with it, I'll be convinced that she's working to ruin you."

Naofumi saw an angry look move over Motoyasu's face. He then glanced and saw the King thoughtfully observing the lower floor without any hint of glaring, looking more thoughtful instead. As if he was thinking about how to intervene in something at a moment's notice. The Spear Hero started to descend the stairs, calmly looking in Naofumi's direction. "What did you leak to her?" Naofumi asked, having a feeling of dread settle in his gut.

"Something that will keep the Church Knights from being able to openly interfere now. Just don't ruin your chance, and expose Myne. Otherwise, Itsuki and I won't be able to help." Ren said as he got up. He went to where Itsuki was standing to talk to him.

Naofumi looked back down at his plate and took the last bite of his meal. Ren had given Naofumi all the puzzle pieces, he just had to figure out how to put them together. Though the approaching Motoyasu had him unsure if he should just bolt then or not instead of figuring out Ren's end goal.

"Master Naofumi, I'm ready." Raphtalia said around a bite of cake as she stood up.

For some reason, Naofumi didn't get up. Internally, he decided to see where this would go. It might have been the last bit, Ren saying to expose Myne, that made him sit down long enough for Motoyasu to approach.

"Naofumi."

A glove hit the ground in front of Naofumi. Naofumi looked down at the glove, and then up at Motoyasu's face. '_What is he-'_

"Time to fight." Motoyasu said in a deadly calm voice.

All chatter in the dining room stopped, and everyone stared at the two of them. "It's about time somebody said that to that piece of trash." Naofumi suspected it was the Lady Diana from earlier who said that.

"What are you talking about-" Naofumi started to ask in a confused voice.

"I've heard that you made this poor girl here your slave." Motoyasu continued in his deadly calm voice, interrupting Naofumi. "And that she obeys your every command." He stated it as a fact, not a rumor.

'_... ... Damn you, Ren.'_ Naofumi thought angrily in his mind. How had one of his squadmates learned about that fact!? Still, he had to admit, it was a pretty good out Ren had given him. If he was forced to fight Motoyasu than he couldn't be attacked by the Church's knights and imprisoned unfairly. The problem was, he had to fight Motoyasu, instead of a group of Church Knights. And he somehow had to expose Myne while doing that.

"So what that Raphtalia's my slave? Why do you care?" Naofumi asked, his voice bland.

"Watch your tone," Motoyasu said. "You can't be saying it's alright to enslave others!" He said a little more angrily.

"Really?" Naofumi asked while standing up. "Cause I'm pretty sure that more than half the nobles in here also have slaves back at their own manors!" Naofumi yelled, making sure he was heard by everyone. Including the King. "In case you didn't notice, slavery isn't illegal here. And most of these people treat their slaves as less than human beings."

Raphtalia set her plate down. "Um, Spear Hero, this really isn't necessary. Master Naofumi has been good to me-" She tried to say.

Motoyasu's face twisted into a scowl. "As if. You can spout your lies all you want Naofumi, but I'm here right now to help set this slave girl free of you!" He yelled at Naofumi.

"Did you not just listen to a word she said? Raphtalia said I've been good to her! Are you really that thick skulled Motoyasu?" Naofumi asked quizzically.

"Myne told me how a slave crest works! She's not allowed to say anything that would go against what you want her to say right now!"

Raphtalia got up angrily, her tail bushing out in agitation behind her. Naofumi glanced from Motoyasu to Myne to the King. He also saw Knights beginning to assemble near the exit, in case he tried to dismiss the challenge and walk out. The puzzle pieces Ren gave him came together. Though Motoyasu didn't see it, Naofumi could already see through the plot Myne had made with her Father.

'_So, that's how they want to play it, huh?'_ He thought. '_They want us to resist and try to leave so they can separate me and Raphtalia and set up a duel on their terms. And if I attack them, the Commander's Promise will become void and I'll be thrown into the dungeons… and Motoyasu is trusting enough of Myne that he'll follow whatever it is she tells him... Thank goodness Ren gave me advance notice.'_

"Alright then. If you won't take Raphtalia's word for it, then you're on," Naofumi said. Much to Raphtalia's, Myne's, and most everyone else's surprise. "I accept your challenge!"

'_Even if I try to refuse and manage to get me and Raphtalia into the hallway by intimidating the Capital Knights, we're going to be ambushed by Church Knights after we leave.'_ He thought logically to himself. '_And knowing Myne, she'll take it as an opportunity to have Raphtalia killed for supporting me. Blaming her slave crest as an excuse for having to take such a drastic measure. I have to do this willingly now on my terms if I want to keep Raphtalia and me from having to suffer at their hands.'_ He thought determinedly. "If I win, then I get to keep Raphtalia, and we'll both be allowed to leave the Capital without further harassment from **anyone**!" Naofumi yelled loud enough for everyone to hear. Including the King and the Pope.

"But, but that's not fair." Motoyasu tried to complain. Myne also opened her mouth to speak.

"And if I lose." Naofumi cut off the red haired bitch. "You can set Raphtalia free and only throw me into a dungeon without any of my gear except my shield!"

Raphtalia stared at him in surprise. "But, but Master Naofumi-" She tried to say to him.

He looked at her, and she saw the look of sadness in his eyes, but also the look of determination. He shook his head at her, telling her to be quiet. She remained silent. '_That's what Myne had plotted to do to me, and that's exactly what I've heard the King planned to have done to me.'_ He looked back at Motoyasu. "Those are my terms. I have more to lose than you Motoyasu. And you'd never have to see my face again. Do you accept?" Naofumi asked, his voice containing a challenge to it.

Motoyasu growled. "Fine, you're on." He said before Myne could come forward to intervene. Try to convince him to go for a different deal. He almost wished Myne had spoken before Motoyasu. Maybe that would have been enough to convince Ren and Itsuki. But now the duel was set. On his own terms.

That was what Naofumi had been counting on. Motoyasu accepting before his bitch princess could interfere. '_There, now this fight will be on my terms, bitch.'_

Naofumi looked around at the assembled nobility. "I'll just make it clear now that no one wanted to help me in the beginning! Everyone who signed up to support me was either executed or imprisoned, though I doubt you'd believe me about that! I also doubt you'd believe I learned of people plotting to have me killed! But from my point of view, I had no other choice but to run away and purchase a slave if I wanted to survive!" Raphtalia looked surprised next to him learning what had happened to Naofumi's original support group. "Raphtalia may be my slave, but at least I've done my best to treat her as a person instead of an item to be tortured and abused, unlike some of you to your slaves…" He paused to glare harshly at some of them. "... yet if you worthless idiots are so determined to think of me as a heartless criminal that's siding with the devil, then you can burn in hell for all I care! You'll get what's coming your way for your evil deeds!"

Having made his point, and with some of the nobility either feeling ashamed or enraged at his words; Naofumi looked directly to the king. "Well, Trash King! Did you want us to duel here amongst your guests, or do you have someplace in mind!?" Naofumi asked the King with a challenge in his tone. "After all, I'd hate to tear up this pretty little trash castle of yours!"

The King growled down at him for the trash comment. He had been hoping that the Shield Hero would try to resist so he could make it more unfair on Naofumi. But to do that now would make him look like the bad guy instead of the Shield Hero. And some of the nobles appeared troubled by the words that Naofumi had said. He couldn't have this… fiend turning his own nobility against him! No, he'd rather die.

"There will be no fighting in my palace." King Aultcray said calmly, before looking to the Knights. "Prepare the arena!" He ordered them.

"Yes, your Majesty!"

* * *

Naofumi stood in an almost pitch dark cellar. To the side of him was a stockpile of various weapons. He tried to grab for a sword, only for his hand to get shocked away. The familiar notification that he couldn't use a weapon other than the legendary weapon appeared in front of his face. '_Damn, so I'm still stuck at level 29, with low attack power to deal with Motoyasu.'_ He thought to himself.

He pulled up his shield menu to look at the shields he could possibly use for this fight. Because of some of the monster drops Raphtalia had brought to him, he had gotten even more passive defense stats. A stinger from a dimensional bee had increased his attack stat!… by 1... It was something.

However, the real game-changer for him was that she'd managed to bring him a few pieces of the chimera monster that the heroes had fought in the forest that drastically raised his defensive stats. He looked over one shield in particular. '_This… I actually hope I won't have to use it.'_ He thought. He was surprised to have gotten such a shield with a powerful counter on it, but it would not look good if he used it. It might just make people think he really was evil if he used it on someone else.

He dropped the shield menu and looked down at his hands. On his right wrist above the shield was one of the slave cuffs Raphtalia normally wore.

...

* * *

_The two of them stood in the dark unlit room together. Raphtalia was helping to make sure that his armor and cloak were on properly. "Master Naofumi, I just noticed, why are there bulges hiding under your cloak?" She asked._

"_Oh, it's just a surprise for Motoyasu. I picked them up on the way to the Capital. Just in case I'd needed to fight someone." Naofumi said lightheartedly to try and cheer her up. She'd looked so sullen ever since he'd accepted the duel with Motoyasu._

…

_After a moment, Naofumi sighed. "Look, I know you don't approve of this Raphtalia." He said seriously to her. "However, I didn't have a choice. It was either try and get out of the King and Princess's scheme or walk head-on into another one that had a higher chance of killing us. Of killing you."_

_..._

"_You're regretting going to that party now, aren't you?" She asked sadly._

_He shrugged. "Maybe a little bit… but it was fun while it lasted… ..."_

_Raphtalia looked up into his eyes. "Would the other way have allowed me to protect you Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked sadly. "Here, all I can do is watch from the sidelines."_

"_Hey, you can still keep watch in case they try to do something to interfere with the duel." He said. When that didn't make her feel better, he gripped her shoulder. "Raphtalia. I know you would fight for me if you could. But this is my fight." He smirked. "And I have no intention of losing it. Or you."_

_Raphtalia blinked up at him, even as tears filled the corners of her eyes. She quickly unclasped one of her slave bands off her wrists and handed it over to Naofumi. "Here, take it." She said quietly. She didn't need them really since Naofumi never chained her. Rather she used them to keep her sleeves from moving up her arms during a fight. They had become as much a part of her as anything else._

"_Why are you giving me this?" Naofumi asked her curiously._

_Raphtalia clasped her hands nervously in front of her. "Because I don't want you thinking you're going into this battle alone Master Naofumi." She said quietly. "And I know I'm not worth much like this slave band... but if it helps you to remember that you have someone there who supports you, then-" She tried to continue._

"_Raphtalia." Naofumi cut her off. "At this point, I could care less about what you think you're worth." Her eyes became sad at what he said. "... because a bag of gold coins would be worth nothing compared to you."_

_Raphtalia looked up at Naofumi in surprise. "Don't undervalue yourself Raphtalia. You've been keeping me sane since the beginning. I've trusted you, and told you things I never told anyone else before."_ _He clasped what Raphtalia termed as her 'worthless' slave cuff to his right wrist, just above his shield. He handled it as if it were a priceless heirloom. "It's going to take more than a stubborn idiot hero and a foolish trash king to change that." He said seriously._

_For a moment, Raphtalia was shocked. Then, her eyes softened, and a tear fell down the right side of her face. Her tail wagged happily behind her. "Thank you, Master Naofumi." Before Naofumi knew what was happening, Raphtalia hugged him and laid a quick kiss on his cheek. She then backed away, her face flushed a bright red in the darkness of the room. "Be careful out there. Sir Shield Hero. I'll be rooting for you." She said, before quickly leaving him._

* * *

…

Naofumi's thoughts returned to the present. '_Damn it! I'm not a lolicon! I'm so not a freaking lolicon!'_ He thought to himself again. He shouldn't be having these thoughts about Raphtalia! She looked like a freaking high schooler for crying out loud! And more than that, she was still only ten years old! He was literally twice her age!

"The duel between the Spear Hero and the Shield Hero will now begin!" A voice announced outside to the crowd, dragging Naofumi out of his thoughts of what had happened earlier. He slapped himself to try and focus himself. His very low attack power, glaringly obvious now, kept him from feeling the slap. '_I guess there's not much else I can do now.'_ He thought. Though one of his hands ghosted the side of his face where Raphtalia had kissed his cheek. Odd, even with his high defense, he could still feel the warmth the brief kiss had left behind on the area of skin. '_... lolicons… don't be like the lolicons...'_

"The duel will end only when one of the combatants is either pinned or admits that he has been defeated."

After a moment, the doors in front of him opened, revealing an empty hallway. He walked out through towards the field of the duel arena. He breathed in and out calmly. '_Alright. All you have to do is win this Naofumi. That's all you have to do, and then you're out of here.'_ He thought encouragingly to himself. '_It'll be easy. You just have to not distract yourself with thoughts of lolis.'_

He walked out into the large arena.

Up above, the nobles cheered for Motoyasu, who came out of the wall opposite him at the same time. Naofumi saw that on his left was King Aultcray with several of his knights around him. On his right was the Pope with several of his followers including Lady Altara. All around them were the various nobles and even a few citizens of the Capital who'd come to watch the Sacred Duel. Down below by the left wall was Malty, and by the right wall was Raphtalia.

"This duel will take place in the presence of King Melromarc, and the Pope. And it is thus legitimate, and official." The announcer for the duel yelled over the din of the people.

'_Scratch that. This won't be easy. It's going to be difficult as hell.'_ Naofumi thought realistically.

"Sir Motoyasu! Best of luck!" Malty said happily to her favorite hero. Motoyasu gave her a smile and a nod while approaching Naofumi.

Raphtalia said nothing, but she gave him an encouraging nod. He felt grateful that she had chosen to be down on the battlefield too, even if she wasn't participating. He circled the slave cuff on his wrist. '_Raphtalia… I'll win. Somehow.'_ He thought he could still feel the spot on his cheek where she had kissed it. He tried his best not to imagine it the way a lolicon would. But the thought helped to bring him determination.

Up above, Itsuki and Ren sat next to each other in one of the back rows. Both of them calmly watching the two heroes down below. "You were right," Itsuki said to Ren. "Myne did exactly what you said she would."

Ren's eyes narrowed at Naofumi down below. Myne really did want Naofumi out of the picture. Yet he didn't know why she had a personal vendetta against him. Or maybe it was for a different goal altogether. One that Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu hadn't been told about yet. "Let's just hope that Naofumi doesn't lose this duel outright and that he provokes Myne into interfering. Otherwise, there'll be nothing we can do to help him." He'd be able to investigate Myne and the Church, but by the time he'd expose them, it might be too late for Naofumi if he was imprisoned after the duel.

Motoyasu and Naofumi stopped a little way from each other. Both giants in their own right. One which represented the people of the Kingdom, and the other which represented the outcast they'd branded as a devil. Which Naofumi found funny since it was more obvious to him now that the real devils were supporting Motoyasu.

"Hey Naofumi, in your world, did you ever hear the folktale about the irresistible spear and the immovable shield?" Motoyasu asked.

Naofumi said nothing. Motoyasu spun his spear around and then held it in an attack stance. "Naofumi, be a man and admit defeat!"

Naofumi continued to calmly stare him down. "And spend the rest of my life in a dungeon?" He asked. "Not happening." He opened the menu on his shield and changed the shield on his arm to the Light Metal Shield. He held it up in a defensive pose in front of him.

Motoyasu didn't reply, and instead did the same thing Naofumi had done. Changing the tip of his spear into a different spearhead that looked reminiscent to a thick three-pronged trident by way of his menu.

The two stood in their stances. Waiting for the start of the duel...

...

"Ready, begin!" The announcer yelled.

"Hahhhhhgh!" Motoyasu yelled as he charged forward, and jumped up into the air to attack Naofumi from above.

It was Naofumi's first duel against another person in this world, yet he quickly blocked one strike to the front, a second from the side, and a third in front again. His armor didn't impede his movements in the slightest. '_Thanks, old man. Your armor idea actually does work.'_

Motoyasu was in the air above Naofumi, his still spear trying to pierce the shield on his third strike. "Not to bad! I guess the Shield Hero has a few moves!"

"You got that right," Naofumi spoke in a calm voice. "So in this folktale battle between a spear and a Shield." Motoyasu was caught off guard by the calm look on Naofumi's face. "Did you know that the spear actually lost, when it couldn't pierce the shield!" He yelled before he finally pushed Motoyasu back with the shield.

Motoyasu landed on the ground over a dozen feet away. "Face it Motoyasu, you lost the moment your spear couldn't pierce through my shield!" Naofumi yelled tauntingly back.

"Urgh! Nobody here would ever accept a defeat like that!" Motoyasu yelled, pointing his spear at Naofumi as he activated a skill. "Chaos Spear!"

He dashed forward quickly thrusting at Naofumi again, but at over four times the speed he had been before. Naofumi moved his shield as quick as he could left and right, trying to block all the strikes, but one of them near the end knocked his shield out of the way. He jumped back gasping in pain as he felt blood surge out from two new wounds in his shoulder and side.

"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled worriedly.

"Keep going sir Motoyasu!" Malty yelled from her side. "Show the Shield Hero how worthless he is in a fight!"

Motoyasu grimaced, however, seeing how the skill had actually done little damage to Naofumi's HP bar. The wounds were very shallow. Barely little more than papercuts under Naofumi's armor. '_Damn it. Naofumi's higher than average defense stat might make this a little more tiring than I thought.'_ Motoyasu thought to himself. _'Naofumi might not do much damage, but it'll take a lot to bring down this tank.'_

Naofumi grit his teeth as he stood back up. Glaring at Motoyasu. '_I won't win by staying on the defensive.'_ He thought before charging forward.

Motoyasu was caught off guard by how quickly Naofumi ran due to the way his Barbarian Armor was designed. He tried to charge forward to impale Naofumi with his spear, but Naofumi moved the spear out of the way and punched Motoyasu in the gut with his shield, lifting the Spear Hero up into the air.

Malty started laughing into her hand. "He's trying to strike using the shield? That'll never-" She stopped speaking though, and her smirk was replaced with a look of surprise.

"Ow! What?!" Motoyasu yelled in pain as he stepped back to look down at himself. A single orange balloon was now chewing on Motoyasu's side. "Get it off!"

"A balloon?!" Malty yelled incredulously. "Used as a battle weapon?!"

Raphtalia smiled widely on the side, finally realizing what the bulges beneath his armor had been. '_That's Master Naofumi for you. Always doing the thing you'd least expect to happen.'_ She thought happily to herself.

Naofumi backed away and finally opened his cloak. A smirk came onto his face as he showed the half dozen or so balloons munching on his body underneath. Shocked gasps and outcries came from the crowd up above. '_I knew it. His attack stat is high because of his offensive weapon, but his defense stat is such utter bull crap that even balloons can hurt him.'_ He thought.

"Tell me, what the hell are you up to?!" Motoyasu said angrily.

"It's true that I don't have much attack power on my own, but I have no intention of losing against you. So if you want to fight me, then I'm going to use whatever I have to hurt you as much as I can to win!" Naofumi yelled, hurling another balloon from off his body at Motoyasu.

"To hell you will!" Motoyasu yelled, swinging his spear through the balloon and popping it. He then charged for Naofumi to impale him with a different spearhead, while Naofumi's shield glowed as it changed to a different shield. "Come on Shield Hero! You're going to fight fair-"

His spear came in contact with a different shield. Unlike the others, this one had two dog heads on it. Naofumi smirked as the dog's eyes glowed red, before extending to bite at Motoyasu. "Ow, hey, get off of me!" Motoyasu yelled as he tried to jump back. But the dog heads elongated further off the shield and kept following him biting at his arms.

'_Counter skill of the __**Two Dog Head Shield**__. They bite at the target for up to thirty seconds after being attacked directly. And they hurt almost as much as the real thing!'_ Naofumi noted. Though he didn't need 30 seconds for what he did next.

"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi yelled. A green shield appeared in front of him, and it thrust forward into Motoyasu's gut similarly to how he'd used it on the monsters in the wave. Spittle came flying out of Motoyasu's mouth from the force of the hit.

"Shield Prison!" Naofumi yelled, throwing several balloons at Motoyasu at the same time.

The Air Strike shield dissipated just as a familiar green-plated chain ball appeared around Motoyasu, trapping him inside. Motoyasu shook his head, trying to recover from the air he had lost from the last hit. However, his eyes widened in fear when he saw several pairs of glowing red eyes appear in the darkness around him. Eyes that lit up the teeth of some hungry looking balloons.

"Ow! Hey! Stop that! No! Hey, that hurts!" Motoyasu yelled inside the death trap that moved around with his struggling. With how small the ball was, he couldn't maneuver his spear around to hit at the balloons. So, like Naofumi, he was having to resort to using his fists to try and deal with them. And unlike Naofumi, he didn't have fists of steel to punch balloons with. "Ow! My fingers!" **Chomp!** "Aughhhh!"

Naofumi smirked in his spot. '_Wow, at the rate I'm going, I might not even have to use that shield in my arsenal.'_ He thought to himself.

Malty growled in her spot. "There's no way." "The Shield Hero is actually overpowering the Spear Hero." Some of the nobles started to mutter to each other in the crowd up above.

"The Shield Hero is really overwhelming the Spear Hero."

"How is he doing that?"

"There's no way. He has no attack power."

Altara looked to the Pope worriedly as the nobles whispered amongst each other. He couldn't just be allowed to break into and desecrate their Church with his presence! Yet the Pope was softly smiling. "Patience Altara. The Spear Hero won't go down that easy." He said to her in a calm voice.

"Does the lowly Shield Hero really think he can best the Spear Hero?" Lady Diana said loudly in the crowd.

"Have you no honor for a sacred duel?!" A nobleman said angrily.

Naofumi approached the Shield Prison, glancing at Raphtalia as he did so. She was smiling really widely for him at that moment, letting him know how proud of him she was. For some reason, he smiled back. Even though he could hear the nobles up above trying to yell discouraging things to him. The fact that Raphtalia was smiling at him made him not care about what was being hurled at him from up above. They didn't matter.

"It's time for you to admit defeat, or do you want more embarrassment tough guy?" Naofumi yelled confidently.

At that moment, the Shield Prison disappeared. Motoyasu was leaning on his spear, with several balloons still munching on him. "And why would I ever surrender now?" He tiredly asked.

Naofumi looked down at him with a blank face, seeing determination still shining in Motoyasu's eyes. "Alright I see," Naofumi said. He grabbed two more balloons from under his cloak. "I guess I'll have to take aim at that handsome face and precious manhood of yours if you don't want to give up!" He said, his face taking on the same crazed look he'd found effective on the thieves long ago.

"Uh!" Motoyasu suddenly didn't look so sure about continuing now.

Naofumi raised his arms above him. "Might as well since you think of me as a cowardly cheat!"

A look of fear went over Motoyasu's face. "Aughhhh! No-" He yelled while he curled in on himself.

Raphtalia's eyes widened. "Master Naofumi! Behind you!" She yelled.

Naofumi gasped in surprise and turned in time to see what looked like a physical gust of wind heading right for him. His shield quickly changed from the **Pipe Shield** to the **Light Metal Shield** almost on its own, and the dome of magic energy encompassed him right as the spell hit against it. Just like it had when the magic skill **Burning Arrows** had been falling down all around him in the Village of Lute. This time, he strained to keep his footing as the wind surged around him.

_'What the hell?'_ He thought confusedly. The balloons he'd been holding were carried off by the wind.

Naofumi looked past the barrier he'd made, and saw a smirking Malty standing in her spot. Her hand was outstretched, still glowing pink from the spell she had just cast.

"There." Itsuki pointed out the magic spell Myne had cast.

Ren's eyes narrowed. "Alright, let's go stop this duel." The two of them began to sit up.

'_You mean, she can use magic too!'_ Naofumi realized. '_That bitch! She just tried to interfere with the duel with magic!'_ The warm feeling in his chest was displaced by the more familiar rage and hatred he had bottled up for this bitch ever since the night he'd learned she was going to betray him. "Aughhhh!" Naofumi screamed in rage. Up above, Ren and Itsuki stopped moving and looked back down below at the screaming Naofumi.

"Yaghhhh!" Motoyasu got back up, clearing the last balloon off his body before flying forward, his spear raised to strike at Naofumi.

Naofumi quickly turned, his eyes widening as he barely avoided the attack that went sideways past his head. _'The fight!'_ He had to stop this fight so he could slug Myne!

"Motoyasu doesn't realize that Myne interfered," Itsuki said incredulously.

"Didn't you see that?!" Naofumi asked incredulously as he blocked the next few strikes that came at him. "Myne over there just tried to cast magic on me! That's outside interference!" Naofumi yelled at Motoyasu as he blocked another direct strike to his chest area, pushing him back away from Motoyasu.

"Myne would never do something like that, you coward!" He yelled, bringing his spear back. "Now, Lightning, Spear!" Motoyasu yelled. Motoyasu's spear glowed a bright blue as electricity coursed through it, and then Motoyasu launched the beam of energy at Naofumi.

"Crap. We won't be able to stop this duel with him fighting the way he is." Ren realized.

Naofumi quickly brought his shield up in front of him, but he hadn't realized how grateful he had been in that moment to still have the Light Metal Shield equipped. Because even with the barrier it cast over him, the magic elemental skill attack managed to burst through the barrier, and then his shield to pierce into his gut. "Argh!" Naofumi gritted his teeth, feeling the jolt of electricity go through his body and bring him to one knee. His HP bar dropped sharply from the attack.

"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia cried worriedly.

"Give up Naofumi! I won't let you win no matter what you try!" Motoyasu yelled.

"What can we do?" Itsuki asked Ren.

The nobles were whispering to each other near them. They'd obviously seen the wind magic coming from Myne. But most of them looked at the King, and then shut their mouths to continue watching the duel. Ren observed their behavior and then grimaced.

"Even the King is in on Myne's scheme," Ren said lowly. "We'll have to wait until the duel reaches its conclusion. And then interfere if we're needed." He finished calmly.

Something he hoped it wouldn't have to come to.

Naofumi growled and stood back up. He set one foot back and leaned forward slightly. _'I might not wield a sword... but Raphtalia still helped me learn how to move fast!'_ He thought determinedly.

His heal dug back into the ground, and then he burst forward through the air. Almost as quickly as Raphtalia had when she nearly lopped off the Knight Commander's head at Lute. Motoyasu's eyes barely had time to widen before Naofumi slammed his shield into Motoyasu's face, his other arm wrapping around Motoyasu to bring them both down to the ground.

"Augh!" Motoyasu gripped at his nose.

"How about you try escaping from this Motoyasu!" Naofumi yelled as he moved to bind the Spear Hero with his body.

However, right as he was about to complete the hold to allow an effect called grapple to work, Motoyasu's armor glowed brightly, and an unseen force sent Naofumi flying off him several dozen feet away.

"What the hell?!" Naofumi yelled as he got back up. _'Was that more magic or something!?' _He thought angrily.

Motoyasu, however, was smirking knowingly this time as he got up. He rubbed his nose, which was a little sore from the bash it had gotten from the shield. "I guess you wouldn't know about it Naofumi, but you can have armor and other equipment enchanted in this world. My current armor not only gives me resistance to fire and wind attacks, but it also has an enchantment that gives me full on immunity to being immobilized by my enemies!" Motoyasu yelled.

Naofumi blinked in surprise. His face twisting into a look of horror. _'No. If I can't grapple him, then even with that shield I won't win-'_

"Meteor thrust!" Motoyasu continued the assault, no longer satisfied with going soft on Naofumi. He twirled his spear, forming a blue portal. Then he thrust his spear up, moving the portal so it was above Naofumi.

"Shield Prison!" Naofumi yelled, surrounding himself with his own green-plated chain ball skill in an effort to buy himself time to think of a way to take down Motoyasu.

A blue ball of energy like a meteor came out from the portal, slamming into the top of the Shield Prison. In one second, the ball shattered around Naofumi, launching him back into the air. He had a stunned look on his face. '_You mean he has a skill powerful enough to break my Shield Prison!?'_ He thought in shock before hitting the ground hard.

He groaned as he worked on getting back up. "Air Strike Javelin!"

The red gem tip of Motoyasu's spear started spinning, and then he threw it at Naofumi. It quickly morphed into a red energy javelin midair.

"Air Strike Shield!"

The green shield appeared in front of Naofumi. But right before the Air Strike Javelin struck it, it curved and traveled around the shield, before curving and striking Naofumi in the side. The force of the impact was so strong that Naofumi was launched back into the back wall of the arena, leaving an impact crater where he hit. He crumpled to the ground at the foot of the wall.

"Owww…" Naofumi groaned in pain. _'His attack, went around my shield instead of through it…'_

"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled worriedly.

"Yes! Keep it up Sir Motoyasu!" Myne yelled with new vigor filling her tone. The nobles up above cheered the Spear Hero for turning the battle around seemingly on his own.

Naofumi let out a pained groan, but he still tried to get back up. He still had half a bar of HP left. He still had a chance. Somehow, he had a chance. He couldn't let it all end here…

The Legendary Spear reappeared in Motoyasu's hands. "If you aren't going to give up, then you leave me with no choice Naofumi," Motoyasu said calmly as Naofumi turned to face him. He lifted his hands into the air. "I, Motoyasu the Spear Hero, have deciphered the laws of creation." He started to chant.

Naofumi's eyes widened. '_You mean he can cast magic too?!'_

"I command the elements to heed my call. To gather themselves, and to strike my target with a fiery vengeance!" He raised a fist to the air. "I call forth, **Hundred Fiery Javelins**!" Motoyasu finished.

In the air above Motoyasu, a hundred hot, fire covered javelins appeared one after the other. Like row upon row of burning soldiers. Their red, crackling, blazing tips all pointed at one shocked Naofumi. A Naofumi who moved back against the wall, fear plastered on his face. '_Even with my light metal shield's resistance to magic attacks, I won't be able to stand against all of that!'_ He thought in shock as he cowered in the face of such a powerful fire magic spell.

Again, the nobles cheered at the sight of such a powerful spell in a sacred duel. Even Altara and some of the nuns with her cheered for the Spear Hero. _'Yes! Finally! It'll finally be the end of the Shield Hero!'_ Altara thought with glee.

"This is the end for you Naofumi! I will free Raphtalia from your evil clutches once and for all!" Motoyasu yelled. This attack was going to cost the last of his SP and all of his MP, but it was his strongest magic-based SP attack. There was no way even Naofumi's Magic Resistance shield would stand against something like this.

"Yes, do it Sir Motoyasu!" Malty said excitedly. "Beat him so we can save the girl from his evil touches!"

Naofumi growled like a cornered animal. Their words bothered him for some reason, but he couldn't tell why. '_I'm going to lose because of her! And no one's going to care that the king's daughter interfered!'_ He thought angrily and in despair.

He found his thoughts heading towards that same dark place from before. He had honestly never felt so much hate and hopelessness coursing through him before in his life. _'What's the point… this whole duel was obviously rigged for me to lose. No one would believe me, not with the King and the head of the State Religion here…'_ It had all likely been staged so that Myne could interfere without anyone caring. Because everyone here wanted to see the Devil of the Shield fail… something Ren probably hadn't accounted for. Why did he even set this all up? Ren should have realized there was no way Naofumi could have won on his own. Not when he was the most worthless hero in terms of attack power.

'_There's no way I can win.' _He thought defeatedly. _'I never had a chance...'_ He hung his head, accepting what was about to happen.

...

"Master Naofumi."

He gasped, being pulled out of his thoughts. He looked to the side. Raphtalia was standing closeby, holding her hand over her heart. She no longer looked worried and was smiling for him. Everything else was pushed aside, even the current duel as the scene focused on her.

"I know you can do this Master Naofumi... I believe in you."

The darkness disappeared from Naofumi's mind. '_Raphtalia.'_ He thought. He glanced down at the slave cuff on his right wrist. He had almost forgotten the whole reason he'd been fighting so hard this whole time. Could he really give up now...

Ren stared from up in the stands at Naofumi. Myne had already exposed herself like he thought she would. Yet strangely enough, he wanted Naofumi to win now. "Come on Naofumi." He said to himself.

Naofumi stared down Motoyasu and breathed in calmly. '_No. I can't lose here. I won't!'_ He thought determinedly. Not here, not now. Not when everything was on the line. He'd find a way to win! He would win this duel! _'I won't lose Raphtalia and everything else I care about here! I won't let it happen!'_

Stupidly enough, he started to walk slowly towards Motoyasu. His eyes burning with determination even though everything was literally pointing to his end.

Motoyasu shrugged. "Suit yourself." Motoyasu brought his hand down. "Gooooooooo!" The rain of fiery javelins passed over his head and thrust towards Naofumi. Sounding like an incoming gust of much deadlier wind than what Myne had conjured earlier.

Malty laughed into her hand again, seeing Naofumi staring down the incoming javelins. "Really, is he that desperate to lose? He's walking right toward his defeat." She asked out loud as Naofumi made no move to dodge.

Up above, Ren and Itsuki watched with wide eyes. "What is he thinking? There's no way he could dodge that many javelins?" Itsuki asked out loud.

Ren got up. He realized Naofumi wasn't going to dodge. He was walking headlong into them. "Come on, we both saw what Myne did, we can still stop this before Naofumi gets killed and-" However, he noticed something that made him stop. "Wait, is his shield, glowing?" He asked.

Naofumi's gem had switched over from its natural green glow to a light blue. This time, the glow extended out from his Light Metal shield, forming a glowing blue wall of energy that pulsed with power in front of Naofumi as he walked forward. Hope burned brightly beside his determination in his green eyes. Brighter than the javelins all flying right at him.

"What is that-" Itsuki started to ask.

**Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!...**

The hundred fiery spears slammed into Naofumi's figure, exploding against the barrier one after the other. The nobles, the nuns, the King, the Pope, Ren, and Itsuki all had to look away as the dust cloud slammed into them. Down below, Myne covered her face with her hands, while Raphtalia covered hers with her cloak. '_Master Naofumi…'_ She thought in worry.

The whole arena became covered in dust and smoke. The booms that came from the still hitting Javelins were deafening, causing some in the crowd to have to cover their ears. Until finally, after a few seconds that felt like an eternity, it stopped.

It took a moment, but then the dust settled enough to reveal Motoyasu smirking. The smoke and dust were thick in front of him. There was no way Naofumi was going to get back up after that attack. Up above, everyone slowly turned to look back down below. "Did he…" "Is it…"

Ren and Itsuki watched with critical eyes. "Do you think he..." Itsuki trailed off, looking down below.

"Come on Naofumi," Ren whispered.

Thinking his victory was assured, Motoyasu sunk the tip of his spear tiredly into the ground. "And that is that-" He was saying.

However, he was stunned into silence when Naofumi came charging out of the smoke. His cloak trailed epically behind him, and his shield glowed a bright blue in its Light Metal Shield Form. In fact, the **Light Metal Shield** almost looked like glass with how translucent it was. His health bar had dropped to almost 25%, but he didn't seem to have a single new scratch on him from the last attack. His face still held the same calm determined glare. The one that said he'd refuse to lose now.

"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled happily. Her tail wagged furiously behind her with glee.

"What?!" Myne yelled with shock. Similar gasps of surprise came from up above in the nobles section.

"Just how tough is Naofumi," Itsuki said in shock. Honestly looking impressed that Naofumi was still standing after that spell.

"I knew it," Ren said with a smirk. His defense was tougher than Motoyasu's spell. Maybe being a tank had more advantages than he'd thought.

"What the hell-" Motoyasu tried to yell.

"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi yelled.

Naofumi didn't waste time as he decided right then and there to take over the duel. Another large green shield thrust from Naofumi's shield, slamming into Motoyasu's chest again. Motoyasu was knocked back at least a dozen feet from the force of the hit. He quickly worked on getting back up, but his spear was still dug into the ground a dozen feet in front of him. Leaving Motoyasu weaponless. "How are you still standing!? That spell's supposed to have enough power to bring down a boss monster in one move-" He was yelling in shock instead of calling back his spear to his hand.

"Shield Prison!" Naofumi yelled, pointing at the ground below Motoyasu's feet this time.

Motoyasu was thrust up into the air by the green chain plated ball that formed beneath him. "Wahhhh!" He yelled in surprise at being launched.

"Rope Shield! Lasso!" Naofumi yelled. His shield changed and unraveled to form a fifteen-foot long rope with a lasso tied at the end. Spinning it around, and with an accuracy that could have only come from the effects of the shield, Naofumi thrust the lasso through the air and roped Motoyasu. Securing the lasso around his chest before Motoyasu peaked in the air.

"Hey, what are you- wahhh!" Motoyasu was suddenly screaming again as he was spun around again and again and again high up in the air.

Up above the nobles were staring in shock at what was happening down below.

"No way."

"How is the Shield Hero still standing?"

"For him to take that spell head-on…"

"No, it can't be," Altara said in shock.

Ren sat back, a satisfied smirk on his face. "I'll be damned," Itsuki said next to him. "He actually managed to take that hit head-on."

Ren didn't reply. He only continued to smirk. '_Come on Naofumi. You're almost there.'_

"Keep it up Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled encouragingly. "You're almost there!"

"Sir Motoyasu! Stop playing around and break that rope already!" Myne yelled, agitation filling her voice.

"I'm, I'm trying!" He yelled back in worry. The multiple revolutions Naofumi was putting him through were beginning to make him nauseous. And he couldn't get a good grip on the rope wrapped around him. Also, for some reason, he wasn't able to focus enough to get the Legendary Spear to reappear in his grip. Even though it should have done so automatically when it got a certain distance from him. '_Did I use too much energy using that one spell!?'_ Motoyasu realized. '_Did I overload my weapon with that last magic attack?!'_ He had never looked closely at the spell's description before. Had he looked a little more closely, he would have noticed the cooldown timer it had on using his Legendary Weapon afterward. A timer of about... two hours at his current level.

From the outside, it looked like Naofumi was spinning Motoyasu faster and faster. Despite the continuous revolutions, he wasn't feeling dizzy at all. In fact, he'd never felt more energized in his life!

_'I can do this! I will do this! I won't allow this world to beat me down! I will win! I WILL WIN!'_

At that moment, an option for a combo skill appeared in front of his eyes on the status screen. He didn't question what he had to do. He had never used a combo skill before, but somehow he knew it would work. So with one final twirl, Naofumi released the rope and pointed in the air.

"One more time! Air Strike Shield!"

**Boom!**

The rope disappeared from around Motoyasu, and he flew out of his arc back into another green translucent shield. A pained gasp of air escaped the Spear Hero as he slammed into the shield that now looked the same color as his face.

"Add Shield! Form, Compression Shield Prison!"

"Ack!" Motoyasu was suddenly encased in the very familiar ball of chains and plate. On the inside, the Air Strike Shield jutted out instead of disappearing, pressing him fully against the Shield Prison's surface. "N-Naofumi-" He gasped.

Naofumi held an open palm in front of him. "One more! Change Shield!" As his mouth opened again, his eyes glowed as bright a blue as his shield changed to the translucent Light Metal Shield. The nobles gaped in shock at the display. They'd all called him a devil. They'd all claimed that he was evil. Yet, at that moment, he had the eyes of a towering angel, glaring judgment on his trapped victim as he glowed with power.

"FOOLISH MORTAL!" Naofumi's voice sounded different. "YOU STAND CONDEMNED FOR YOUR UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENTS HERE TODAY! I DISPENSE MY JUSTICE ON YOU, AND STRIP YOU OF THAT WHICH PROTECTS YOU MOST! I CAST MY WORDS TO THE HEAVENS!" The ball of chains and plates started to glow bright green in response to his words, and Naofumi closed his fists. "NOW SUFFER! HOPE! ASUNDERRRRRRR!" Naofumi screamed with every ounce of his hope and determination to win backing his words.

**Kch!**

This time, the thing that had happened that day in the Capital long ago happened now. The Air Strike shield and shield prison's glow changed from green to blue. Then the two skills both shattered, dropping Motoyasu out into the open air. In slow motion, the blue energy covered Motoyasu. And then one by one, bits of his armor shattered just like the two skills had, dissipating into blue energy. His gauntlets, his chest plate, his leggings, his arm guards, all of it shattered to blue mist.

"***Gasp***" With a gasp of shock, Motoyasu fell back down to the ground, dressed in normal clothing he'd been wearing underneath his armor.

Naofumi breathed in and out heavily, his SP bar drained on his screen until it was close to 0. His shield stopped glowing blue at last and turned back to the Rope Shield Form. '_That skill…'_ It had been just like the day he'd run from the Capital.

The looks of shock on the crowd up above was priceless. Ren and Itsuki leaned forward in their seats, both looking shocked. Both the Pope and the King were wide-eyed at what they'd just witnessed. Even Malty and Raphtalia were shocked down below at what they'd seen.

"There's no way," Malty said in disbelief. "The Shield Hero... just shattered... Sir Motoyasu's expensive armor..." It was impossible. Yet it had happened.

Raphtalia grinned widely. "I knew Master Naofumi could do it."

Motoyasu groaned as he slowly tried to get back up. His armor might have been gone along with his SP and MP. His HP bar might have taken a beating from the skill... But if he could crawl to his spear, he could still win. He could still free Raphtalia. If he could only crawl the few feet he was away from his legendary weapon…

"Oof!"

Naofumi tackled him back down to the ground rolling them both away from his Legendary Weapon. He then forced Motoyasu into a position where he was effectively pinned. With his legs wrapped around his torso, and his arms positioned over his head so it forced them back into a painful position. The effect grapple finally appeared on Naofumi's status screen. It had been something Naofumi had read in the help guide after reading on the waves. It was an effect that immobilized the opponent. Apparently the higher his defense was, the easier a time he had grappling with opponents, especially unarmored ones that didn't have bull crap enchantments helping them out. So unless his opponent had an attack stat that could beat his defense stat he could hold onto them for as long as he had too.

"No, ack!" Motoyasu yelled in pain as Naofumi forced the painful bind to extend.

"Face it, you've lost Motoyasu!" Naofumi yelled.

...

"Never, I'll never give up to the likes of you!" The armorless Motoyasu, who despite his nausea, yelled as he struggled to free himself.

"You have no armor, no SP, and no MP! I have one last shield up my sleeve you haven't even seen yet and the SP to use it! Just give up now and admit defeat!" Naofumi yelled down angrily. He just wanted it to end. He wanted Motoyasu to admit that Naofumi had won!

The nobles up above watched in stunned silence at what was unfolding down below. Motoyasu continued to struggle through. Naofumi grimaced as Motoyasu almost broke the hold he had him held in. '_Damn, just how high is his attack stat?!'_ Naofumi thought desperately.

"I'll never give up! Not until that girl is freed from the likes of scum like you!" Motoyasu yelled angrily up at Naofumi.

Naofumi gasped. He had thought it'd only been his form of trash talk this whole fight. But Motoyasu was saying it as if he really believed he was nothing but scum. But why? What had he done? What were they accusing him of this time… unless… his words from earlier went through his mind. Along with the logical assumption of what Motoyasu assumed him to be… "Do you… no, you think I'm raping Raphtalia." Naofumi said in a quiet voice.

"Of course I do! That's why I'm trying to free her from you bastard!" Motoyasu yelled back at him as he intensified his struggles.

...

'_IS THAT THE WHOLE REASON WHY HE CHALLENGED ME!? IT WASN'T TO FREE MY SLAVE! IT WASN'T TO GET BACK AT ME FOR MYNE! IT WAS BECAUSE THIS PIECE OF CRAP ACTUALLY THINKS THAT I'D RAPE RAPHTALIA!' _Naofumi thought, his mind quickly becoming consumed with rage. It was nothing like what he'd felt towards Myne. This, this was beyond that. Motoyasu hadn't even seen Naofumi on the night he was accused! Yet he assumed Naofumi really was as horrible as he was made out to be! Worse actually! For him to suggest that he'd even do something like that... to Raphtalia of all people! All on the word of a lowly bitch!

"That does it! **Chimera Viper Shield**!" Naofumi yelled, fury completely filling his words.

The shield on his arm changed at his voice command. Motoyasu looked up at that, and his eyes widened at the new menacing shield that appeared over his face. It was bigger than the legendary shield in its default form and was mostly green with two gold vipers intertwined on it in the middle of ornate gold design. One of them released itself from the shield to hiss down at him.

"What the hell?!" Motoyasu yelled.

"Normally this shield would help give me a certain amount of poison resistance!" Naofumi explained the shield's properties. "But one of its other useful abilities, Hook, makes the vipers come alive at my bidding. They then bite whatever target is foolish enough to get close to me!" Naofumi said, his face taking on a crazed angry look. "The snakes hold the same venom as the chimera it came from! And that means they're just as capable of fatally poisoning monsters as they are of poisoning you! I hope you have a strong antidote handy Motoyasu. Because the normal ones won't work on venom from this! And even if they did, this should be enough to leave ONE HELL of a massive scar on that handsome face of yours! Much more than what a balloon would have done!"

The head started to slither down towards Motoyasu's face. "Wait, PLEASE, have mercy!" Motoyasu yelled in a begging tone.

"Then give up the duel and leave me and Raphtalia alone! I won't ask so nicely again!" Naofumi yelled angrily. His face was red with fury. "What'll it be Motoyasu!?"

Motoyasu looked up at him, his eyes wide with fear. Naofumi continued to glare down at him. Part of him was pleased with the fear Motoyasu held for him now. Another part was hoping that Motoyasu would say no just so he could poison the stupid jerk. After everything he had gone through because of the bitch, he had accepted into his bed…

Said bitch was watching in shock. Even she hadn't expected Naofumi to have a shield like this equipped. And if she were to try and cast wind magic now, it wouldn't be quick enough to stop the snake from biting her favorite 'hero'. Naofumi, realizing this, laughed evilly in his mind. '_Finally, they fear me! Now no one will step down on me! No one will stop me! I'll show them their place in the natural order! I'll show them! I'LL-'_

A hand gripped Naofumi's shoulder, and he looked up in surprise. Raphtalia was standing over him. Tears were in her eyes. "Please… please don't do this Master Naofumi." She said quietly.

_'Ra… Raphtalia?'_ He thought confusedly. What was she doing? Why was he interrupting the moment of his greatest triumph?

"I know this isn't you. I know you don't want to hurt anyone. Please, come back to me Master Naofumi."

Naofumi gasped and looked down at the terrified Motoyasu. All of a sudden, all the rage, all the dark thoughts that had been coursing through his mind vanished.

_'What the hell am I doing?'_ He thought in fear. He'd only wanted to win. He hadn't… he hadn't wanted...

He immediately let go of and backed away from Motoyasu, the viper retracted back onto the shield and the shield changed into his normal legendary shield. "Ra, Raphtalia?" Naofumi said to himself, tears filling his eyes. He didn't like Motoyasu all that much, the guy was a naive idiot who went to bed with BITCH! But he didn't want to kill the guy...

Raphtalia quickly hugged Naofumi. "It's okay. You did it Naofumi. You won." She said, crying into his shoulder. '_For a moment, it had felt like he was going somewhere far away. Somewhere where I felt he'd never be able to return from.'_ She thought, looking up into his face. '_Thank goodness he managed to pull back in time.'_ She thought in relief, resting her head on his shoulder again.

Naofumi sighed, and rested his head on top of hers, releasing a few of his tears. He almost felt like a little child, because he wanted to break down in her embrace after what had just happened. And while he didn't visibly break down, the tears came falling from his eyes as he tightly embraced the Tanuki girl.

Motoyasu quickly backed away, grabbing his spear from the ground to hold it between him and Naofumi. _'That damn-' _His thoughts stopped. "... what?" He whispered.

Naofumi was gripping to this girl in a way that he recognized. He'd seen it enough times in his life being the womanizer he was. It was like she was the most precious thing to Naofumi in this world. Naofumi didn't care what was happening around him at that moment. All he was thinking now was that he didn't want to leave that moment… And he never wanted to let her go.

Seeing what was happening, Motoyasu let his speartip drop back to the ground. The heartfelt moment being shared between them was enough. The exhaustion and faint nausea might have also played a part.

"Alright, Naofumi. You win." He said defeatedly.

Up in the stands, Itsuki and Ren sighed with relief. Naofumi had won. Even without that, they'd seen what Myne had done. They knew who was in the right now. And it looked like they didn't have to interfere after all.

Naofumi and Raphtalia both looked to him. The two realized that the duel wasn't over. But the tired look on Motoyasu's face filled them with hope. "What?" Naofumi asked, not sure if he'd heard him right.

"I, the Spear Hero, admit defeat," Motoyasu said.

"That's illegal interference!"

Naofumi looked up in surprise as did Motoyasu. Malty was approaching with the King and several knights. "That demi-human of his interfered by walking onto the battlefield! The Shield Hero has lost this duel!" Malty yelled victoriously.

Gasps of surprise came up from the crowd up above.

'_... what?' _Ren thought.

'_... what?'_ Itsuki thought.

'_... what?' _ Naofumi thought in shock, as he and Raphtalia looked at each other.

_'There's no way anybody would seriously buy that BS… right?'_

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**Author's Notes:**

**You know, it's moments like this where I can appreciate a little bit how evil I can turn out to be when I just cut off at a cliffhanger like this. I do appreciate anime, but I still wish at times that the fights could be a little more exciting (though I have seen some pretty awesome fights in anime too).**

**Join me next chapter when Naofumi has everything taken away from him. And unlocks two new shield series in the process :). You already know one of them!**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	11. 11: I, I Really, I Really Do Trust You

**I have something to say here before this chapter. I'm honestly a little sad that I have to put this here. I never thought in the last few years that I've been writing Fanfiction that I'd have to do something like this. But I've noticed it happening to a few different Shield Hero stories, and it happened the last chapter on mine. So I'm going to be blunt, and I'm going to address the issue.**

**I had to delete a few reviews from guests in the last chapter. I normally don't do this even with flames. I love flames (as weird as that sounds) because they're normally accompanied with suggestions to help me improve. And I am usually able to improve because of them. I haven't had hateful flames since, like, forever ago. But in the last chapter, I had an unusual number of guests who gave hate flames. One was from someone named, and I quote 'dumb as f*ck'. And he/she had exactly that to say about the chapter. Now that wouldn't have been so worrying if I didn't get several like it all at once the past week. More so than what I've gotten from any other story that I've written in the past few years.**

**As someone whose been on this site for a few years, I can appreciate criticism where criticism is due. But there's a fine line between criticism and straight-up dislike, total ignorance, or bottom line hate. One builds up constructively, while the others make no attempt at suggesting where the author can improve and only tries to dissuade readers away. It helps no one out. And only serves to demotivate the author. Again, I've noticed it happening in several different stories. And the problem has mainly been from Guest Reviewers. Jdrax addressed it recently in one of his stories.**

**I don't know if it's recent, or if it just happens to those who gain a good following. I've only had support like this for one other story, and it's in a different fandom. One I've never had to delete reviews for. To those guests who aren't guilty of this, know what I have to say next isn't addressed to you. I freaking love you guys, and I apologize if any of your reviews were accidentally deleted. If more than one guest reviews at a time, and if I'm not careful, it'll only approve one guest review and delete the others. (I do wish I didn't have to approve so many guest reviews at a time in a chapter. Make it easier on an author and login please, would ya?)**

**For those Guest Retards flaming authors on the site (as someone diagnosed with Asp Bergers, yes, I have full authority to tell you that you're retarded), if you really want to leave a dumb flame such as 'this fic is dumb as f*ck' so badly, then don't be a coward about it. Man up or woman up based on your gender, login, or make an account if you don't have one, and then you can flame all the hell you want. Don't hide behind a stupid 'dumb as f*ck' guest persona. Better yet, if you think my story is that bad, show me up and write your own version of a good story if you think you can do better. (Honestly, do try, I want to see more quality reading material in the Shield Hero Fandom while I wait for Season Two and Three to arrive. You can then laugh at me when I end up favoriting or following your story)**

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**Phew! Glad I got that off my chest! Now with that out of the way, (and with the likelihood that I will get more Guest flames for what I said up above. *shrugs* Thank goodness for the delete option in the review approval forum for guests. XD), let's go on to the chapter! And do keep up with the reviews. I don't know if some of you notice or not, but some of what's said in the reviews bleed out into the story. ;)**

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**Since Last Time:** _26 more Favorites, 28 more Followers (Total: 376 Favorites, 416 Followers)_

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**Updated:**_ October 7th, 2019 1:00 P.M._

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**Disclaimer:** _I don't own Rising of the Shield Hero._

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**Chapter Eleven:** ... _I_..._ I Really... I Really Do Trust You_

* * *

_A few seconds after the last Chapter_

…

"What? But, Myne-" Motoyasu finally tried to say something. He had lost, hadn't he?

"It's obvious he used the slave crest on his slave to force her to use a spell to destroy your armor," Myne said, her snotful arrogance lacing her words. "There's no way the Shield Hero could have the power to shatter your armor Sir Motoyasu!" Oh, she definitely knew Naofumi had the power. But, she had the title of the most hated bitch in the world to live up to, and Naofumi was in the way of that title. Or was it supposed to be the title of Queen? Either way, Naofumi was in her way.

Naofumi backed away along with Raphtalia, both of them looking shocked at what was happening. This girl was spouting BS. Raphtalia didn't even know any magic! A simple check by any mage could have revealed that!

…

Yet, slowly, the crowd above them started to cheer for the Spear Hero's victory. Albeit, by a rather absurd proposal from the Princess.

'_But… Raphtalia had been on the field... and she hadn't chanted a spell or anything… it's absurd… but nobody is checking to see if Myne is lying or not… why are they not checking?'_ Naofumi thought in disbelief.

"Yeah, that's right!" Motoyasu said more excitedly. It made no sense for Naofumi to be capable of something like shattering his armor. He must have used the command he had over his slave to make her shatter his armor. "You really are sick Naofumi! Forcing your slave to cheat for you!"

_'No… please no…' _Naofumi's mind was freezing up. He looked up above, but couldn't see Itsuki or Ren. All he saw were the nobles. Every single one of them cheering at the fact the Spear Hero won. That he had trounced the great evil of the Shield Hero in the end. Like a group of stupid idiots, being led about by a manipulative bitch.

He'd never truly realized how dangerous a group of idiots could be. Especially when they had a manipulative bitch at their head leading them along.

"But I don't know any spells like that!-" Raphtalia tried to say.

"Save it Naofumi. We all know what you did. Stop trying to make her deny it." Motoyasu said angrily.

Naofumi's worst thoughts had been confirmed. They were all willing to accept it. Even Motoyasu was willing to accept it. The Shield Hero had cheated somehow. Maybe not by Raphtalia using a spell to shatter Motoyasu's armor, but no one cared. These people couldn't bear the thought of their precious Spear Hero Motoyasu losing fair and square in a sacred duel to the weak Shield Demon. And Motoyasu himself was diving right into the lie without so much as questioning his teammate because he thought the Shield was useless.

And Raphtalia, she was speechless. Did these people really hate her master that much?

Naofumi finally found the ability to speak again. "No! That's not true!" Naofumi finally yelled. "She doesn't even know any magic!" Naofumi said, pointing at Raphtalia. "Even if Raphtalia did know magic, she interfered first!" Naofumi then pointed an accusing finger at Malty. "With that wind magic from earlier!"

"Myne would never do such a thing!" Motoyasu was quick to come to the princess's defense.

"But it's the truth! I know everyone saw it!" Naofumi was getting desperate as he yelled up above at the nobles. "Surely one of you saw it!" He yelled. Someone had to believe him... anybody…

"I have no idea what you're talking about. My daughter would never do such a thing, especially during a sacred duel." King Aultcray said haughtily, glaring down at the Shield Hero.

Naofumi lost hope. Ren and Itsuki weren't up above anymore. They had likely abandoned him. No one would believe the Shield had won. Not one person. They were all determined to think of him as a villain. As scum. As the lowest of the low.

Naofumi growled angrily. These people sickened him.

"You're just saying that because she's your daughter, aren't you!?" He asked angrily. The King narrowed his eyes at him. "Don't think I didn't see you two plotting together earlier at the celebration! You wanted me thrown into the dungeons the moment I walked through that door! You set this whole thing up just so your bitch daughter could interfere with that duel and you know it you cowardly piece of trash-"

"That is enough!" The King yelled angrily, cutting off Naofumi. "First you dishonor my daughter, then you run away from your crimes, avoid arrest for a month, sneak into my Capital, break into our nation's Church, and now after all this, you DARE to accuse my dear Malty!" He seethed at Naofumi, shocking him into silence. "Knights, bind this scum! That girl of his has suffered under the curse of being his slave for long enough!" The King ordered.

Suddenly, several knights grabbed Naofumi from the sides. Kicking him down onto his knees. "Master Naofumi-" Raphtalia tried to grab the hilt of her sword, but she was also grabbed from behind by two Knights.

"Raphtalia!-" He tried to yell but was forced down into the ground, cutting off his sentence. The knights behind him had used his trick against him and used their combined defense to lock him into a grapple effect. "What are you doing?! She's more than just a slave! That's my friend you're taking from me!" He yelled at the Knights.

"Any friend of the Shield Demon is an enemy to us." The knight on Naofumi's left whispered quietly enough for only him to hear. "It's a shame. We wanted to inflict punishment on the demi-human too for helping you desecrate our Inner Sanctum, but at least we'll still be able to inflict God's Divine Punishment on you."

Naofumi managed to look up and saw the rosary hanging around the Knight's neck. Naofumi's eyes widened when he realized it wasn't a group of Capital Knights holding him down. '_No! Gods please no! Damn you, Ren!'_

Had Ren set him up to fail? Had this all been some heinous plot to give him hope only to take it away at the last second? He still couldn't see Ren or Itsuki up in the stands. Did that mean they really had abandoned him to his fate?

"Now, after your slave is freed, we'll be able to take you away. And no one will stop us from giving the Devil of the Shield the treatment he so rightfully deserves." The Church Knight whispered in his ear. Malice dripping off his tone like venom off the forked tongue of a venomous snake.

No, this couldn't be his fate! He couldn't be all alone in this world now! Not after everything he had been through!

"GET OFF ME!" Naofumi bashed his head back into the knight's helmet, and the force of the helmet hit the Knight's face, making the man fall back and cuss as he gripped at his bleeding nose. (In other words, the force of the armor hit the knight, and not Naofumi's attack stat, kind of how he used the man's own dagger on himself way back when)

Naofumi continued to struggle, but the two other armored knights holding him down forced his face into the ground again. As a shielder, he could use his defense stat instead of his attack stat to try and break free from a grapple effect. But his defense stat, as high as it was, was nowhere near high enough to outclass their combined armor enhanced defense stats. The third knight rejoined angrily, and Naofumi's face hit the ground so hard his nose started to bleed. They must have also had some pretty high attack power combined together too, since that hurt!

He tried to focus so he could get his shield to change back to the Chimera Viper shield to attack them. Not that he had the SP needed for all three. He only had enough for one hook. But if he could poison one, then-

"Too bad Shield Hero."

Naofumi barely managed to lift his head up enough to see Malty standing above him, smirking down at him. No one besides the Church knights was nearby to overhear her. "Better luck next time... Oh wait, there won't be a next time for you. After all, I doubt you'll last long in the cold dark dungeons all by yourself." She said before she started to laugh like the bitch she was into her hand.

_'That… that…'_ Naofumi's vision was clouded with rage. _'That ****ing bitch!'_

"Get the hell off me!" Naofumi yelled, feeling enraged at the knights and at Malty. He was enraged with everyone there. Yet all that hate was being drawn like a black hole, focusing in on this, this… BITCH! All the other emotions he was feeling didn't matter. He had to slug this bitch in the face, now! And then use that Hook ability on her! Only for a bitch like HER! "Let me go! Damn it, let me go!" Said bitch continued to laugh as he struggled.

"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled to him when she saw the way he was being treated. In her worry, she struggled to free herself. Almost managing to break the wrist of one of the knights in the process.

"Gag and bind her, this slave crest is a powerful one, and needs to be removed immediately so she'll be free!" The King ordered.

"No- Umph! Ermm!" The knights complied, and Raphtalia found herself straining at binds around her hands and a gag over her mouth. Though she still tried to scream through it in worry at Master Naofumi's treatment.

Naofumi's attention was taken away from Malty back to the present situation. "Raphtalia!-" Naofumi's face was dug into the ground again by the knight with the bleeding nose. _'Urghhh! I have to get to her! I have to get us out of here! I have to-'_

"There now dear." The King said in a more gentle voice to the struggling girl. He gave her a reassuring pat on the head. "In just a moment you will be released from your servitude to this rapist, and you won't have to defend him anymore."

…

Naofumi's world stopped.

He was able to look back up, and he saw a wide-eyed look on Raphtalia's face as she stopped struggling. It was a look of disbelief, shock, and… and… '_No…'_ He thought in horror. '_This isn't how I wanted her to learn about why I ran away… this wasn't supposed to happen... please don't believe them Raphtalia...'_ He thought in pain. _'Please don't believe them…'_

He couldn't explain it, but it was like what he was seeing changed somehow. His surroundings darkened. No longer did he see the people in the stands up above, nor the older bound version of Raphtalia, but the same young Raphtalia he had met down in Belouka's slave tent so long ago. She was dressed in the same rags he'd found her in, and had the same dead look in her dull tea-red eyes. The slave cuff disappeared off his wrist and reappeared on hers. The gag and binds on her also disappeared.

"Raphtalia…" He said weakly.

...

"Is it true?" She asked quietly, her voice sad.

"No. I swear it's not-" He tried to say, but it ended with a gasp when she was turned away by a knight. The front of her ragged shirt was lowered enough to reveal the slave crest on her chest. She didn't resist the action.

"Let us begin." The priest said, handing the bottle he was holding to Motoyasu, who had just been healed up by a wizard. Though he still wasn't wearing any armor.

"It's high time that somebody fixed this wrong," Motoyasu said.

"Wait. Please. You have to listen to me Raphtalia." Naofumi weakly called out to her. Yet she didn't resist as Motoyasu himself dumped a liquid out of a bottle over the seal on her chest. The holy liquid easily cleansed the seal off of her skin.

On Naofumi's screen, he saw the notification **Contract with Raphtalia Terminated** appear. Raphtalia's name and stats then disappeared from below his. Just like that, it was over. It was all over.

"No!" Naofumi yelled.

"There, you're free now. Be grateful for Sir Motoyasu's kindness." Malty said in a sweet voice down to the young Raphtalia as the soldiers who had been holding her released her.

"Go on. I'll make sure to protect you from rapist Naofumi from now on." Motoyasu said in an encouraging voice to her.

"You're free to forge your own path from here on out." King Aultcray said to the young girl. "Without this Demon trying to manipulate you."

The young Raphtalia stared blankly at Naofumi for a few seconds… he stared back beggingly. His last strand of hope was hanging in front of him. She wouldn't leave him too… would she?... "Please… don't go…" He whispered.

…

She turned to walk away. "Wait, Raphtalia!" He cried out desperately. "None of what they said is true! I'm not a rapist! I'd never do that to anyone! I'd never do that to you! Please, you have to believe me!" If she left… "You said you'd always believe me!" He cried out.

She stopped walking to glance back at him. The look in her eyes was still dull, and still a little sad. Like she felt… sorry for him. "This is goodbye." She whispered.

Raphtalia turned back around.

...

Then, after a few tears hit the ground in front of her, she started to run away.

Naofumi breathed in and out heavily. Even as Raphtalia got farther and farther from view. '_No…'_

**Boom!**

Her fading footsteps sounded louder in his ears. Like thunderclaps of lightning overhead. '_No… you said you'd always believe me… you… you promised...'_

She ran under the exit, and never looked back as she disappeared into the darkness.

…

'_No…'_

…

'_No…'_

She had left him.

…

'_No… she… she…'_

…

The realization hit harder than a brick wall.

"YAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He yelled, finally separating the shield from his arm and throwing it away.

The Church Knights, Motoyasu, Malty, the King, and everyone else around him disappeared. The last strand of hope he'd been holding onto, the hope Raphtalia had helped him to nurture all that time, had finally disappeared. Naofumi let the cold pessimistic part of him take over again. Berating him deservingly for the fool he had been for trusting that Raphtalia would have stayed with him. Especially after hearing that he was an accused runaway rapist. It was always as if a small part of him had known what would happen when she finally heard what he'd run from.

She didn't believe him. She never had. Erhard didn't believe him. The town guard Captain in Lute didn't believed him. Jerry didn't believe him.

No one believed him.

Breathing in and out heavily, he turned and started to run away. The pain at losing his hope for this world was too much. "That's it! I'm done! Get me out of here! Get me away from this stupid world! I can't take it anymore!"

A bright green light flashed, blinding Naofumi for a second. Then the Legendary Shield reappeared on his arm. He looked down at it, and his eyes widened in disbelief. _Does this world really hate me that much!? Does this world really think I want to be here!? After everything that this world and everyone in it has done to me!'_

…

"I'll never be rid of it." He realized.

He'd never go back to his world. He'd been doomed from the start. He'd never be rid of the distrust that followed him. This whole world was plotting against him. The whole world hated him! And the whole world would, given time, turn everyone in it against him!

That was why it had summoned him here! To take the last bit of hope he'd been cherishing from his dead-end life from before so it could crush it mercilessly in its grasp! The people of this world would always look at him as if he were nothing but a devil, all because their leaders and nobles said so! Whatever lies they spun the world would believe! Who was he kidding?! He'd never stood a chance in this world!

"No one will ever believe me! No matter how much I run in this world!"

This world…

Naofumi looked up. It was like he'd dawned on a great realization. "A messed up world like this one…"

A world that could turn even sweet innocent Raphtalia against him…

...

Everything in his vision slowly became absorbed in black.

...

"_**I$ N&T W&8TH S*G!"**_

The gemstone on his shield burned a bright fiery red. At the same time, a new notification surrounded by red took up his view.

**Requirements met, Cursed Series Unlocked**

* * *

**Slap!**

Motoyasu held the side of his face, visibly stunned at what Raphtalia had just done after her hands had been unbound by the Knight behind her. It also hurt a lot more without the defense bonus from his armor. "You're a liar and a cheat! I didn't interfere with that duel and you know it!" She yelled accusingly at him.

A few dozen feet to the side, Master Naofumi was on his hands and knees staring at the ground, not paying attention to his surroundings. The Church Knights still held him down, smirking maliciously at their lowly captive who was no longer struggling. It pissed off Raphtalia in a way that nothing else could. They were mistreating her master!

Motoyasu gasped in surprise more from her words than the slap. "Don't, Sir Motoyasu set you free-" Malty was saying to Raphtalia.

"Shut up!" Raphtalia cut off Myne, who she saw as the source of this whole mess. "I never asked for anyone to free me! I was never acting under the authority of the slave crest! I was with Naofumi by choice!" Raphtalia responded heatedly, offended by what Malty had said.

Before Malty could angrily respond, Motoyasu spoke. "But, wait a sec, I thought Naofumi had been abusing you and that he was treating you badly."

"You thought he was abusing me!? Why would Master Naofumi abuse anybody!? You obviously know nothing about him!" She responded heatedly.

"He did abuse someone though, me!" Myne replied heatedly.

Raphtalia laughed. It wasn't a laugh that came from hearing a good joke (though a case could be made that Raphtalia thought it was a good joke). Rather, it was a laugh that said she didn't believe it... at all. The laugh caught Myne off guard. "You just lied and said I helped the Shield Hero by using magic when I can't use magic! Now you expect me to believe something even more ridiculous!?"

Myne sputtered at that. Motoyasu also tried to formulate a response, but honestly couldn't. This wasn't how he was expecting Raphtalia to act now that she was no longer under the conditions of the slave crest. Nor had anyone else seriously given it much thought as they were all equally stunned.

Being given the opportunity to finally speak for herself, she made her case to defend her master. "Master Naofumi has never abused me, not even once! He's never made me do anything I couldn't do! He'd only activate my crest when I was too scared to fight! And he did it to protect the both of us!"

Motoyasu angrily slammed the bottom of his spear into the ground, finding a fault to pick at. "And that's the problem! Nobody should ever be forced into a fight! Especially a beautiful girl like you!" He tried to argue.

"Would you rather I hadn't fought and allowed both me and Master Naofumi to die when we faced a monster!?" Motoyasu sputtered at her comeback. "Master Naofumi can't use any weapons!" Raphtalia immediately followed up. "If I didn't fight for him than we would have both died long before the wave! The Shield defends, so someone has to fight for him! Somebody has to be his sword!"

"But you don't have to be that person. Don't you think he'll put you in danger every time to save his hide?" Motoyasu tried to reason with her. His voice was filled with honest concern for her well being.

"You don't know him as I do," Raphtalia said seriously. Indeed he did not. "Master Naofumi has always defended me, even when badly injured he's defended me!" She yelled, counteracting his concern with the truth.

She thought back to the time when he summoned the air-strike shield to protect her from the Cerberus dog even though his shoulder was heavily injured. There had been a time similar to that when they'd been hunting in a forest only for Naofumi to push her out of the way before a metal contraption that had been hiding in the long grass snapped over one of his legs. It had been a trap set for a very strong monster living in the area. Only his high defense had kept his leg from being snapped clean off, but his calf still bore a scar from the event. Had he not pushed her out of the way when he had...

Tears touched Raphtalia's eyes. "He's always defended me from monsters! Even the ones that plague my nightmares at night because of my village and family being killed in the first wave by monsters and after by Melromarc's Knights!"

Gasps came from up above at the accusation of Melromarc's Knights destroying her village. Even Motoyasu seemed a little stunned by that revelation. "He's always been willing to protect me and comfort me when I needed it!" Raphtalia continued heatedly, tears were falling from the corners of her eyes. "He's shown more care for me than he ever has for himself!"

"No… no way... he doesn't seem like that kind of guy," Motoyasu said in shock, not believing what he was hearing. Even though Raphtalia could now speak the truth about her Master if she so wished. And yet she was still defending him. Did that mean what she was saying was the truth?

"Well you should think about this; even after being betrayed by his only party member he was ready and willing to trust and help a sick diseased slave who was nearing the verge of death!" She had finally learned enough not just from what had been said to her but what she'd overheard at dinner, during their talking on the field, and from the nobles and knights up above to fit the pieces together. She put her hand to her chest. "Master Naofumi took the time to feed me every day. Healthy nourishing food, anything that I wanted even though he couldn't taste any of it. He gave me valuable medicine and treatments that cured my illness and allowed me to live! He shared everything he had to a slave who had nothing!... Do you think you'd be capable of such kindness?!" She challenged.

Motoyasu looked uncertain at her intense questioning. "Of... of course, I would." He said, though his answer wasn't confident.

"If that were true, you'd also have a slave at your side! Someone who'd remain loyal to you, unlike that lying two-faced bitch princess!" Raphtalia said heatedly.

"Excuse me-" Motoyasu tried to say. "How dare you say such things!" Malty said, finally ticked off by the insult. "Take that back you filthy damn DEMI-HUMAN!" Malty yelled at Raphtalia with all the indignation centered around the last word.

"I'll never take back the truth! Naofumi is right to call a cold-hearted person like you a bitch! I'd rather be a demi-human than a human such as yourself!" Raphtalia said angrily, much to Malty's surprise and anger, before looking back at Motoyasu. "Do you really trust someone like her to make you a better person Spear Hero!?" Raphtalia heatedly asked. "Do you really think this, this, pig here wants to help you?! Or is she just using you to hurt others like my master!? Which is it?!"

Motoyasu again backed away another step. "I… I…" He didn't know how to answer. Myne was looking increasingly indignant, waiting for her hero to respond in her defense. This demi-human had just called her a pig after all.

"This chatter is pointless." The King, who had been standing to the side this whole time finally spoke. "The Shield Hero lost. According to his terms, he will give up everything he has, you will go free, and he will be thrown into the dungeons-" He said as he approached Raphtalia. As if what he said would solve all of their problems.

"HE DIDN'T LOSE!" Raphtalia screeched, drawing out her sword in the process.

"Draw swords!"

The Knights all around immediately drew their swords at once. Motoyasu backed away in shock. The nobles up above became silent. Even the Pope watched with an interested eye what was going on. If Raphtalia had looked angry before, then the look adorning her face now was absolutely feral. Her fangs and her sword were pointed at the stunned king. Those close to her backed away and gathered around the King, suddenly realizing just how dangerous this demi-girl was.

"Your daughter lied. I didn't interfere." She said icily, her glare causing some of the knights to tremble in fear. "If you try to take him away, then I will cut you all down here and now." She didn't sugarcoat anything. The knights facing her realized she wasn't joking around, and that scared them even more.

"My dear, there must be some mistake-" The King tried to say in an appeasing voice.

"The only mistake here is the fool in front of me who thinks he and his pig of a daughter can do whatever they want." Raphtalia cut him off icily. "You might be royalty, but I will never, ever, allow you to hurt Naofumi." Raphtalia finished determinedly. She had been a weak sick girl when Naofumi had first found her. But now, because of him, she was her own version of strong. Not just physically, but in wanting to do what was right. And right now, the right thing was to stand up and defend him from this fool in front of her.

…

The King lost all pretense of being nice as he glared at Raphtalia with pure unadulterated hatred. "You filth." He said with disgust, finally revealing his true thoughts on the demi-human girl before him. "I have heard enough from you today, and I will not tolerate anymore." He said venomously. "Unless you feel like joining this devil after gaining your freedom-"

"I think that's enough."

At that moment, Ren and Itsuki finally walked out onto the battlefield… duel arena… duel arena on the verge of becoming a battlefield. They would have interrupted this farce far sooner, but after the bull crap Myne had spouted, Ren had thought it best to have himself and Itsuki hang back for a moment to see what would happen. To see if they could learn any more about the character of the King as well as Myne. And they had indeed learned more. After witnessing what they had, Ren and Itsuki truly felt more disgust towards the King and Princess than they ever had for anyone else in their entire lives. And that was saying something.

Their timely arrival prompted whispers from the nobles up above. Both of them appeared calm, but their eyes held back anger and disgust at what was going on. They'd heard and watched enough. Both the Princess and the King were truly rotten to the core. They couldn't believe they'd ever thought about listening to them before.

"What is this now?" The King asked, forcing himself to calm back down after what Raphtalia had said.

"Myne. I have to ask about your illegal and magical interference in that duel." Itsuki said calmly. Ignoring what the King had said.

"What are you talking about? I did no such thing." Malty responded more calmly.

"Illegal interference?" Motoyasu asked in bafflement.

"Hey Motoyasu, sorry to break it to you, but you not only lost that duel at the end but halfway through," Ren said calmly. Motoyasu gasped. "Obviously, someone shot a powerful wind magic spell at Naofumi near the middle of the duel. If he hadn't used his shield when he had, then it would have been hard to tell. But the light metal variant exposed the wind magic to everyone watching in the stands."

...

"Myne?" Motoyasu asked confusedly after a few seconds. The King was remaining silent now that the two other heroes were accusing his daughter.

"I think you imagined it." She tried to say in a happier innocent tone as she looked up at the nobles. "The audience didn't see a thing-"

"The King has ordered everyone to keep quiet. The nobles agree there was foul play." Itsuki said, completely blowing away Malty's argument. Malty went silent, unable to think of something to defend herself with now. Her face twisted into a scowl. "They also don't believe that Raphtalia interfered. She said it herself without a slave crest on her. She knows no magic, and our stat screens show she hasn't learned magic. You were just trying to find some BS reason to have Naofumi locked up." Itsuki's stinging accusation made Myne scowl more deeply.

Ren shook his head. Their cowardice really did sicken him. Naofumi had proved himself through pure strength, grit, and determination in that duel. Yet here they were, spitting on that image out of what, spite? He couldn't tell. Naofumi had done nothing wrong to them, and yet they hated him. It sickened him more than their cowardice.

"I can't believe royalty would interfere with a sacred duel," Ren said, his gaze looking condescendingly at the King. The King looked off to the side, unable to meet the Sword Hero's piercing gaze. He knew he'd been caught. "Guess it wasn't so sacred to you after all if it meant getting what you wanted in the end."

…

The king looked like he was going to shout orders to his knights. "If you tell them to lay one finger on Naofumi and this girl before they leave the Capital, then we'll refuse to help out Melromarc with any more waves," Itsuki gave his ultimatum. He still didn't know Naofumi all that well, but he did believe in truth, justice, and fairness. And if the King was going to go back on his word and that of his Commander's when Naofumi had won the duel not just once, but twice, then he saw none in this situation. No matter what Naofumi had been accused of in the past. It wasn't right.

The King looked shocked at that. "But, but we need you to fight the waves-" He tried to argue.

"You've needed him too," Ren said, pointing to Naofumi. "Our help guides all say that if even one of the heroes is killed or goes missing, then the waves will become almost impossible to beat for the other heroes. Right, Motoyasu?" Ren asked the Spear Hero.

Motoyasu stuttered for a moment at being put in the spotlight like that. Eventually, he answered by silently nodding. Not trusting himself to speak. He had read the same thing in his help guide.

Ren looked up at the stands towards the Pope and his followers. "I heard Naofumi had to break into the Three Heroes Church so he could register for the Wave. Yet at the same time, you were beginning to pray for our success out on the battlefield. Were you idiots thinking your prayers would make it easier for us, your Gods, to fight the wave without the help of one of the four Cardinal Heroes? Do you think you're above the rules just because you worship us?" He calmly asked in an accusatory tone.

The Pope grimaced but didn't respond to Ren's calm accusing tone.

Ren looked back to the King. "If we had gone ahead with your plan to lock Naofumi away in a dungeon in the beginning, then he would have been so weak that he would have never survived the Wave of Catastrophe. And you would have doomed this whole world because of it." Ren said, his calm facade was starting to fade, showing a bit of the anger he held towards the king and his daughter. "Do you two even care about protecting your kingdom and the others from the waves?! Don't you care that Naofumi saved the people in your village from being slaughtered?! Or do you both really hate the Shield Hero that much?! Which is more important to you King Aultcray and Princess Malty!? Saving the lives of your people, or satisfying your own vain foolish pride!?"

…

He paused, allowing the question to sink in. "If you value your pride more than your own people, then our help here is wasted. Because this world will end... no matter what we choose to do." He finished calmly. Yet out of everything else he said, those words hit everyone there like a bucket of ice water being thrown on a sleeping person.

Everyone remained silent. In the face of such cold hard logic, not one argument against it could be mounted… the nobles up above were silenced. The Pope, Myne, and even the King were silenced...

…

The silence was broken by the sound of a sword being sheathed, and the sound of footfalls.

Raphtalia walked past them all, unarmed and standing tall like a royal queen. Nobody dared to oppose her. Nobody dared to look her in the eyes. The glare she gave the three Church Knights standing near Naofumi was so deadly, that they backed away from out of fear. All three of them had wet spots appear in their pants.

"All of you... Go away… and never… ever… bother us again." She said to them slowly, and icily, as she directed her glare at the Knights, then at the King and Myne, and her words ended when she glared up at the Pope and his followers. The meaning was clear. She was directing the same words and threats to all of them. Anyone who tried to harm and take away Master Naofumi from her again would have to go through her. And she wasn't afraid to inflict the same harm on them that they had wanted to inflict on Naofumi.

The Pope continued frowning at the way this whole predicament had unfolded.

"Pope Balamus, let us strike now. We may still be able to incapacitate the demi-human-" Altara, the ever hate-inspired nun, tried to say quietly to the Pope.

"Then we'd truly risk losing the Sword Hero, the Bow Hero, and possibly the Spear Hero over to their side entirely." Pope Balamus cut her off with a glare. "If we haven't already lost them now, that is." He said sadly at the end.

Altara stayed silent and looked down below in shock. There really was nothing they could do in this situation. Not without provoking the Sword and Bow to turn on them… and possibly the Spear Hero if Raphtalia was attacked. No, they really would have to wait before they tried to make a move again.

Altara bit her tongue in frustration. "I am afraid, my child, that God won't be meting out his judgment today." The Pope said.

...

King Aultcray clenched his fists, and grit his teeth. He hated being made a fool of by others. Especially when he'd been so wise at one point. However, he knew there was nothing he could do about it. As much as he hated the Shield Hero, he couldn't lose the support of the other Cardinal Heroes. The only thing he could do now was to give in and save face... again.

"You two... have till the end of tomorrow... to get out of my Capital." He said back to Raphtalia as if the words were poison in his mouth. "After that... you'll be hunted down by my Knights like the dogs you are without mercy! Damn the waves!" King Aultcray yelled with finality before he turned and stalked away.

Malty looked at her Father with shock. "But, but father-" He really couldn't be suggesting what he was, could he? But seeing how she'd already been humiliated enough by what had happened, and not wanting to make a further fool of herself, she closed her mouth and walked away after him.

The knights down below, both Church and Capital, though looking unsure, sheathed their swords and left. The King's orders had been crystal clear, and they no longer had a reason to be there. Nor did they want to risk facing Raphtalia's wrath. The nobles started to file out from the stands. Stunned by what they had all witnessed.

It was just Raphtalia and the four Cardinal Heroes of Legend down in the duel arena.

...

Raphtalia breathed in deeply to calm herself. Then, she stared down at Naofumi's form. Even after everything that had happened, he was still on his hands and knees. His eyes clenched tightly shut. Inwardly, it was like she understood what was happening... Naofumi was somewhere far away in his mind, almost unreachable… almost impossible to pull back at this point… she couldn't begin to realize how much he must have been suffering… how much he'd been scared to reveal why he had run away…

...

"Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia finally said.

Naofumi opened his eyes, glaring down at the ground below him. He couldn't see the slave cuff that was still on his right wrist. He was stuck in his own dark world. His own, lonely cursed dark world. "Why'd you come back?" He asked bitterly. "You're free now, aren't you?"

…

"... but, but I-" Raphtalia tried to say.

"I don't need a traitor, get lost." He said. His tone was angry and bitter.

Raphtalia stared down at him, her eyes sad. _'He really is suffering from this… more than he let on before...'_ She hadn't realized it, doing her best to make him proud every day. But having only one person constantly supporting you… and fearing that person leaving you when she learned the truth…

"I, I know you were accused of terrible things Master Naofumi... I heard some of the nobles at the party saying how you'd tried to force yourself on the princess, and the people in the stands talked about how that was why you ran away from the Capital that day." She admitted.

Naofumi gasped in shock. _'She knew!... She knew even before the duel! So was all this just a plan between her, Ren, and the other heroes to get her FREE?!'_ He thought angrily.

Raphtalia's eyes took on a determined glint. "And yet I believe, no, I know that you would never ever do such a thing-"

"I DIDN'T DO IT!" Naofumi yelled in anger at the ground. It was like he hadn't heard what she'd said after her first sentence. It was like he had forgotten all about what happened after the party.

Raphtalia became concerned. "Master Naofumi-" She said as she tried to approach.

"JUST STAY AWAY!" He yelled, making Raphtalia stop just a foot from him. Still, even though she was uncertain about what to do, she knew that Naofumi needed her in that moment.

She tried to reach down. "Please, you have to listen to me." She said.

Her hand was almost on his shoulder when he reacted. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" Naofumi yelled with rage, pushing Raphtalia's hand away. The action caused the slave cuff to come flying off his wrist, and to roll across the ground of the arena. Raphtalia gasped in surprise and hurt at what he'd said.

"Thanks to your savior Motoyasu you're free now! GO! I never want to see you again!" He yelled. His insides feeling like they were breaking into pieces. She'd thrown away the last bit of hope he'd had for this world. Why should he allow her back? "Or are you hanging around just to get one last look at this loser's face before he's dragged off to the dungeons for the rest of his miserable life?!" Did she really have to come back to rub that fact in his face! Did she have to rub in the fact that he was doomed now!

Raphtalia shook her head, holding her hands to herself. "Master Naofumi, please,"

"Just!... just leave me alone." He said, his voice now sounding depressed. "I don't care if you hate me now Raphtalia. You don't deserve to be imprisoned like me... Just leave, leave me alone and hate me like everyone else..." It sounded like he was crying at the end. "It'd be easier for everyone to hate me…"

'_... … Even now, even when he's consumed by all this hate... he, he still cares about me?...'_

* * *

...

He was all alone in this world. This world of cursed, lonely darkness. Where he'd never had someone to support him. Never have someone to help him. Never have someone to calm him. Never have someone to hold him, to believe him, or believe in him. He was all alone, with no hope, and nothing else but his burning shield on his arm. This cursed shield that he hated so much…

...

"I believe you Master Naofumi." Raphtalia's voice sounded in the darkness. "I really do. Tell me, what can I do to make you believe me?" Her voice sounded far away to him in his dark isle of hate where she hid in the shadows.

…

"Believe you? After you betrayed me? After you plotted against me?" He asked, his tone deathly flat.

…

"I will always be on your side! Even if you never believe me!" She said confidently.

"Lies!" He covered his head up further under his hands. "You're just saying that to trick me again! I won't let you!"

"No, I-"

"Just shut up!" He buried his head deeper into his hooded cloak. "What else are you people going to accuse me of!? What else are you going to plot to show how worthless I am to this world!?..."

He revealed his face, showing there was an unnatural red color over the whites of his eyes along with red lines on his cheeks. "I tried to be happy with being pulled from my world! I tried to be happy with being able to only fight with a shield! I tried to do what I felt was right, I tried to help everyone out, I tried to hope that things would get better, but it was over before it even started! The damn royalty of this country conspired against me, the state religion conspired against me, even the common people spread false rumors about me that everyone believed!" His eyes became sad for a moment. "And those who would have supported me in the beginning... they were either imprisoned, or they were killed. All because they wanted to help me… and now there's nobody left to help me… I'm all alone!" He looked down in anger at his shield. "This damn shield is a curse!"

He tried to rip the fiery red shield in his vision off his arm. "Urghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I hate it!..."

…

A small hand appeared over the burning gem on the shield. "I'm thankful." It was from the same young Raphtalia. But this time she was dressed in the clothes he had gotten for her at Erhard's place. She had the same haircut he had helped her to get after the dog monster… the... the same positive emotions swirling around in her eyes. "This shield has saved my life over and over. It has never let me down when I needed help." Raphtalia said quietly.

He looked up at her in surprise. Somehow, she'd pierced into this world, this veil of darkness surrounding him. Not the real her in the real world, but this young version of her that had cut through his agony into his mind.

"Don't you remember… during the wave?" She continued. "How you tried so hard to protect everyone?"

Her speaking about it brought memories through his anger back to the forefront of his mind. He saw times during the wave when he used a skill to save an individual, a family, random groups of strangers. Air Strike Shield. Shield Prison. Rope Shield. Small Shield. Light Metal Shield…

"Even though you knew you couldn't fight. You still used your shield and your strength to defend us all. You risked your life to save the lives of so many others Master Naofumi."

Naofumi looked shocked. He could see those memories of fighting off monsters during the wave clear as day. The monsters he had so courageously fought, the burning houses he'd ran in to make sure everyone had made it out safely... risking his life over and over again… "To be honest, I didn't do any of that for the villagers. I..." He tried to reason with her, to find something that'd keep him in this dark world, but his words sounded hollow, even to him.

"You must see that it doesn't matter." She cut off his thought process. "You still fought hard, and you still saved all those lives." She said, reaching through to his humanity. "You pushed yourself, more than anyone else to protect them."

"Hey, I'm not that nice a guy. You see you were nothing but a tool to use for my own advantage! You were the only way I could survive in this world!" He tried again to push her away with his words. Wanting to be left alone in this isle of hatred, where he'd never have to feel anything other than rage. Where no one in the world could ever hurt him again.

"I understand." She looked from the shield to him. "But it doesn't matter because you still rescued me." She continued. "And it doesn't change how I feel for you. Even if you have been using me this whole time, my feelings for you will never change."

He backed away in shock and fear. "No! Stop it! It was… it was all about how I could save myself! How I could-" He tried so hard to find the words to push her away. He didn't deserve someone like Raphtalia to support him. Not a cursed individual like him. He had to be alone! He had to!...

...

However, he found he was powerless as she got on her knees, slowly leaned in, and lightly embraced him in a warm and loving hug.

...

The shield on his arm started to glow blue again, battling with the red fire on its gem. Naofumi's eyes widened, and he slowly gasped at the surge of emotions that went through him, purging through his feelings of hatred and self-loathing. '_What's… what's happening to me…'_ He thought.

…

...

…

"Master Naofumi," Raphtalia finally spoke. A small smile was on her face at being able to hug Naofumi without him trying to push her away anymore. "I bet I know you better than anyone else in the whole wide world."

She remembered some of her own memories of Naofumi as she thought of what to say. Like the time he'd made the ball for her as a kid.

"I know how kind you are."

She remembered the time she and Master Naofumi had been walking by a food stand in Lute Village. He'd seen her eyeing a sweet as they walked by, and had stopped to buy her one.

"I know how generous you can be."

She remembered the day after they'd gone into the mine. How she'd been playing with her ball in front of the inn when some other kids came to bully her and steal her ball. Naofumi had been there to get the other kids to back off. Threatening them with a balloon hidden underneath his cloak.

"I know how much you want to protect and serve others."

She remembered the nights he'd spent hugging her close when she suffered from some nightmare. She remembered him rubbing the back of her head, telling her everything would be alright. She especially remembered how tired he always was the next day, and yet he never visibly complained or said it was all her fault. Sometimes, she'd even get him to smile by being in such a good mood after a rough night.

"Even if it means you having to sacrifice everything to help those you care about…"

A tear landed on Naofumi's cloak. Raphtalia tightened her hug, allowing the torrent of emotions to flow through her. It had only been a month, yet she had never had happier memories in her entire life. Even if she were to die tomorrow, she would treasure them forever. "So… so even if the whole world speaks ill of you, I'll tell them they're wrong." She said determinedly.

Naofumi could do nothing but sit on his knees in shock. His arms hanging loosely around his Companion. Almost unable to believe what he was hearing... Almost.

"I'll defend you. And remind them of all that you've done. You are the one who saved my life." She spoke with conviction. "The one who cured my illness, who helped me to overcome my fears and traumas, who gave me a sword, and showed me that I still had a purpose in life."

At that moment, the red fire finally gave way to the blue light being emitted from the gemstone of Naofumi's shield. Naofumi shakily breathed out, the red disappearing from his eyes and face. The hatred and self-loathing were gone…

Raphtalia finally backed away. She looked like a young adult to him again in his mind. The same that she'd looked before the duel. "You've always believed in me. Now I will prove I believe in you…" She rested a hand on his shoulder. "I swear to be your sword forever, and to always stand beside you." She smiled for him. "I could never hate you Master Naofumi, no matter what other people say about you."

...

Naofumi felt tears pricking at his eyes. '_I've… I've always wished… someone would say those very words to me…'_

His mind flashed back to earlier that day by the carriage.

"_I swear to be your sword forever." Raphtalia pulled her sword out and held it to her side for emphasis. "Wherever you go, I'll be there with you. Even when everyone else hates you, I will never hate you… I believe in you."_

His mind returned to the present, and Naofumi lowered his head in shame. The tears were close to escaping. '_I guess… I didn't believe her before.'_ He thought in shame. He hadn't believed Raphtalia… when she had always believed in him...

Raphtalia continued to smile. Bringing light back into his darkened world. "This is a world where it's hard to find people to trust. It's even harder to find someone you can trust to be yourself with… your past, your secrets... your feelings... But I know I can trust you Master Naofumi because you saved my life." She spoke from the bottom of her heart. "You gave me a purpose when I thought I had none. You showed me kindness when I thought it no longer existed in this world." The hallway of Erhard's house flashed before her mind. When she'd yelled at him, asking how she could trust him.

She knew the answer to that now. It had been in front of her the whole time. "And because you showed me who you really are… I... I really... I really do trust you!"

* * *

Naofumi's eyes closed, and the darkness that had been around him that whole time burst away like wind cleaning a scene. He opened his eyes to the real world and found himself back in the duel arena. The stars shone brightly in the sky up above. The moon shone even more brightly than the stars. But Raphtalia, on one knee in front of him, outshone them all. Or, at least, the woman who had been Raphtalia before.

A gasp of surprise escaped his lips.

Her brown hair was the same length, but it had deepened in color and appeared more vibrant as it swayed in the light breeze. Even though they were both kneeling, he could tell that she had grown more in height. Her body and assets had matured to the point that had he seen her on campus, he would have mistaken her for a hot college student… In short, she looked like an adult. A beautiful, young adult that rivaled even Myne in her beauty. As loathe as he'd be to admit out loud that bitch had looked appealing once before.

"The great Shield Hero." Raphtalia finished happily, the same smile still on her face. The smile and her deep tea-red eyes that held the same sincerity as before. And she fully believed it. He was a hero to her.

…

"... Raphtalia, is it, is that really you?" He asked. His hands shaking at his sides.

"Yes, Master Naofumi. Who else could it be?"

"But, but how?" He asked, still unable to believe what he was seeing. "You don't look like the same kid or young adult that you were before."

"Yes. I'm not." She said shyly. "… And it's time for you to stop thinking of me as one too." She said, staring bashfully down. "I mean sure, I might get a little emotional sometimes… and act like a little kid when I want to… I may be a burden, but, but please." She looked back up to his face. "Please allow me to stay by your side."

Naofumi gasped in air again and felt the tears threatening to escape once more. "I need you, and you need me. We're a team. There's nowhere else I'd rather be than here with you." She said sincerely. "Please, please don't push me away."

Naofumi couldn't hold it back anymore. He fell forward onto his hands and knees, tears dripping down onto one of his hands below him. It was all too much. His perception of the world was crumbling down, and he could do nothing to stop it. He'd tried to push away Raphtalia, and yet she'd stayed.

Raphtalia put her hand over his hand, shielding it from his falling tears. She then wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes as she embraced him. He embraced her back, and continued to cry onto her shoulder, his sobs forcing their way out of his system.

It was all too much. Too much kindness all at once after being in that dark, lonely cursed world...

…

The three other heroes stood off to the side, having watched what had been going on silently the whole time. Up above, the last of the nobles were trickling out from the stands. The arena was now truly deserted except for the Cardinal Heroes of Legend...

Motoyasu clutched his spear tightly. "Urgh, I don't believe what's going on." He said.

"Even after watching all of that?" Itsuki asked incredulously. '_Does Motoyasu not have a heart or something?!'_

"We all know it's wrong for a hero to have a slave. Or, maybe, maybe Raphtalia's only doing this because she's been brainwashed." He said out loud, trying to find a reason to justify what was going on other than the real one. Myne, one of his most trusted companions, couldn't have lied to him! There had to be a reason why this was happening!

"I'm not so sure about that," Ren said calmly. Causing Motoyasu to look at Ren.

"You too? But, but don't you think it's wrong?!" Motoyasu asked.

Ren looked calmly at Motoyasu. "Of course I think it's wrong for a hero to own a slave. But does it look like Naofumi treats Raphtalia like his slave?" He pointedly asked.

"I mean, just look at them," Itsuki said. "It's not like a master and slave relationship. It's different. Dare I say, better."

The three all turned to look at them. Naofumi was still being held in Raphtalia's embrace. He had tears leaking from his eyes, but he was no longer sobbing. He looked so tired and emotionally drained. Yet Raphtalia was smiling softly down at him, holding him close. She was sad that Master Naofumi had gone through so much pain, yet she was also glad to have him there with her at that moment. Glad that, after all the times he'd comforted her, she was there to comfort him in his time of need.

"You've gone through a lot of pain," Raphtalia spoke softly, her hand making similar motions on the back of his head that he'd used so many times to comfort her before. "But from now on, you won't need to be alone with the pain." She rested her head against his. "I'll shoulder it with you forever Naofumi Iwatani. Because… because that's what love makes us do."

She had no problem admitting it out loud now. After everything Master Naofumi had done for her, she could hold no other emotion towards him. "I'll always love you. Even when everyone else hates you." She confessed. "You aren't alone anymore. Don't ever forget that."

Naofumi still had tears leaking from his eyes. '_She… Raphtalia… she loves me…'_

…

Naofumi sighed, and closed his eyes, relaxing into Raphtalia's embrace. He suddenly felt so tired. His hand rubbed along the edge of the green gemmed, blue glowing legendary shield… the legendary shield, which as it turned out, wasn't so much of a curse after all.

The shield's gemstone flashed a brilliant blue in response.

Ren smiled a little bit. Itsuki was still as calm as ever. And Motoyasu… he appeared to be conflicted. "But… but he…" He couldn't find the words. The foundations for his thoughts of Naofumi had already taken a severe beating and were shaking either way at the moment. One more move and his world would come crashing down like Naofumi's… '_Did… was Myne lying to me earlier about Naofumi abusing Raphtalia?'_ He thought. It seemed impossible for one of his closest companions to lie to him, but even with Raphtalia freed she was staying with Naofumi. And she had said of her own free will that she loved him… did that mean that Myne had lied to him?

Itsuki put a hand on Motoyasu's shoulder. "Come on Motoyasu. Those two have had enough for one night." He said, leading the Spear Hero away. "Let's leave them alone."

Motoyasu was in such a mental state that he allowed himself to be led away.

Ren continued to watch for a moment more. His heart softening at the visual display in front of him. '_It's still wrong that he owns her… but I can't try to change what she personally wants.'_ He thought.

Not when it brought back some of his own memories... of a girl who had wanted to stay by his side...

...

Raphtalia was still holding to Naofumi, who had fallen asleep when she looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps stopping in front of her. Ren stood over the two of them, his face calm. He said nothing, but he slowly took out a blanket from his inventory, and then he placed it over Naofumi's peacefully sleeping figure. Without saying a word, he turned around to walk away.

...

"Why?" Raphtalia asked.

Ren stopped a few footsteps away and then glanced back at her. Though his face revealed nothing, his eyes showed he understood what the question was. Why did he help them? "I left a girl behind in my world when I came here. A girl who'd do anything to help out those around her, no matter the circumstances, or the consequences." He said softly, before turning to face forward again. "She was always willing to help out those around her… And I knew if she were here, she would have beaten me up if I didn't go along with helping you two out." He might have been joking at the end, but it was hard to tell.

...

"She must have been a great girl," Raphtalia spoke softly, looking down at Naofumi's sleeping face. Her hand gently traced one of his cheekbones. She was grateful that the Sword Hero and the Bow Hero had intervened when they had. If they hadn't…

…

'_You have no idea… and I'd give anything just to see her again...'_ Ren thought sadly as he walked away.

...

Raphtalia held onto Naofumi for the rest of that night… staying in her kneeling position so Naofumi could rest peacefully.

...

Sometime during that night, the shield's gemstone slowly started to transition from the blue glow to its normal green color. Yet Naofumi kept a smile on his face.

For once, his restless sleep was at peace. His hope for the world had been restored, and his perception of the world had changed forever… all because a Tanuki girl had cared enough to help, to carry his load, and to light the darkness that had been hiding inside his soul.

He had never been more grateful for anyone in his entire life...

...

...

**Requirements Met, Hopeful Series Unlocked**

**[A Shield Made with the help of a Tanuki Girl]**

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**Author's Notes:**

**This was by far one of my favorite chapters to write. It's also my favorite moment in the show out of everything else that happened. I still cry watching it. I also thought I'd take the chance since some of the reviewers asked for it. Do you hate the King more after this chapter? Do you like the other heroes a little bit more now?**

**Also, since this is a new Shield Series I came up with (and not the Blessed Series as one reviewer tried to guess), I'll show the stats here. Just in case any other author ever wants to use it.**

* * *

**Hopeful Series:**

**Shield of Hope I (Appearance, shaped like Light Metal Shield, but glows blue, and is translucent like Glass)**

**Defense Bonus: +50**

**Added Resistance to Magic/Skill Based Attacks: +75**

**Unlocked Skill: Hope Asunder: **_Drops the defense of target(s) by 1 point for every 1 point of SP used for five minutes (can be upgraded) and inflicts damage equal to half of what the target lost in defense. Or, if the target(s) are armored, you can spend SP based on armor type to destroy the opponent(s)' armor, then inflict damage equal to half of the target(s)' armor rating. (Warning, if the amount of SP used on an armored opponent(s) exceeds Max SP, SP won't naturally recharge for a period of time based on how much was overused to destroy the target(s)' armor. SP recovering potions/elixirs/spells will also have no effect on the Cardinal Hero during this time)_

* * *

**There'll obviously be more to it as more of the Hopeful Series is unlocked, but for now, this is all I'm revealing. And also as an FYI, this Shield Series was the idea that inspired this whole story. HOPE, you all continue to enjoy what's to come :).**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	12. 12: Not so Bad After All

**Can I just say damn? The feedback I got immediately after posting the last chapter was insane! I responded to as many as I was able. Sorry if I missed a couple of you. Thanks again for all your support! And I was wrong. I didn't get one bad review for the last chapter. I got positivity with bits of criticism, and that's the way I like it. I didn't have to deal with any crappy guests. Heh heh. Cowards.**

**But as I said, I wasn't just noticing those flames happening in this fic. For those of you reading other Shield Hero fics that you like, take a little time to show some appreciation and support for their authors. Even if they aren't dealing with flames at the moment. Give them some love too. A little appreciation can seriously go a long way.**

**With that out of the way. Let's head on to the latest chapter!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:**_ 32 more Favorites, 40 more Followers (Total: 408 Favorites, 456 Followers)_

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**Updated:** _October 14th, 2019 1:45 P.M. (MST)_

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**Disclaimer:** Final one that'll apply throughout the rest of this fic. I don't own Rising of The Shield Hero. I'll only add a disclaimer to a chapter when there's something or somebody else in it that doesn't belong to me.

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**Chapter Twelve: **_Not so Bad After All_

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_Sunrise of the Next Morning_

Naofumi breathed in, allowing the breeze coming over the castle walls to revitalize him. Even with the cool early morning breeze, he felt strangely warm and well-rested. More so than he had felt in a long time…

'_Did… did all that really happen last night?'_ He thought to himself.

It was weird. He was standing just a few hundred feet away from where the duel with Motoyasu had happened last night, looking out over the Capital of Melromarc. Last night felt like a dream to him. Yet he could still remember what had happened after the King had called him a rapist... it was like he hadn't been an active participant in the events unfolding shortly afterward. Being so locked up in his rage and despair… He had been a prisoner in his own mind... Yet he could remember it all so clearly…

Again he felt guilt prick at him inside his mind for trying to push Raphtalia away. But at the same time, he felt gratitude and a whole heap of other emotions because of her refusing to leave him and for saying the things she'd said. Emotions he knew he'd have to sort through himself when he felt he could sift through them. For now, all he could do was be amazed. _'Everything's changed… yet it's all the same...'_

He pulled out his Shield Menu and looked in his series of shields for the Cursed Series and the Hopeful Series he had unlocked. But for some reason, they weren't coming up. _'That's odd… they don't even appear in my help guide.'_ Naofumi thought to himself as he opened up his help book. That had to be the greatest oddity out of everything else that had happened. He usually received updates to his help guide whenever he came across something new with few exceptions. He remembered vividly the notifications he had received in each instance, even though he'd been asleep for the 2nd one because it had appeared to him while dreaming. And yet, he could find no information on either series in both his shield menu and his Cardinal Hero help guide.

He was so focused on his help guide, he almost didn't see the Tanuki woman approaching him with food in her hands. Almost. After all, he was pretty hungry after last night's duel.

"Good morning Master Naofumi." Raphtalia appeared next to him, carrying sandwiches for them both.

He closed the help guide on his status screen and looked up at the sandwiches she was holding for them. _'I'll think about it another time.'_ He decided. "Wow, did you make them all by yourself?" He asked.

"I did. And it's all just leftovers that I found in the castle kitchen." She replied happily. "Don't they look yummy?"

"They do look yummy." Naofumi dryly agreed. "Doesn't mean I'll be able to taste it…" … his eyes looked from the sandwich to Raphtalia, examining the new beautiful grown woman in front of him. The woman who was in love with him... "Hey Raphtalia, is that really you?" He asked.

Raphtalia looked caught off guard by the question. "Sorry," Naofumi said suddenly. "I guess I need a little time to get used to this." He said, before facing the Capital and looking back down at his sandwich. "I didn't see myself in a position like this a month ago when I came to this world."

_'I mean, I did think when I first got here that I'd find a beautiful girl and we'd fall in love with each other and get together... I just didn't imagine after finding out that Myne had plotted to accuse me of rape that that would be possible for me. Much less, that it'd turn out to be Raphtalia of all people who'd be the beautiful girl that'd fall for me...'_ His mind wandered. _'Maybe it was fate that I found out about Malty's plot when I did. Had I been thrust into it head-on without knowing about it, I could have been brought before the kingdom, learned the hard way about Myne's accusation, turned into a much more bitter person… Erhard might have never helped me then… and maybe, I never would have met Raphtalia…'_ Maybe.

Raphtalia started to smile again and looked out over the castle walls. She understood what he had meant. "It is sudden. When you first met me, I was just a little kid." She could remember how a little over two months ago, she'd been playing ball with some of the other kids in her village. Before everything changed with the waves. "But when demi-humans level up from being children we become instant grown-ups in the blink of an eye. That's why we're seen as unnatural creatures here in Melromarc. Always abused and discriminated against since we don't have to go through our childhood or teenage years like everyone else." She explained.

Naofumi continued to stare down at his sandwich. "I see… Erhard told me about it the night I bought you… he warned me this would happen, but I didn't imagine it'd be like this…" He looked towards the city again. "I guess it's finally sinking in now… and that's the part I'm getting used to…" He admitted.

'_The old man really wasn't lying to me before… Damn it! I want to feel like such a lolicon… Raphtalia's 10 years old!... but she's also a grown-up now, and she says it's normal in this world for a demi-human her age to be considered a grownup when their level gets high enough, maybe even for those that are younger than her… and it doesn't help that she doesn't look like a kid anymore either...'_ He was getting a headache just thinking about it.

Raphtalia giggled happily as she took a bite of her sandwich. "Hey, this sandwich really does taste good. Why don't you try yours Master Naofumi?" She said, coaxing him to try and eat with her.

Naofumi looked down at the sandwich she'd given him. '_Might as well give it a shot… not that I'll taste it. But hopefully, it'll distract me from my thoughts.'_

He bit into it.

…

The food was stuck in his mouth. He was staring down at the rest with a look of shock.

"Is something wrong?" Raphtalia asked, looking concerned. Naofumi had never looked like this before while eating.

…

Tears came into his eyes. "I… I can... actually… taste it." He murmured softly. The realization hit him. It had finally happened. He could taste food again!

Raphtalia's face brightened up, and Naofumi started to dig into the rest of the sandwich. Tears continued falling down his face and he smiled as his taste buds once again sang praises to this world's heavenly food. It was the best feeling ever to him, after having to eat bland tasteless food for so long… it was almost better than what had happened last night.

Almost.

Raphtalia smiled happily. '_He can finally enjoy food again.'_ It made her feel so happy on the inside. "Let's make a deal." He stopped mid-bite to look up at her. "To eat lots of delicious food from now on, okay?" Raphtalia asked.

Naofumi still had tears in his eyes from being able to taste again. But even with that ability given back, there was something he valued more than it. "Can I make an adjustment to that deal?" He asked.

She looked surprised. "What, what do you mean?" She asked confusedly.

He set the rest of the sandwich aside. "Let's eat lots of delicious food, together." He said. Stepping in close to hold her hands. He then laid a peck against her cheek. '_Because I'm not going through this world alone ever again...'_

...

When he backed away, Raphtalia's face looked to have taken fifty shades of red on it. '_Uh oh… it's times like this I wish I had more experience with girls.'_ He thought to himself, thinking he'd done something wrong. "I'm sorry, was that over the line?" He asked in concern.

Raphtalia quickly shook her head. "No, it, it wasn't Naofumi!" She said quickly. "It was just... a little unexpected is all." She finished meekly, holding her arm while looking off to the side.

"You're telling me," Naofumi said. "Three weeks ago you were just a little kid who loved head pats. I never would have imagined you'd be an adult right after the first wave."

"Master Naofumi, I am not a little kid anymore, and I don't love head pats!" Raphtalia said irritably. Her tail bushing up behind her.

…

Naofumi calmly patted a hand on her head between her ears. The look of anger was replaced with a look of joy, and Raphtalia's tail started to wag furiously behind her.

"Wow. Could have fooled me."

Raphtalia finally came to the realization as to what had happened. She would have slapped him if it wasn't for the hand on her head that felt so good! And the smirk on his face that told her he was just playing around. It was different, but it was nice.

Raphtalia blushed again and looked off to the side. Naofumi did so too. He wasn't used to the concept of flirting. He didn't even know if he had been flirting there or not. Damn, he was going to be thrust into this without any preparation whatsoever!

"So… I guess what now?" Naofumi asked, lowering his hand.

"I don't know," Raphtalia admitted truthfully. "The King is giving us till the end of the day to leave the Capital-"

"That's not what I meant."

Raphtalia looked up at Naofumi, who breathed in deeply. "I don't know for certain what my feelings for you are Raphtalia. I'm not even sure if they're the same as yours… I never really had much experience with girls in my world." He admitted. "But, I know whatever my feelings are… I care about you." He admitted softly. "And I don't know how far I'm comfortable with going right now."

…

Raphtalia again softly smiled. And this time, she hugged Naofumi. Her head was now able to rest comfortably in the crook of his neck because of her new height which made her a few inches shorter than him instead of a whole head. "Believe me, I'm sorting through all of my emotions too Naofumi. I grew up from being a child to an adult faster than most other demi-human children… and I wasn't one to think much on guys before, especially the hero kind." She joked at the end. "That was more of what my best friend did. But I, at least, know what I said is true. I love you, and I want to stay by your side."

Naofumi sighed, one of his hands moving along her locks of hair on her back. That brought up a concern in his mind. '_What if I want to return to my world after everything is over?... will Raphtalia be able to come with me? Would I want to stay here dealing with everything that I've had to deal with up till now if Raphtalia couldn't leave?...'_ He buried the thought deep in his mind. He decided he could address it far later after much more time had passed. For now, he was hopeful that things would get better. Someway, somehow, things would improve for the two of them. Plus, while he didn't know if his feelings for Raphtalia were as strong as hers, he liked the feeling of her being close like this.

"Yeah, we'll just continue like this for now then," Naofumi said.

…

…

"You know, if anyone of my classmates back home found out about this, I'd be stuck with the terms Lolicon and Furrie Lover for the rest of my life." He said. He chuckled to himself at the thought. Now that he thought about it, those terms didn't sound that bad. After all, he'd been called a devil and a rapist. Compared to that, Lolicon and Furrie couldn't hold a candle as insults.

"What do those words mean?" Raphtalia asked curiously. She heard what Naofumi was saying thanks to his shield's auto-translation function, but she didn't know what they meant.

Naofumi continued to chuckle. "I'll tell you... when you're older."

...

Raphtalia started to pout again, and his chuckling broke into full-on laughter. "Master Naofumi!" She complained.

'_Oh hell, this is too much fun! I'm going to have to pick on her whenever I can cause her reaction is just adorable!'_ He thought happily.

"Were you just thinking something rude!?" She angrily asked.

It only made him laugh harder. Much to her ire.

...

"Ah, I figured we'd find you here."

The two looked behind them and saw Ren and Itsuki approaching. Naofumi stopped laughing. He looked confused at seeing them here. And were his eyes deceiving him, or was Ren holding a pouch in one of his hands.

"Here, take it, it's yours," Ren said calmly, handing the pouch over to Naofumi. The contents inside jingled a familiar tune.

Naofumi still looked surprised as he opened the pouch to look inside. "Silver… coins…" He now looked stunned. _'I thought that piece of trash spent my reward money on that party of his?'_

"About 800 worth," Itsuki confirmed. "The King gave me and Ren a little extra to try and convince us to stay in Melromarc. And Ren-" Itsuki was explaining.

"You mean you." Ren cut in calmly.

Itsuki grumbled to himself. "**We...**" He emphasized. "Decided it'd be best... if you and Raphtalia got part of what you deserve for defending the village." Itsuki finished calmly. "So we both decided to reward you ourselves."

Naofumi stared at the bag, blown away by what they said. "We talked to the Lord of Lute Village after the duel last night. He said that if you two hadn't stayed to defend his village, there would have been a lot more casualties. Himself included." Ren said simply. "We couldn't let that go unrewarded."

"Even if what Myne said was true, and you had done horrible things in the past, it wouldn't be right for you not to receive a reward for doing your small part defending people in the wave," Itsuki said. Though by the sounds of it, he no longer believed Myne or the King either.

First Raphtalia's confession, then the sandwich, and now this… Naofumi felt tears leaking into his eyes again. _'Damn it! I'm turning into a softie!'_ And yet somehow, he didn't mind that.

"Now don't think that means I approve of a hero owning a slave or anything," Itsuki said, feeling some need to quickly defend himself. "Because I don't!"

Naofumi couldn't reply, he was speechless.

"Sir Bow Hero," Raphtalia spoke gently, catching Itsuki off guard. She stepped in front of Naofumi and bowed respectively to Itsuki. "On behalf of Master Naofumi, we'd like to thank you both for your kindness towards us, Itsuki-Kun and Ren-Kun."

Itsuki stepped back at the unexpected praise. In Japanese, the suffix Kun held the meaning of calling an individual your close friend. And Itsuki and Ren both knew that. What surprised Itsuki was the praise being directed at him. Even though praise was what Itsuki secretly thrived on.

Naofumi smiled in relief. He couldn't have said it any better himself.

Ren calmly smiled back while Itsuki sputtered. "It's no problem for me. 800 Silvers will be worth nothing after me and my party slays the dragon haunting Dragon Village." He said. His legendary sword changed to a stronger looking sword as he said it. Naofumi blinked, looking at the sword curiously. He could have sworn he recognized it from somewhere.

Raphtalia smiled happily for Ren. "And what about you Itsuki?" Naofumi asked.

Itsuki finally recovered from his unintelligible sputtering. "What about me?" Itsuki asked confusedly.

"What are you going to do next?" Naofumi asked.

Itsuki became thoughtful. "I wasn't sure before… but were you serious at the party when you said most of the nobles there owned slaves of their own?" Itsuki asked Naofumi curiously. "And that the Knights destroyed Raphtalia's village after the wave?"

Naofumi looked to Raphtalia, who nodded her head. "Yes." Upon hearing her give the affirmative, Itsuki gasped in shock. He was horrified that the Kingdom had done something so terrible. "After the wave… Knights came and killed all the adults that had survived the wave in front of their children, and enslaved me and all the other children that survived... Before Naofumi, I was owned by three different slaveholders. All three were nobles. And all three of them treated me far worse than he ever has…" She paused to sniff, and wipe away a tear from below her eye. "I only saw the third one at the celebration last night. I saw you talking to him shortly before the Spear Hero challenged Naofumi. He was the one who tortured me the most out of all three of them. Idol Rabier." She admitted.

"You're kidding?" Itsuki asked in a shocked voice. He never would have known that he had talked to a noble that owned slaves. And worse, tortured them.

Raphtalia shook her head. "There were others just like me that noble owned. Most of them were only women and children, including my best friend Rifana. They were tortured so badly. That noble loves to torture others, especially demi-humans… he hates them… And he tortured my best friend, even though she was sick. I don't even know if she's still alive or not since it was a little over a month ago when I last saw her..." She almost started to cry, but then her face took on an angry look instead as she glared at Itsuki determinedly. "I don't ever want to hear you complaining about Naofumi owning me again! You got me?!" She yelled at Itsuki, mimicking the same words Naofumi used for her whenever he was angry or serious.

Itsuki took a step back in surprise at her anger. "But, but I-" He tried to say.

"No! Not until Naofumi is the only slaveholder left in this kingdom! Because he's one of only a few people in this world I know of who treats his slaves like people instead of as objects to be tortured, killed, or abused at a moment's notice! And I'll reaffirm that till the day I die!" Raphtalia said fiercely, getting into Itsuki's face.

Itsuki breathed in sharply as he backed away from the fierce-looking demi-human. Naofumi calmly stepped forward beside Raphtalia and put an arm in front of her to calm her. She clutched to his arm as if her life depended on it. "I need no saving from the man I love." She said passionately. "But my best friend, the rest of my village, and countless other demi-human slaves all over Melromarc need saving from their loathsome abusive masters. Now, what will you do Sir Bow Hero?!" She asked. "Will you also try to pry me from Master Naofumi like the Spear Hero?!"

Itsuki immediately shook his head. "No. I'd never do that. Never... I had planned on helping out other people while preparing for the next wave. I just wasn't sure who needed my help…" A determined glint appeared in his eyes. "But if what you say is true, then I'll free them. I'll free every last demi-human this kingdom has ever enslaved!" Itsuki promised. "I'll make Melromarc and its nobles pay for what they've done to your people!"

...

Naofumi was shocked to hear such words come from the young boy, and with such determination in his features too... … he found himself smiling, and internally, he reevaluated his standing on Itsuki. '_So I'm annoyed about his Robin Hood like sense of justice, but maybe it'll accomplish some good with it being aimed in the right direction.'_ He thought hopefully.

"Do you know if the guild has missions for doing that?" Ren asked Itsuki skeptically.

"I don't care if they do or not. If there are people out there being tortured for some nobleman's fun and pleasure than screw the guild and their money! Those people need help, and those nobles need to be put in their place." Itsuki said, pounding a fist into his hand. "They're going to regret the moment they ever thought they could whip another person for fun and get away with it!"

Raphtalia smiled. '_Maybe Rifana and the others will stand a chance…'_ It made her feel happy that another of the four Cardinal Heroes was standing up to help her race. After all the persecution they had received in Melromarc… "This isn't much, but there is one noble I know of who helps out demi-humans and treats them kindly in his land. His name is Van Reichnott. If you find him, then he should be able to help out any slaves you manage to free. He also knows the names of most of the nobles who commit horrible atrocities to their slaves." Raphtalia said. '_Including the one next door to him where Rifana is… Idol Rabier.'_ She thought with hope.

"Van Reichnott. There. Got it bookmarked on my weapon's menu. Well, I know where I'm off to now. See you all later!" Itsuki said quickly, before running off to find his party members. They had one hell of a quest to embark on!

"Well, that settles it for Itsuki. What about you Ren?" Naofumi asked Ren.

Ren crossed his arms as he calmly looked at Naofumi. "I still don't fully trust you Naofumi." He admitted.

"I wouldn't expect you too." Naofumi said honestly. "I ran away and never tried to defend myself from Myne's accusations. Maybe this whole mess could have been avoided if I was upfront with that at the castle." He accepted what he had done.

Ren nodded his head. "You did run away. You also broke into a Church." He added dryly. "However, I don't think any of Malty's accusations against you are true. I had my doubts about Myne from the beginning. And seeing the way the King and Princess acted last night, I highly doubt you'd have been given fair treatment for turning yourself in. So in a way, I'm glad you ran away." Ren admitted. Much to Naofumi's surprise. "I also don't like the fact that the Church was trying to restrain you specifically from fighting in the waves. And that it looks like they're conspiring with the royalty of this country to have you killed when you're only a Shielder. There's too much that doesn't add up for me. So though I won't extend to you my full trust right now for my own reasons, maybe someday down the road things can be different."

Naofumi was floored by Ren's statement. Though he was pretty sure it was a putdown that the Church was wanting to kill off a shielder, he still found himself having to reevaluate his standing on Ren. '_I don't think it's because of what happened that he doesn't trust me or others… and his pride isn't the issue either. It's that it's naturally hard for him to trust other people.'_ Naofumi came to the realization. Whether it was something that had happened before he came to this world, or just a part of Ren's personality from being so confident in himself, he wasn't sure. But he had a good feeling that that was the reason why Ren didn't trust others very well.

"I'm off to get stronger, as strong as I can possibly get. But while I'm at it, me and my party are going to keep an eye out for more information. I want to know why Princess Malty was consorting with the Church of the Three Heroes to have you killed, and what their end goal is." He said, before turning around. "If I learn anything, we'll talk during the next wave. Maybe by then, I'll have a plan of action for what we can do."

"The next wave…" Naofumi looked in the bottom right corner of his menu. A timer had appeared there with an hourglass next to it. It said the next wave was in 45 days. "Before you go, can I ask where you got that sword?" Naofumi asked. '_I swear I've seen it somewhere before.'_ He thought.

"This, this is a magic Mythril sword." Ren said with a shrug. "You can find it in any blacksmith shop and use it once you reach level 40."

'_Wait, I think that was one of the swords Erhard offered me when I was first looking at buying a sword!'_ He thought in realization. It had been alongside an iron sword, a magic iron sword, some other weird name for a sword, and a regular Mythril sword. "How did you get your legendary weapon to transform into a normal weapon? I can't get mine to transform into any normal shields." Naofumi asked.

"Simple, I acquired it using the Weapon Copy System," Ren answered.

'_... Weapon Copy?'_ Naofumi had never heard of that before.

"All you have to do is pick up an item similar to your legendary weapon, and then it copies it over. Itsuki and Motoyasu have been using it too." Ren said.

'_First I've ever heard of it.'_ Naofumi thought.

Ren sighed, seeing the look on Naofumi's face. It was just like their first night in the castle when Naofumi knew nothing about what was going on. "If you didn't know about the Weapon Copy System, I should also mention this now. Our levels as heroes are unimpeded, but the rest of your party will need something called a class upgrade at the dragon hourglass when they reach level 40. And since I doubt the Three Heroes Church will let you use theirs again, I'd recommend finding somewhere else to get her class upgrade when the time comes." Ren suggested, pointing to Raphtalia before walking away.

Naofumi looked at Raphtalia, who looked confused. "I'm sorry, I don't know anything about class upgrades or weapon copy Master Naofumi." She admitted.

"Got it." _'We might not know about the Weapon Copy System or the Class Upgrade System... But I don't think Ren has been lying to me so far…'_ Even though Ren was naturally distrustful of others he didn't know very well, he'd still taken the time to help him.

...

"Hey, Ren!"

Ren was almost to the stairs leading back down from the wall when he turned around to look back at Naofumi. "Just remember that this isn't a game! If you or Itsuki die trying to help me and Raphtalia, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself!" Naofumi yelled after him.

...

Ren cracked a small smile, then he turned around. "I'll keep that in mind Naofumi." He responded, walking away from the two while giving them a wave of goodbye. "Don't get yourself killed either. I'd rather we both got to live at the end of this whole mess." Naofumi heard him say before Ren disappeared to find and gather his party.

The two stood there side by side, looking at where Ren had disappeared for a moment more. "What about us Raphtalia?" He asked her.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Was he taking it back to the topic of what their relationship would be like from here on out again?

"You said we had until the end of the day to leave the Capital. But I'd feel safer if we left before midday. So what do you want to do before we leave this place?" He asked.

Raphtalia thought to herself for a moment. "First, I want to get myself a new slave crest." She decided.

Naofumi blinked in surprise. "Are you sure about that? I mean, I don't want you to be forced into doing it-" He tried to say.

"Master Naofumi no one is forcing me." She said seriously. "I want you to be able to trust me at all times to never lie to you. Even about my feelings. And if I need something to scold me to help me remember to fight at your side, then so be it." She said determinedly.

He stared down at her in surprise. She didn't say it, but even after hearing the false accusations against him she was willing to go as far as trusting him with herself. To put herself in a position where she'd have to follow any order he gave, no matter what… _'She really trusts that I'm not going to abuse her… and she even called the princess a pig for saying I had abused her...'_

Tears reappeared in Naofumi's eyes. He didn't know how he'd done it back then, but he truly realized he'd won the lottery buying Raphtalia. "I already trust you… far more than anyone else I've ever known my entire life. But if it's what you want, I won't try to stop you." He said.

Raphtalia smiled happily for him.

"As long as we also stop by Erhard's to get you that armor." He added.

…

Raphtalia started to pout again. He found it so adorable on her adult form, he patted her head in mock sympathy. Then he started to laugh again.

"Master Naofumi!" She complained.

"Unless you're telling me your body is going to get bigger than what it is now, a promise is a promise." He said upbeatedly to her.

"Gah!" Raphtalia started to blush and turned away. Unsure of how to respond since she wasn't sure if what he'd said would be worse or better.

Unfortunately, Naofumi realized what he'd said. He also started to blush awkwardly, not meaning to have implied what he said at all. '_This… this is going to take some getting used to.'_ He thought.

...

When he looked at Raphtalia again though, his small smile returned. '_But something tells me I won't mind getting used to this.'_

Finally, the pessimistic part of him had stopped fighting against Raphtalia. It had accepted her and this world as if she'd been the missing piece for him to live here. In this strange new world.

A world, that his more hopeful perception, was helping him to realize that it...

... Was not so bad after all.

* * *

…

...

"So, is that what the King has been up to?"

A royal figure with long flowing purple hair looked out the window onto the Kingdom of Faubley. Her maids stood around her, helping to make sure her outfit was fit and pristine for her meeting with Faubley's Ruler. Outside the window, a cloaked figure with a mask over her face was crouched down on the window ledge. Hiding out of view of Faubley's soldiers patrolling the walls with their old fashioned rifles resting on their shoulders.

"He has. apparently. I'm sure Princess Malty must have talked him into it. I would have had to intervene if it wasn't for the Sword and Bow Heroes acting when they did." The shadow responded.

"Interesting. I'm glad you didn't have to. It would have revealed more of my hand than what I wanted to share at this time." The Queen then sighed. "Still, it's a shame to think my husband who was once so wise has turned into such a fool, disobeying the orders I left him before leaving, and allowing his prejudice to rule where his logic used to reign…" She sighed regretfully again. '_I knew he was still harboring ill will towards demi-humans after the last alliance we had with them killed his sister 13 years ago… but I never imagined he'd take his need for revenge this far.'_ She sadly thought, before recomposing herself. "How is the Shield Hero holding up?"

"He procured a demi-human girl from a slave trader a while back. She was the daughter of one of the noble families exiled from Siltvelt. I daresay they have been sticking to the shadows better than I have, and have thus far managed to avoid capture by the King and the Church. It also appears that the Sword and Bow Heroes have now indiscreetly decided to help him while the Spear is still seduced by your oldest daughter." The shadow responded.

"Is that so?" The Queen asked curiously. "Well, besides my daughter, that is a relief. I'm glad the Shield Hero has more support." She brought her fan up to cover the bottom half of her face. "However, news of Melromarc summoning of the Four Cardinal Heroes is making no small impact in our kingdom as well as the others. Though it pains me to do so, I must stay here and continue to divert part of our forces to make sure we prevent our neighbors from meddling in our affairs and the affairs of the other heroes for now. No matter what."

"Never fear my lady. We'll continue to keep a watchful eye on events in and around the Capital." The shadow responded.

"Good. I'm counting on you." The Queen replied.

The shadow stayed on the windowsill. "Before I go, there is one last thing you should know my lady."

"Hmmm?" The Queen hummed curiously.

"The King still holds to his hatred for the Shield Hero, but he is not foolish enough to do anything that'll start a war. Yet… I've heard rumors that the Three Heroes Church is preparing any means necessary to remove the Shield Hero from the table. Even if it means bringing Melromarc to war once again with Siltvelt and Shieldfreiden before the coming of the Next Wave of Catastrophe." She added to her report.

… "Really now? My, Pope Balamus must have more nerve than I gave him credit for." The Queen of Melromarc responded upbeatedly. "If he makes his move soon, I could be allowed to leave this dusty old kingdom to squash a rebellion. A rebellion that has long since been overdue." She sounded genuinely happy. "Keep watch over the Shield Hero and his companions. And help out the Bow and Sword Heroes wherever you can. They must survive if events are to unfold exactly as I want them too in our Kingdom."

"Yes, your Majesty." The shadow replied. "It will be as you command."

One second she was there, the next second, the Shadow disappeared from the window ledge. The Queen, however, continued to stare off at the smokestacks of the kingdom of Faubley out the window. A smile resting on her face.

'_Hmmm, I've been waiting a long time for Pope Balamus to make his move… he's always been a little too political for his own good.'_ She sighed to herself as the maids got down to the finishing touches. '_He has been my last obstacle besides my foolish husband to trying to establish lasting peace with the demi-humans. We have to be united if we want to survive the waves together...'_ She thought about it some more.

_'Maybe, yes, I'll allow Melty to leave and see her Father. Goodness knows she's been bugging me for quite a while to do so, and it takes three weeks to travel to the Capital from here. Maybe she'll be able to talk some sense into him and get him to stop hunting the Shield Hero. And then maybe, just maybe, if things work out, we'll be able to rid Melromarc of the Three Heroes Church. Before they bring about war again with Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden.'_ Mirellia thought.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**So, this is just a fun fact, the other heroes are supposed to be based on stereotypes from different animes. The sword hero is my favorite out of the three because he's based on, you guessed it, Kirito from Sword Art Online (I mean, it's even in the name of the show, Sword, Sword Hero, when you look at it closely it's kind of obvious). That's part of the main reason I fixed up him and Itsuki's major flaws. And though it isn't as obvious for Ren now, it's also because he and Itsuki are going on a much more different path than what's set up in canon.**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I'll be looking forward to seeing you next time! Any suggestions for future scenes in the future (like Ren killing the dragon, Itsuki punishing a Melromarc noble for abusing his slaves, or parental moments towards Filo) are welcome! I currently have a poll on my profile with some of the current suggestions/ideas I've come up with. I want to see which ones you guys want to see specifically down the road in the future.**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	13. Arc 2: 13: Leaving the Capital Behind

**New milestone marker. We just broke 500 Followers! Woohoo! Man, it feels good having this much support for a story! Since I know you all want to get to reading, I'll put the rest of my thoughts at the bottom. Enjoy the chapter!**

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**Since Last Time:** _37 Favorites, 45 Followers (Total: 445 Favorites, 501 Followers)_

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**Updated: **_October 21st, 2019 1:00 P.M. (MST)_

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**Chapter Thirteen:**_ Leaving the Capital Behind_

* * *

Naofumi sat back against the counter of Erhard's shop, tapping his fingers impatiently against the solid granite. '_Come on… what's taking her so long to get changed.'_ He thought to himself while he impatiently waited for his Companion to leave the dressing room.

Before they'd gotten back to Erhard's shop, Raphtalia and he had purchased food and other various supplies at the market that they'd need on their journey. The merchants obviously hadn't been very pleased that the Shield Demon wanted to do business with them, but one lift of the cloak to reveal one of his remaining balloons munching hungrily on his armor had been enough to persuade them to do business.

Before that, they'd spent an hour wandering the Capital so they could find Belouka's tent and get Raphtalia's slave crest replaced. It had been hard to find since one, Naofumi hadn't been in the Capital for a month. And two, it had been dark when Naofumi had been led to it. Which led to three, them having to find it by themselves without the use of a guide.

When they'd finally arrived, Beloukas had replaced Raphtalia's slave crest himself while Naofumi had looked through the inventory of slaves Beloukas had available to see if he could find anyone he could buy. But none of the slaves he looked at had stuck out to him. They had all been either too wild or too maimed to be of any use as a fighter in his party. And those who hadn't been maimed or who had gone wild were way out of his price range.

It was after that look through that he'd really begun to realize how lucky he'd been to buy Raphtalia when he had. '_At least Raphtalia was cheap and had problems I could help her out with. Even with my best medicine, I can't fix someone who has gone wild... Or repair someone's missing arm or leg.'_

The latter part of that thought came soon after he saw a rabbit-like demi-human missing its left leg and hand staring down dejectedly at the floor of its cage. Even though it was already a level 15, it wouldn't have been of much use to him missing a leg and a hand.

He'd gone back to Beloukas shortly after he'd finished redrawing the crest. He'd been so generous when he saw how much Raphtalia had grown that he had allowed Naofumi to absorb some of his precious slave ink into his shield, unlocking **Slaver's Shield I and II. **Both of which had the passive bonus of increasing the strength and growth rate of any slave he owned. He looked the shields over in his menu. '_So Raphtalia and whomever else becomes my slave will have higher stats and growth rates than normal.'_ He thought to himself. '_That'll come in handy…'_

…

Oh yeah, he also couldn't forget the funny scenario that happened right after absorbing the ink. He leaned back to think it over again in his mind.

* * *

"_Good sir, might I say how impressed I am with how you took a shabby mangy raccoon girl and changed her into such a beauty!" Beloukas swooned over the newly dressed Raphtalia who looked bashful at receiving such praise._

_Naofumi shrugged. "Sure, what about it?" He shrugged it off dryly. Using his business face._

"_Well, with a strong good looking girl like her, I could make a real fortune selling her off to other nobles! I'd buy her back off you for 30 gold pieces if she wasn't a virgin!" Beloukas said excitedly, holding up three fingers and forming a 0 with his other hand._

_Raphtalia's bashful look changed to a sputtered look. Naofumi couldn't hide the look of shock from his business face at hearing the high price tag. "30 Gold Pieces?" He said out loud._

"_But, but I am a virgin!" Raphtalia said to defend herself. Even with her rapid growth rate, her mind wasn't entirely sure what the term meant. But somehow her instincts were able to process that she hadn't done something to lose it or something along those lines. She really wished that she'd gained knowledge about all the adult terms while leveling up._

"_50 GOLD PIECES!" Beloukas yelled excitedly. Raising the other two fingers on his hand. Raphtalia now looked as shocked as Naofumi._

'_50 GOLD PIECES!...'_

_..._

_Naofumi put a hand to his chin as if he was really considering the offer. _

"_Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled angrily. "If you're even considering his offer, then I'm going to be mad at you!" She yelled, her tail spiking out angrily behind her._

"_50 Gold Pieces could get me a lot," Naofumi said in consideration._

_Raphtalia's face boiled red with anger at Naofumi. "Do my feelings mean nothing to you Naofumi?!" She yelled angrily._

_Beloukas looked quickly from her to Naofumi. "Did I hear that right?" He asked, sounding genuinely surprised._

_Naofumi briefly wondered if he should continue joking about it, but felt his life was strangely in danger for some reason, even with Raphtalia's slave crest back on her chest to punish her if she tried to hurt him. Though he'd found out the punishments had been set a little too high before, so he'd made sure to alter the settings so the pain the crest would inflict would be almost nothing. Just a small zap if she disobeyed him or tried to harm him…_

_Maybe that hadn't been his best idea..._

"_But I'm sorry. I don't think I could let go of an amazing and beautiful girl like her." He finished to Beloukas with his classic business face. Putting an arm over her shoulders in an effort to defuse the situation._

_Just like that, Raphtalia shifted from angry to bashful again. "Master Naofumi…"_

_The situation was defused successfully._

"_Well, erm, I didn't realize the girl wasn't for sale," Beloukas said, taking off his hat to rub his head. "You certainly have good taste, Sir Shield Hero."_

_Naofumi smiled. "Yeah, I like to think that too. Don't ask again. Besides, I'm sure spreading the word about how much she changed will attract more business to you."_

"_Oh, most certainly! I had my escorts take several magic portraits of her the moment you arrived! Now with advertising like this, I'll really be able to blow my business through the roof!" Beloukas admitted cheerfully._

'_So that's why he gave me that ink for free. That greedy little rat.' Naofumi thought. 'Oh well. As long as we both benefited from this arrangement that's fine by me.'_

_"So." Beloukas put his top hat on, going right back into business mode. "Find any good slaves back there, hmmm?" He asked._

_Naofumi shook his head. "Everything I looked at inside my price range was either dead, wild, or maimed in some way." He said. "In other words, not what I'm looking for in party members."_

_Beloukas put a hand to his chin in thought. "That is troubling indeed. I'll have to make sure my clients don't maim my merchandise so much in the future. I need to be able to sell them, not have them rot away in my cages." He said seriously. "I'm sorry you couldn't find a suitable slave this time Sir Shield Hero. Maybe there's something else I have that could be of interest to you, hmm?"_

_Naofumi looked at the table behind Beloukas more closely. "How about those there?" He asked._

* * *

Naofumi pulled out an egg in its cushioned incubator from his inventory. '_Yeah, discounted price for a gotcha egg my butt.'_ He thought. That was Naofumi's nickname for the monster egg based on how Beloukas had described it. _'At least he threw in the slave crest for free with me getting this… but 100 silvers is still a lot… that's a whole gold coin...'_

The monster egg was pure white. Besides the purple monster crest, Beloukas had placed on it. It was just a little bigger than his hand.

Naofumi decided to think about the egg while waiting on Raphtalia. '_So I could possibly get a dragon from this?'_ He examined it from different angles. He had to admit it'd be cool to ride around on a dragon. He briefly wondered if he would be lucky enough to get a dragon or not. Hell, he wondered what he'd do if he got a dragon from the egg. How would he even raise it when he wasn't sure what it did.

'_If it's a dragon, is it the kind that breathes fire? Can it fly or run really fast? Is it able to swim or, or… This world just keeps getting weirder and weirder. But at least whatever I get will make it easier on Raphtalia since she'll have something to fight by her side.'_ He thought.

That had been his main reason for spending 100 silver on it. Raphtalia had already done so much for him. And while he was grateful for her, he wanted to help relieve some of the pressure of fighting off of her... However, she'd almost had an aneurism when he spent 100 silvers on it. Hell, she'd slammed her foot down when he'd suggested getting two. Seriously, she was so uptight about spending their money sometimes. What was the point of getting money if you never spent it on anything? No, she definitely wasn't like his old high school crush who'd spend money willy nilly on everything in sight.

That honestly made him like her a little more.

...

"I'm done!" Raphtalia said happily, walking out from the changing stall.

Naofumi was dragged from his thoughts, and he looked up to say something along the lines of 'It's about time.' Only, his jaw slacked at what he saw. "Whoa…"

Raphtalia was still wearing an outfit similar to what she'd worn as a kid. Some of the noticeable differences he recognized were the lace-up leather boots that went up just a bit past her knees. She also wore a pair of brown gloves on her hands to make gripping her sword easier. She had on a leather breastplate over her chest to protect her vital organs whilst not inhibiting her movement speed (or looks for that matter). Her slave cuffs from before were back in place and being used to help keep her gloves on instead of holding down her sleeves. Overall the ensemble made her look more like a warrior than ever before.

A very hot warrior.

"So, how do I look Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked as she showed off her new armor.

Naofumi had to shake his head to clear it. The way she said it almost reminded him of when they had been in Belouka's tent and she'd asked how the slave crest had looked on her bosom when he first walked in. And he did not want to get distracted with those kinds of thoughts again. "You look fantastic Raphtalia." She smiled widely at the compliment. "But are you sure that's enough armor to protect you-" He tried to ask.

"Sorry Shield bro," Erhard said, shrugging helplessly at Naofumi as he appeared. "The lady wouldn't allow me to add anything else to the mix."

...

"What?" Naofumi asked him.

Erhard shrugged again. "I can't go against the pretty lady's wishes now, can I?" He asked.

When Naofumi looked back at Raphtalia, she had crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at him in victory. Naofumi inwardly groaned. "Wow, that's really mature of you Raphtalia." He said sarcastically.

"I know, right?" She said happily.

'_... Great, she's not only turned into an adult, but she's developing sarcasm too. That's just what I need to deal with now.'_ Maybe he was rubbing off on Raphtalia in too many ways.

"Plus, I saw the way you were looking at me Naofumi. You can't tell me you don't like it!" She said happily.

Naofumi blanched. "I don't know what you're implying Raphtalia, but stop it right now!" He yelled with embarrassment lacing his tone as he faced away.

Erhard laughed behind his counter. "Just be glad I'm helping to protect your girlfriend for a discount of 50 silvers kid. Cause I'm not lowering it any further!" He said happily.

"She's not my, I mean, um…" Naofumi stuttered embarrassedly. Erhard laughed heartily behind the counter while Raphtalia giggled into her hand.

Naofumi… well, he continued to fume as one of his own heated blushes traveled up his face. '_I swear, I just need some time on my own to go through all my emotions. Then I'll decide on how far I want to go with Raphtalia and-'_ He tried to think logically to himself.

"Oh, by the way, kid, could you stick around for just a moment?" Erhard asked curiously.

Naofumi's train of thought was derailed and smashed into the side of the cliff it had been going along. "Why do you ask?" Naofumi asked Erhard.

"I just have a couple of friends waiting in the back who wanted to see you before you left," Erhard responded happily.

"Oh, alright then. Bring them in." Naofumi responded blandly.

Erhard left his counter to go into the backroom to grab his 'friends.'

"Who do you think wants to see us Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked curiously.

Naofumi shrugged. "Beats me. We've already met the town guard Captain in Lute, and that weird blacksmith from Dragon Village." He listed.

"Jerry was not weird!" Raphtalia defended the blacksmith. "He was very nice and polite!"

"Sure, whatever," Naofumi said in a tone of bland dismissal of the subject while turning to face another way. He still thought Jerry was nothing but a lolicon.

Raphtalia fumed at him. He was daring to use that tone on her!... She suddenly smiled evilly. "Oh, Master Naofumi." She called to him.

Naofumi rolled his eyes as he turned to look at her. "What is it-" He was suddenly surprised at how close she was to him.

"Be honest, is this armor okay, or does it make me look fat?" She asked, her hands showcasing her new armored bod.

Naofumi suddenly got extremely flustered. Red flags were going up all over his mind that this was a trap. In fact, he could easily visualize the massive red flag dyed in his blood hanging over a raging Raphtalia wielding a bloodied sword if he said the wrong words at that moment. Why did he have to lower the punishment for if she tried to harm him? '_Do I say she looks great and listen to her say she's fat, or… no, the second option is untrue… and suicidal since she can wield a sword and I can't... damn I wish I knew more about girls before I came to this world!'_

"Well master Naofumi?" She asked. The possible threat of violence dripping off her sweet voice.

...

Naofumi put a hand on her head. "Raphtalia, I think you look amazing the way you are. And I wouldn't want to change your shape for the world." He said in his calmest attempt of a voice as possible while giving her a head pat. It seemed like the most logical thing to say.

…

…

She hung her head. "So you really think I'm fat?" She asked.

Naofumi's hand dropped in shock… '_... WHAT IS IT WITH GIRLS AND THEIR FREAKING MIXED SIGNALS BEING ALL OVER THE PLACE!? DAMN HOLY HELL!-' _

All of a sudden, Raphtalia started giggling into her hands, cutting off his mind mid-rant. "It's okay, I was only playing with you there Naofumi. I knew you were being honest." She hugged him as she said that. "I just didn't know if you like your women stout or not."

'_... ... what the hell…' _He thought in disbelief. "If this is an effect of you having to go through years worth of hormones over the next few weeks, then I'm taking you back to Beloukas and taking his offer right now," Naofumi said out loud.

The Slave Trader had offered 50 gold coins for her since she was a virgin. One gold coin was equal to 100 Silvers. That would be enough for him to get three crippled lvl 75 wolfmen bodyguards with extra leftover.

**SLAP!**

"OW!" Naofumi yelled in pain, holding his face. Even three lvl 75 werewolves wouldn't hold a candle to the amount of force Raphtalia had put behind that slap. He was surprised how much that hurt, even with his high defense stat. 'But how- _The __**Slavers' Shields**__.' _He realized as Raphtalia was now super pissed at him. Her attack stat had increased considerably because of them. He made a mental note to himself to be careful of what he absorbed in the future.

"Don't even joke with me about that Master Naofumi!" She yelled angrily. "You are not selling me back to that place!"

"I'm sorry, you know I'd never actually do that!" He hurriedly apologized to appease her anger.

She hmphed and turned away. Pretending not to believe him.

"Especially when you're so important to me…" He admitted quietly.

...

Raphtalia turned and stared open-mouthed at him. He was a little speechless himself considering he'd said that out loud.

"Awwwww. It's always so nice to see two young people falling in love."

"You got that right Mahoya."

"I said I saw it coming the way those two were acting after Jerry brought them back here."

'_DAMN IT!'_ Naofumi thought as he flushed a bright red again. Raphtalia also flushed a shade of red similar to his. The two caught young (20ish looking) adults both turned to see Erhard standing tall and smiling widely. In front on either side of him was an older gentleman with greying hair dressed in the clothes of a senior apothecarian. Along with a plump woman who looked to be in her 60's dressed in witch clothes.

"Oh, um, are these the friends you were talking about Erhard?" Raphtalia asked.

"Yep, I'll allow them to introduce themselves," Erhard said humorously. Especially since he'd caught the Shield Bro and the pretty lady in one of their moments.

"I'm the top apothecarian of the Capital. The name's Kusuriya." The apothecarian spoke calmly, approaching Naofumi to give him a firm handshake.

"And I'm the magic shop owner Mahoya! It's a pleasure to meet the great Shield Hero and his beautiful companion!" The witch said happily, shoving the apothecarian out of the way and hugging Naofumi instead of giving him a handshake. (Because of how hard it is for me to even think about pronouncing their names, and since they're never said in the show, I'm going to leave it to witch and apothecarian unless otherwise indicated)

"Urk!" He said in surprise at being hugged by someone other than Raphtalia. And at the fact that he was able to feel the squeeze from the hug. '_Just how high is this lady's attack stat?!'_ He thought as she released him and he looked at the two. He forced the question away from his mind. "Why did you want to see me?" He asked curiously.

"We wanted to give our thanks of course!" The witch said happily.

"We both had relatives in Lute Village. Relatives that were saved by your bravery during the waves." The apothecarian said calmly. He was smiling in appreciation as he said it. "And they asked me to give you their thanks."

"Oh, my dear precious granddaughter now thinks of you as her favorite hero!" The witch continued happily. "She hopes to one day journey with you!"

Naofumi looked surprised at hearing that. He was somebody's favorite hero now? "Do you think it might have been some of the people you saved?" Raphtalia asked Naofumi quietly.

"You got me." He said, still feeling surprised. He'd thought that almost everyone besides Raphtalia didn't like him. And now to hear he was some girl's favorite hero…

The apothecarian pulled out a book from a satchel he was carrying. It was thick and had a diagonal green square in the front with four metal triangles surrounding it. A thin rectangular slab near the top of the square held the title for the book in a language Naofumi couldn't read. "Erhard told me about your hobbies with compounding medicine while you stayed with him. This grimoire has recipes for finer medicines that should help you on your journey." He calmly explained.

He then pulled out a set of advanced compounding tools from the satchel. Naofumi could tell they were an advanced set even before the item description popped up in his menu. They looked far better than the beginner's set he'd been using the past month. "And this is so that you'll be able to handle making more advanced levels of medicine with ease."

Naofumi held the grimoire and compounding tools in his hands. "How much are they?" He asked. If he remembered correctly after all their purchases, they were sitting at around 1000 Silver Coins after all of their purchases from today.

"It's yours to keep." The apothecarian said calmly, though still smiling as Naofumi looked floored that he was being given something like this for free. It should have been worth at least 5 or more gold pieces!

"I appreciate it, but-" He said, opening the book. As he suspected by the title, he wasn't able to read a single word. The notification **Failed to read** appeared on his menu. He could see the illustrations of various herbs and plants and potions, but without the words, he couldn't understand what they meant. "- I can't exactly read this world's language." Naofumi pointed out.

"Well, that'd be a pity then because of what I wanted to give you Sir Shield Hero." The witch said happily as she brought out a bound black, purple, and gold striped grimoire along with a crystal ball from the folds of her cloak.

Naofumi looked at them confusedly. "Is that-" He started to ask.

"Why of course, this is a magic grimoire, and this crystal ball here was how the Spear Hero learned that spell he used during the duel!" The witch said excitedly, holding up the crystal ball. "Using one of these can allow a person with a magic affinity to learn any spell they want."

"First I heard of it," Naofumi said, looking surprised that a crystal ball had been how Motoyasu had learned to use such a powerful spell.

"The King did order dozens of them for the heroes. Though I'd suspect that information wasn't shared with you." The witch said knowingly.

'_She couldn't get any closer to the truth.'_ Naofumi thought sarcastically at the thought of that piece of trash. It seemed the two of them also knew about their horrible trash king's deeds.

"Because of the King ordering all of them, these rare items are now a lot harder to come by and even harder to replace after being used. So I simply use mine to show people their magic affinities." She said happily, setting the crystal ball on the counter. She muttered a quick spell over it, the words so fast and quiet that Naofumi couldn't hear them.

"Now, who'd like to go first?" She asked, looking up at Raphtalia and Naofumi after finishing the spell.

The two looked at each other. "I guess I could go first," Naofumi said hesitantly.

Raphtalia nodded her head eagerly, her tail wagging eagerly behind her at the thought of learning more about Naofumi. Naofumi got on the other side of the counter. "Now what am I supposed to do?" Naofumi asked.

"Just look into the crystal ball for me dear." The witch said.

'_Really, it's that easy for her to tell?'_ He thought. But he did as the witch had commanded him to do.

...

"Hmmm, this is surprising." The witch said, looking amazed.

"What is it?" Naofumi asked.

"You have a rare affinity for healing, and support magic Shield Hero." The witch said happily.

"How rare is it?" Naofumi asked skeptically. '_Seriously, healing and support!? Why not fire or ice or lightning or, or something offensive!?'_

"Kid, out of the hundreds of magic users I've met in my life, I've only ever seen a dozen or so who said their affinity was in support or healing magic. You're the first one who I've heard of having an affinity for both." Erhard said, sounding rather impressed. (This isn't saying only a dozen people could use healing and/or support magic. It means that only a dozen had a special affinity for either one. It's like being a fire mage with fire affinity, but still, know a bit of water magic on the side. It's definitely not your strong point, but it helps to have it as an option in a fight.)

"Alright. Does that mean I can only learn that kind of magic, or can I learn-" He tried to ask.

"Normally if you had one affinity, you'd be able to learn spells in all sorts of affinities with your strongest being in your practical affinity." The witch answered, knowing what his question was. "But since you have two rare affinities, I'm afraid it'll be impossible for you to learn any type of magic outside of them."

"... Yay…" Naofumi muttered weakly. '_Great. So now I'm really specialized to be a tank in battle.'_ Naofumi thought sarcastically. '_Thanks a lot legendary shield for taking away another option for offense! Not!'_

If the shield could read his mind, it didn't show it.

"Alright, now for your girlfriend." The witch said happily.

He wanted to say something along the lines of 'She's not my girlfriend!' but Raphtalia pushed him out of the way in the midst of her excitement. "Tell me, what are my affinities?!" She asked excitedly. A month ago, she didn't even believe she'd ever been capable of fighting. And now she not only had a sword but the chance of using magic too! This was too good to pass up, even if it did potentially cost them a pretty coin for it. But the lady seemed nice enough, and she was offering.

"Let's see here young lady." The witch said, staring intently into her crystal ball as Raphtalia did likewise. The look of seriousness on Raphtalia's face and the way her tail was wagging excitedly behind her almost made Naofumi burst out laughing. If he wasn't still blushing from the previous comment that is.

...

"Well?" Raphtalia asked after a long moment.

"My, this is also an unexpected surprise!" The witch finally said with excitement. "It seems that you, young lady, have affinities for both light and dark magic!"

Raphtalia looked surprised. "Light and dark magic?" She asked confusedly.

"I mean, it's common for Tanuki demi-humans to have one of those affinities. But you, my dear, not only have both but are amongst the strongest I've ever seen! Were your parents perhaps from one of the exiled noble Tanuki families of Siltvelt by any chance?!" The witch asked curiously.

Raphtalia grimaced, and not because of the memory of her parents' deaths. "I wouldn't know. I grew up in a simple village about a weeks travel by wagon from Melromarc's border with Siltvelt. I don't know if my parents lived there before my village or not." Raphtalia admitted unsurely.

Naofumi stared at the two in confusion. '_I recognize Melromarc, but where the hell is Siltvelt?'_

"Well, either way, I'd say you have a great future in store for you if you work on illusion magic young lady!"

Raphtalia's eyes widened, and then a happy smile spread across her face. "Thank you!" She said happily.

The witch handed the grimoire over to Naofumi, who opened it up to try and read it. Once again, the message **Failed to Read** popped up on his screen. "Thanks, but how much is this going to cost? We don't exactly have the money to buy a magic grimoire." He found himself asking again.

"It's a gift." She said waving her hand dismissively at the suggestion of selling it. "As thanks for helping my granddaughter out during the waves." She said happily.

'_So we're getting around 10 gold coins worth of stuff for free… holy hell…' _Naofumi kept on trying to get a symbol to make some sense from the print. She must have seen the look on his face as he tried to read the grimoire. "Learning magic from a grimoire is certainly hard, but if you keep at it and do the work; you can learn as many spells as you want! And with a focus on two affinities, they'll be far more effective than anything you could ever learn from a crystal ball!"

Naofumi's eyes widened at that. '_You mean if we manage to learn magic from this.' _His mind flashed back to when Motoyasu had chanted that fire javelin spell of his. '_Our magic would be stronger than what Motoyasu and his allies could pull up…' _Naofumi found himself smiling widely as his imagination got to work. Using a support spell on Raphtalia that increased her attack and speed so much that she was a blur stomping all over Motoyasu. And then a blur that punched Myne and Trash in the face repeatedly for him…

His smile grew a little bigger. Maybe support magic wouldn't be so bad after all. "Master Naofumi, you aren't thinking of anything spiteful now, are you?" Raphtalia asked.

"Of course not." He said to Raphtalia. Revenge against Bitch and Trash wasn't spite in his book. "We'll try our best," Naofumi said happily to the witch.

"That's the spirit! With that, I know you can do it!" She said confidently.

Naofumi looked up from the grimoire, the smile still on his face. "Thank you so much…" He said to the witch and apothecarian.

...

A look of realization crossed his face. '_Was that… the first time I've said thank you to someone besides Raphtalia and Erhard... and actually meant it?'_ Sure, Raphtalia had thanked Ren and Itsuki for him that morning. Yet he had just met these people, and despite that, he found himself trusting them almost as much as Erhard. He bowed his head gratefully to the apothecarian and the witch. "Seriously. Thank you so much." He said more humbly.

The apothecarian and witch both bowed to Naofumi and Raphtalia. "No, it is we who can't thank you enough for saving our families and loved one's Shield Hero." The witch said. "Should you ever be allowed in the Capital again after today, I'd appreciate having you visit my shop."

"Yes, I can't wait to see what medicines you'll bring for me to buy." The apothecarian said calmly. "They are in high demand because of the waves."

Naofumi put the two grimoires in his inventory. "I'll definitely think about it." These people seemed nice enough. He wouldn't mind seeing them again. He looked outside and saw the sun was getting close to midday. "Looks like we should get going. The King said he was giving us till the end of the day to get out of the Capital. And I don't want anyone thinking they can try anything before that." Naofumi said.

"Alright, we won't impede you two lovebirds any longer. Have safe travels!" The witch called happily, exiting through the front of the shop.

"Good luck Shield Hero." The apothecarian said over his shoulder as he followed the witch out. "Don't do anything with a woman that I wouldn't do."

Naofumi pulled his hood over his head. He did not want the others to see how fiercely he was blushing right now. '_Seriously, how long am I going to have to deal with this?! Don't they have other people to tease!?'_

If he had only looked, he would have noticed that Raphtalia was similarly blushing. "You two look so cute together I want to vomit," Erhard said with a laugh. He was obviously joking.

"Come on Raphtalia! We're out of here!" Naofumi said through gritted teeth, heading towards the exit. He did not want to deal with anymore teasing from people. In fact, he couldn't wait to be out on the run again. At least there he'd have the privacy of being alone. He never thought he'd see the day when he'd look forward to being on the run. And now, he was leaving the Capital.

"Right!" Raphtalia said, quickly following behind her master.

"Good luck Shield Bro!" Erhard laughed mirthily behind his counter as the two exited his shop. "Oh, I can't wait to see that kid again…"

His laughter disappeared, and he started to frown. "I hope I see that kid again." He said more seriously. What with everything that was going on and everything.

…

…

He was surprised at how quickly the door opened again. A wide-eyed Naofumi came charging back in. "Damn, did you already run into trouble again?-" Erhard was asking.

"I forgot to test out Ren's suggestion!" He yelled as he hurried over to a shelf. Raphtalia rushed in behind him. Looking confused at why her master had run back into Erhard's shop.

Erhard blinked confusedly as he watched Naofumi pick up an expensive Meteorite Shield off his shelf. '_What in the blazes is he talking about? A suggestion from who-'_ His eyes widened when Naofumi's shield on his arm changed from the legendary shield to the meteorite shield he was holding.

"Woohoo! Ren wasn't lying about the weapon copy system after all!" Naofumi yelled happily. Raphtalia brightened with happiness next to him. "Now I can get a bunch of stat bonuses all at once!"

"Here Master Naofumi, use this one too!" Raphtalia said while holding up a cool looking steel shield.

"Wait, just what the hell do you think you're doing?! Are you trying to steal my whole shop!?" Erhard yelled as he hurried from behind his counter.

Raphtalia and Naofumi, however, were too caught up in their newfound excitement to listen to the old blacksmith. "This one looks so cool!" Raphtalia said as she hurried by carrying a shield almost as tall as her.

"Wait, no, that's an antique!" Erhard yelled after her.

"This one should really give my defense stat a boost," Naofumi said as he copied a regular Mythril and a magic Mythril shield.

"No, please, they're expensive-" Erhard tried to say.

"Wheeeee!" Raphtalia was already blazing by again, holding another small shield above her head like a little kid. "Not my grandpa's, please no-" Erhard tried to say to her. It had been on display, not for sale.

"Hell yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Naofumi yelled excitedly as he posed with a freshly copied gold plated shield. It was a special shield fit for one of royalty's personal bodyguards. "**Royal Shield!**" A shield similar to the Air Strike Shield appeared in front of Naofumi, almost knocking over a table full of weapons. It was wider and shaped more like a barrier. It had a royal crown in the center and was a translucent gold color.

It was the final straw. "Augh! Fine!" Erhard yelled, giving up on trying to stop the two as he fell to his knees in the middle of his shop. "Just do whatever the hell you want!"

* * *

_About an hour later_

Naofumi and Raphtalia walked leisurely outside of the city into the forest. "Damn, I can't believe those Church Knights tried to stop us on our way out," Naofumi grumbled to himself.

"I know, claiming that we had turned back time so we could make everyone believe it was still midday," Raphtalia said irritably. Her tail was bushing up behind her. "The nerve of them!"

"I just hope we don't have to see those losers again anytime soon." He said lowly. Though knowing his luck, he was sure they'd have to deal with them again. He just hoped it wasn't soon. And that it wouldn't come from having to break into the Church again. On the bright side, they couldn't chase after him until the end of today. The Captain who had invited him to the celebration at Lute Village was keeping post over the gates to make sure no knights broke the King's word. So that left them plenty of time to find a site in the forest to camp out.

"I'm sure we won't have to Master Naofumi. Especially after I bared my fangs at them." Raphtalia said, smiling at the memory. Some of them had obviously been part of the group from last night. The look of death she'd given them had been super effective in getting them to back off. With more than a few of them wetting their pants again. She was normally more reserved, but something about the way they'd tried to unfairly treat Naofumi made her want to protect him from them.

"Who knew you could be so intimidating?" Naofumi muttered blandly to himself. Though he was thinking back on some of the other times she had been rather intimidating. Like the time she'd convinced him he needed some new armor. Or earlier when he'd joked about selling her. '_I'm glad she's on my side. Otherwise, I don't know what I'd do if she wasn't.'_ He thought. '_And the fact that she loves me is a bonus.'_ He thought with a smile.

"I… kind of feel bad that we copied all of the Shields Erhard had in his shop without his permission," Raphtalia said.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Naofumi said indifferently. "He's a good man. And he understood why I did it." With all the Shields he'd copied, his defense was at an all-time high. He bet he could easily take an attack from a porcupine now without receiving a scratch. "Besides, I gave him 300 Silvers without taking any of his inventory. He got the better end of that deal." _'Besides, he teased me and Raphtalia a little too much. He had it coming.'_ Naofumi thought to himself.

"Hmmm…" It didn't sound like Raphtalia was convinced.

"Look, if we have more money the next time we see him, I'll give him several more gold coins to make up for it," Naofumi promised.

"Alright…" Raphtalia sounded happier that he was promising to make sure he made it up to Erhard. "So where are we going now Master Naofumi?"

"Not sure yet," Naofumi said as he used one hand to pull out the map Erhard had first given him. "It's obvious that King Trash here doesn't like us as well as Bitch. The Church likes us even less than both of them. I'm not seeing a whole lot of options if the three of them decide to come after us." He examined the map. "I was thinking we could try stopping by Lute Village first. I want to ask Erhard's friend there if he knows a monster tamer in the area that we could stop by for our little egg friend. I want to figure out what type of monster it is and how we need to raise it now so that we don't have to figure it out through trial and error while we're on our own."

"Hmmm." Raphtalia studied the map with him. "That does sound like a good idea. But I'm not sure where we should go after that." She said.

Naofumi looked up at her. "How about that Siltvelt place you and the witch mentioned?" He asked curiously.

Raphtalia's face twisted into an angry look. Her hands becoming fists at her sides, and her tail spiked out again. Then she calmly breathed in and unclenched her fists. "No… I'd rather we avoided that country for now." She said.

'_So it is another country. I guess that makes sense that there's more to the world other than Melromarc.' _He thought. "Is there any reason why?"

Raphtalia didn't look like she wanted to talk about it. "My parents said it was a place full of demi-humans… but they warned me against going there. Every time I asked why they said they'd tell me when I was older. And then they'd tickle me and make me laugh until I had forgotten all about it..." She looked depressed at that. But it hadn't sounded like she gave the full reason why.

Naofumi almost wanted to press, but realized now wouldn't be the time to do so. He put the map away and put an arm over her shoulder. She gladly leaned into him, appreciating the small gesture of kindness. She was stronger now than she was before, but it still seemed like there was more she had to get over from her past. "Alright, we'll try and think of a place to go after we stop by Lute Village." He said evenly. "Besides, I'd bet it'd be hard for a wanted criminal like me to cross the border." He said logically. Even if there were other countries than Siltvelt, it'd be hard for him and Raphtalia at their current levels to break into another country. If they had one or two other people then maybe he could consider it.

Raphtalia bit her upper lip for a moment. Not only because of what she knew about Siltvelt but because she was thinking of one place in particular that they could go. It held a lot of bad memories for her recently… yet it held a lot of good ones too. It could also serve as a good place to hide out... '_I'll tell him about it later. If he thinks it'd be a good idea to go there, we can go.'_ She thought.

"Thanks, Naofumi," Raphtalia said. Allowing herself the moment of being so close to Master Naofumi while walking. Her tail wagging gently behind her.

…

Naofumi looked up from Raphtalia and finally noticed the red arrows all around them as they walked through the forest. Red arrows indicating that monsters were peeping in on their little moment. "Hey Raphtalia, I know these are small fry for you now, but could you-"

He didn't need to say anything else. Raphtalia was already off like a rocket, slashing her sword through all the balloons, rabbits, Pikyu, porcupines, and other monsters who thought it'd be okay to try and ruin their moment. Naofumi just shook his head and chuckled to himself as he continued walking. The screeches of surprised and terrified monsters sounding all around as the high leveled Tanuki girl easily dispatched them. The familiar experience notification appeared next to Naofumi's face once again as he whistled to himself.

'_Thank goodness for Raphtalia.'_

* * *

_A few hours later_

The sun was setting over the mountains in the distance. Below the mountains were some stone cliffs, and in front of the cliffs was the small village of Lute. It looked better than it had the day before, but it'd be a while yet before the town was fully back to normal.

At the base of a small hill in the forest, the same one he'd been summoned to when the wave started, Naofumi was stooped over a pot he had cooking over a wood fire. Inside was a stew he was preparing, with meat from some pill rabbits and porcupines that Raphtalia had managed to hunt on their trip today. Along with some vegetables and herbs he'd managed to gather while she hunted. While he was preparing it, he was looking through the list of shields he'd copied from Erhard's shop. '_Damn, I got so many defense boosts from copying all those shields. I even got a couple of new skills like that Royal Shield. Though it doesn't look like I'll be able to use some of the others until I'm a much higher level.'_

The skill he was looking at in particular was one called Meteor Shield. It said he needed to be level 42 in order to use it.

His thoughts were dragged back to the food he was preparing. '_It smells so good…'_ He thought hungrily to himself. His stomach growled in agreement. He had never been so happy to have his stomach and tongue working in tandem with each other again. He could also appreciate the cooking skills he got from the Mush Shield and the other shields now. Including the **Mush Core Shield** which strengthened the cooking skill he'd gotten from the Mush series.

"Master Naofumi! Are you almost done yet?!" Raphtalia asked from where she was sitting on a log.

"Give me a minute. Good food takes a while to prepare." Naofumi said calmly.

"But I'm soooo hungry." Raphtalia moaned in displeasure. Her head leaning back as she carried her whine into the air. She'd expended so much effort on killing everything in sight today. And she'd really worked up an appetite.

"Are you sure you still aren't a little kid mentally?" Naofumi snidely asked.

Raphtalia was so hungry she didn't lash back at the comment. Naofumi rolled his eyes. It felt like so much had changed, and yet so much would remain the same too.

...

"There. One nice hot bowl of stew." Naofumi said, handing Raphtalia a bowl with steam coming out of it.

"Thank you!" Raphtalia said happily, before she quickly dug into the stew Naofumi had carefully prepared. Her tail wagged side to side behind her in gratitude.

Naofumi smiled a little at the sight and took a tentative spoonful of his own stew. His eyes lit up, and his taste buds once again sang praises to him for a job well done. '_Now that I can taste the effects of my own cooking, I could get used to this.'_ He thought as he got to devouring it almost as fast as Raphtalia was devouring hers. He was going to pay more attention to shields that could increase his cooking skills in the future. They'd certainly come in handy.

Though he still had a feeling he was acting a little bit like Raphtalia's butler. "So? Does it taste good?" Naofumi asked.

"It's delicious Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia said happily.

Naofumi quickly looked over their stats on his stat bar after her day of hunting. He was at level 30 now, and she was level 34. There was also a little mini bar below Raphtalia for the egg he was carrying.

"Do you think you'll be eating as much as you did growing up from a kid to an adult?" Naofumi asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, but I'm still hungry now," Raphtalia said, pouting as she set her empty bowl down on her lap.

Naofumi glanced at her. '_I'm just glad she hunts so many monsters. I couldn't imagine what I'd have to do if I had to deal with someone else that eats more than her.'_ He thought as he set his finished bowl of soup to the side and pulled out the spellbook grimoire. "You can finish off the rest of the stew if you want." He said as he opened to a random page. "I'm going to try and read now."

"Really?!" Raphtalia asked excitedly.

"Of course. You worked hard today. You deserve it." He said indifferently.

Raphtalia thanked him again and happily scurried off to the pot with the leftover stew in it. Naofumi stayed sitting on his log trying to figure out what the heck the magic grimoire was saying. '_It's not Japanese, and it's not like the English alphabet I had to learn in college…'_ After a few minutes of trying, he groaned in his mind. '_Why can the shield translate when people speak, but not when I read a different language?'_ He thought in anguish. It was like the world wanted to make him work for the most important things. Trust, Respect, Dignity, Integrity, Hope, Love, a freaking language he had no idea how to understand. Just to name a few.

"Is something wrong Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked as she sat beside him again. The stew pot was now empty beside the fire.

Naofumi rubbed at his forehead. "I can't read a damn thing from this, no matter what I try." He said, showing Raphtalia the grimoire. "My shield can translate when someone speaks, but it can't translate this world's written language for some reason." He explained.

Raphtalia stared at the magic grimoire curiously. "Hmmm." She put a finger over a line of text. "As source of thy power, I decipher the laws of nature, and command the elements to heed my call and illuminate my target." She pointed a finger above the fire. "**Fast Light!**"

Suddenly, a ball of light brighter than the fire appeared over in front of them. "Augh!" Naofumi yelled in surprise, covering his eyes from the sudden blindness he received.

After a few seconds, the ball of light disappeared. Leaving the area strangely darker than before despite the bit of light coming from the setting sun and the fire. Still, despite the darkness, the look of excitement glowed on Raphtalia's face. '_I did it! I was able to cast magic!'_ She thought happily.

"What the hell!?" Naofumi yelled angrily.

"Sorry Master Naofumi, I didn't think that would happen-" Raphtalia tried to say apologetically.

"You mean you're already able to cast magic just from reading one page?!" Naofumi interrupted her angrily.

…

Raphtalia slowly started to laugh. Adding fuel onto his anger. "Are you jealous that I can already use magic while you can't read?" She asked him lightly.

Naofumi grumbled, and crossed his arms over the grimoire on his lap. "Maybe a little." He admitted grumpily.

Raphtalia giggled beside him. She found it cute that he was acting like such a kid. "I mean, I loved to play a lot as a kid. But my parents still taught me the importance of reading and writing. I'm just surprised I remembered so much after being a slave for so long." She said, resting her head on his shoulder.

'_And she learned it so quickly too...'_ Naofumi looked down at the fire. It was a relief that Raphtalia could read the grimoire. Maybe she'd be able to help if he asked, but something nagged at the back of his mind. "Hey Raphtalia, didn't you say before that you had to be a noble to go to school in this world?" He asked.

"Of course. It's not something that's accessible to the common folk. Why do you ask?" She asked curiously.

"Oh, it's nothing really." He said. '_Maybe that witch was right, and her parents were from a noble line. It'd explain how they were able to teach her to read and write. It could also explain how she was able to find that first spell so quickly… But if Raphtalia doesn't know, then I probably shouldn't press it.'_ He thought. "I was just wondering, if maybe you could help me learn this world's language since I'm not on friendly terms with any nobles?" He quietly asked.

She smiled widely from his shoulder. "Naofumi, all you have to do is ask. If it means you learning magic and compounding better medicine, I'd be happy to help."

He smiled back for her. "Thanks Raphtalia."

"But not until morning. For now, I want to enjoy this." She said, wrapping her arms around him while resting her head on his shoulder. Her tail slid along the log behind them.

"Okay. Just don't go falling asleep on me." He ordered her half-seriously. Enjoying the feeling of her warm body hugging him.

…

It took him a moment to realize she had already fallen asleep on his shoulder. Her breaths coming in and out in even intervals. Naofumi looked down at her sleeping vulnerable face. "So much for that order." He mumbled to himself. Not that he minded. One of his hands moved along her hair.

…

Now that she was asleep, he had some time to think. '_What do I feel about her…'_

...

Part of him wanted to call himself a Lolicon. To call himself a Furrie. To think of something, anything that was logical that'd potentially cut him off from forming any sort of emotional attachment to this woman next to him. But the more he tried to think about it, the less that course of action sounded logical to him. Not when he had all these positive emotions coming from having her there next to him. Emotions indicating he'd already formed an emotional attachment to her. An attachment he had no intention of cutting off.

'_If I don't want to cut this off, then what's holding me back…'_ Raphtalia was slightly more affectionate with him now than before. And he was honestly starting to become more affectionate with her too. Flirting with her and hugging her close like this not because he had to but because he wanted to. He found himself smiling more and more since he'd woken up that morning. It was like something inside him had changed, and was helping him to turn back into what he had been before he'd overheard Myne and the nun Altara plotting to kill him so long ago. So if he was starting to change, why didn't he want to initiate something… more between them? Why was he afraid to make a bigger deal about their relationship?...

...

After a moment, Bitch plotting against him came back to mind… her evil smile, her bitch like laugh. Her twisted bitch eyes, and her stunted bitch personality. On top of a bitch ego.

All the positive thoughts went out the window faster than a speeding car, and a scowl took hold on his face like lightning. His thoughts becoming dark at the thought of Bitch. He wanted to hunt Bitch. He wanted to punch Bitch. Kick Bitch. Torture Bitch. Burn Bitch at the stake like the bitch she was. She'd plotted to have him betrayed and left all alone in this world. Worse, she'd tried to separate him from Raphtalia. He wanted to make Bitch regret the day she was ever born...

…

Raphtalia gripped him tightly in her sleep, her face looking troubled. Even in her sleep, she could feel Naofumi slipping farther away from her into the darkness consuming him. The action caused Naofumi to shake his head to clear out the anger. "Damn it." He muttered to himself. Even now, he still had rage and hatred harboring itself deep in his soul for that girl despite the hope he now firmly grasped because of Raphtalia.

...

After a moment of calming down, he looked back down at Raphtalia just as her face calmed down again, forming a peaceful smile. Naofumi was coming back to her. Naofumi would be okay. _'Even in her sleep, she watches out for me.'_

His scowl visibly softened. Yeah, there was all that anger and hatred, but there was also a comparable force of other emotions surrounding it. Hope, Determination, Care, and in the midst of those emotions…

Naofumi was too tired to think any more on the subject. He and Raphtalia could take it slow for now anyways while he recovered from the mentality and hatred Bitch had inflicted upon him. They still had a long time ahead of them to sort out what would happen. So he shelved his thoughts for another time when it'd be more relevant.

He knew he should keep the first watch. He and Raphtalia had kept a watch system before when she'd gotten old enough to stay up for part of the night. But he was tired, and tonight, he wanted to hold her close. Just like she had for him...

…

'_Just in case monsters, knights, or something else tries to sneak up on us.'_ He thought as he changed his shield to the two-headed dog shield and activated the shield's other ability. A ball of light exited his shield and started hovering in a 25-meter perimeter around the camp he and Raphtalia had made. It would alert him if anything, monster or knight, approached their campsite.

'_We can go back to keeping a system of watches tomorrow night. For now, I'd rather enjoy this moment.'_ He thought tiredly. Mentally compartmentalizing his last thoughts somewhere in his mind to go over after he'd had some more time to think about it.

With security precautions taken, he rested his head against Raphtalia's, and slowly drifted off into a warm pleasant sleep.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Alright! Here's to kicking off a new arc! I'm pleased with how this chapter turned out. And again, I'm happy for all of your support. **

**I've managed to write all the way out to Chapter Twenty-Seven now (you heard right. That is a 27). And because of the reader's comments about Ren and Itsuki, I managed to come up with almost a whole chapter that's dedicated to Ren and another scene for Itsuki in those chapters I had written out. Added to what I had already written for both of them. Keep the suggestions coming! They're helping to flesh out parts of the story, adding to the butterflies already being shown, and giving Ren and Itsuki along with their parties much-needed character development!**

**Also, since I included a new skill in this chapter:**

* * *

**Royal Guard Shield: **_Physical __Defense Bonus +10 Magical Defense Bonus +5_

**Skill, Royal Shield:** _A gold translucent barrier appears five feet in front of the Shield Hero upon activation of skill. It stays five feet in front of the Shield Hero after activation, even if the Shield Hero is moving. It can help block both magic and physical attacks. The Barrier made is not as strong as the Air Strike Shield, but it is thrice as effective when used against members of royalty._

* * *

**I probably don't have to include this, but the Royal Shield can't be used like Air Strike Shield in being launched at a target. I am, however, debating about having Naofumi use it as a very low damage battering ram. Especially against a certain red-haired bitch later in the story. See you all next week!**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	14. 14: A Filolial Egg and a New Language

**Before I start, I have some additional notes on the Royal Shield Skill I forgot to include the last chapter.**

_It is thrice as effective when it is used to either protect friendly royalty/rulers or when used to fight enemy royalty/rulers._

_Not only can it be used as a battering ram to knock back enemy royals (it will dissolve against normal foes when used as a battering ram) but if Naofumi's magic defense is greater than the attack of the spell being cast, the shield will deflect the spell with half of the spell's original attack._

_Has a longer cooldown use than Air Strike Shield and Shield Prison_

**Alright, I think that covers that. I got some good suggestions from the last chapter. Especially one for Motoyasu. I was still wondering about what to do with him, but Guest gave a pretty good idea there. It might not be the full idea, but parts of it will definitely work out with the direction I had in mind for Motoyasu. And with that, let's go on with the story!**

**Also, shoutout to E2Moto for proofreading this chapter for me!**

**Edit: This is just to clarify for future readers. Melromarc's language is more similar to English than Japanese. So when Raphtalia is teaching Naofumi the language, just assume that's it's English instead of Japanese. And yes, Naofumi does have some grasp of what English is thanks to school. And I believe he makes this distinction in the LN's, though I'd have to check.**

* * *

**Since Last Time:**_ 30 more Favorites, 45 more Followers (Total: 475 Favorites, 546 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _October 28th, 2019 2:00 P.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen:**_ A Filolial Egg and a New Language_

* * *

_The next morning_

"And these are the letters of the Melromarc alphabet in order Master Naofumi."

"Uh-huh."

"I did my best to think of how to teach it to you so I hope your shield is able to translate the finer details for me."

"Right."

"I believe this first character here represents your language's A."

"Uh-huh."

"And this one represents your language's B."

"Right."

"And this one represents your language's C."

"Uh-huh."

…

"You are paying attention to what I'm saying, right Master Naofumi?"

"Right…"

…

Naofumi snapped his head from staring at the thinning forest around him to look at Raphtalia. She did not look very happy with him. '_Uh-oh, I might be in trouble.'_ "I mean, of course, I'm paying attention. Why wouldn't I be?" He asked.

Raphtalia rested one of her hands on her hips while giving him a light glare. "What was the last thing I said?" Naofumi opened his mouth. "Before asking you to pay attention, Master Naofumi." She clarified.

'_... Damn, she's good.'_ He thought as he struggled for an answer. "Um, uh. Well, now that you mention it..."

Raphtalia rolled her eyes at him and continued walking. Holding on to the wood tablet that contained the letters of the alphabet she had scratched onto it. "If you're going to be too busy looking around at our surroundings Master Naofumi, it'll be pointless trying to teach you Melromarc's written language while we're traveling."

"Hey, it's a habit of being on the run, okay?" Naofumi defended himself. "One of us has to watch our backs for pursuers."

"And you couldn't have told me that before I put in all the effort of preparing to teach you this morning on the way to the village?" Raphtalia asked.

…

"To be honest, I was still feeling groggy from sleeping for so long. So I didn't hear everything that you'd said earlier." He admitted.

He'd had to pop his back and neck several times for falling asleep while sitting on a log. He'd also struggled with grogginess that morning because he'd gotten too much sleep from sleeping through the whole night. Something he wasn't used to. But the fact that he'd cuddled with Raphtalia all night had made it all worth it. Even if he hadn't paid much attention to what had been said the first half-hour he'd been awake because of being groggy. She could have asked if she had permission to run him through with her sword and he would have given it without realizing it.

"Master Naofumi!" She complained.

Naofumi shrugged. "If you don't like it, maybe I could go back to spending half the night compounding medicines again," Naofumi said indifferently. "I'm usually more awake when I don't get a full night's sleep."

Raphtalia harrumphed. "Fine then, I'll just go out hunting today while you search Lute Village for a monster tamer," Raphtalia said, tucking away the alphabet board she'd made with a grumpy look on her face before storming off into the forest.

Naofumi groaned to himself. "Wait, I was only kidding! Raphtalia!"

He groaned to himself again when she ignored him and disappeared from view.

'_Why do I have to know next to nothing about girls…'_ He turned and continued walking towards the village. He pulled his hood over his head again. Erhard had made an adjustment to it so that it was also lined with pill rabbit fur. Not only would it keep his head warm at night, but it'd help with hiding more of his face.

He felt guilty for accidentally ignoring Raphtalia when she had only been trying to teach him. '_It'd be so much better if girls came with a help guide too…'_

…

Just in case, since he still had a few minutes before he reached the town gates, he tried searching through the help guide for knowledge on how to handle demi-human girls that were in love with you. His help guide would normally update itself as he came across new information. '_Figures, it has nothing on girls. Especially demi-human girls who grew up in the span of a few weeks. Just my luck… …'_

An uncomfortable thought went through his mind. '_I just realized, with how young she was before, did her parents ever manage to teach her anything about being a grown-up before they died… or…'_ His face paled at the realization. '_No, there's no way I could be cursed with that much bad luck!'_

He might at some point have to give Raphtalia the talk on the birds and the bees.

'_No! Hell no! Why did I have to think about that now!? It's not like I'm planning on making things progress that far between us!'_ He thought hysterically in his mind.

Then again, he didn't know how far Raphtalia wanted to progress with him. Or if she knew what the boundaries of a normal relationship were or not. Or if as a demi-human she was connected more to her instincts than normal people. Or- _'Wait, calm down. Maybe I'm just overreacting a little bit. I mean she did grow up and everything, but maybe she learned about it all as a natural ability from leveling up…'_ When he thought about it that way… it sounded really stupid. _'I hate this…'_

He hoped he could put it off for a while, but if her body really had matured and she got to try to follow her instincts and emotions… he shuddered at the thought and crossed his arms to warm himself from the chill running down his back.

'_Maybe I should see about Raphtalia meeting another adult demi-human. Maybe he or she would be able to explain that stuff to Raphtalia so I wouldn't have to... if she doesn't know about it… aw hell, am I going to have to somehow check with her to figure out if she does know or not...'_

Fortunately, he did not have to think about it for much longer, because he found himself walking up to the ruined gates of the village. And, fortunately, Erhard's friend was at his post. He put those thoughts away in a mental compartment in his mind. The one that had the word Raphtalia on it alongside a large bold question mark.

"Halt!" The town guard commanded.

Naofumi did so, all ready pulling out the silver coin needed for entry. "Ah, it's the Shield Hero." The large town guard captain realized who Naofumi was. "You don't have to pay the toll, Sir Naofumi. Not after what you did for our village here." The guard said, giving Naofumi a small bow out of respect.

Naofumi bowed back, but gave the man the silver coin, along with a few extra. "Take them. The town needs the money more than I do." He said calmly. _'And the last thing I need is for some dumb rumor to spread that I somehow cheated Lute Village out of its reconstruction funds.'_

The guard looked down in surprise at the hooded Naofumi and then nodded his head quickly. "Yes, I'll make sure it goes to the reconstruction funds! Thank you!" He said gratefully.

Naofumi gave him an affirmative nod. "I can't stay for long." He got straight to business. "I'm sure knights and church shadows have already been dispatched to try and capture me. I was wondering if you know a monster tamer that's living in the area." Naofumi said.

The town guard looked at him in confusion, until Naofumi pulled the monster egg out of his inventory. "Ah, I see now. You went to old Beloukas in the Capital and took a try at his egg lottery." He said as he examined it. "I tried it once. Got this weird caterpillar creature. But it sold well after I raised it." The captain examined the egg a little while longer. "There aren't any monster tamers in town… but I do know someone who lives outside of town that specializes in different monsters…" He gave it back to Naofumi. "Wait over in the long grass. I'll get someone I trust to take over my shift and then I'll escort you there."

Naofumi did so and calmly walked over to the area of long grass the town guard had pointed to. '_You know, I just realized I still don't know his name.'_ He thought as he crouched there to wait. He also used the time to watch the road to the Capital. Just to make sure there were no knights in the area.

…

After a moment, he saw three people come out of the town. One of them stopped to take up the post at the gate. The other two approached the long grass where Naofumi was hiding. He recognized one of them as the town guard Captain. He was surprised though to also see the Lord of Lute Village accompanying him.

"Shield Hero? Is it true that you're here?" The Lord asked. He couldn't see Naofumi hiding in the tall grass yet.

'_Well, he doesn't sound hostile, yet.'_ Naofumi thought as he stood up. He hoped Raphtalia was nearby in case he was mistaken. Yet the Lord showed delight when he saw Naofumi appear from the tall grass, so he took it as a good sign.

"Oh, thank goodness Shield Hero. After I saw what went down in the Capital two days ago, I was afraid you weren't going to stop by our village on your way out." The Lord said with delight.

"Yeah, well I wanted to see if the town was faring well and find a monster tamer before I went somewhere else," Naofumi said dryly.

The Lord bowed his head. "Everything is going very well, thanks to the efforts you and your demi-human friend put into helping with the monster cleanup after the wave. I figure we should be back to normal within two weeks, maybe one if there aren't any unexpected difficulties."

Naofumi sighed in relief. "That's good." He looked back up at the Lord. "Is that the only reason you came to see me though?" '_After all, thanking me probably wasn't the only reason the Lord had to come out here.'_ He thought.

The Lord shook his head, pulling out what looked like a tablet from his robes. "Of course not. I wanted to reward you for your efforts. It isn't much, but I figure it should help you on your travels." He said, underhand throwing the object to Naofumi.

Naofumi caught it and stared down at it. "What is it?" He asked. Looking closely at it, it was bronze-colored and rectangularly shaped but curved on the edges. There was writing in the Melromarc alphabet on the bottom portion and a sideways symbol with a hole in the center of it on top.

"It's a trader's pass." Naofumi looked up at the Lord and opened his mouth to explain he wasn't a merchant. "I figure you'll probably have to stop by towns every now and then to get supplies. This will help to keep the guards or knights from suspecting you or your demi-human friend when you present it. It also allows you entry without having to pay a toll."

Naofumi looked down at the trader's pass in surprise at this helpful information. Now that he thought about it, going around as a cloaked individual might draw suspicion to him and Raphtalia. However, if he and Raphtalia went around as cloaked individuals with a trader's pass, he could pass off more easily as a night merchants from some of the games he used to play. They were the type of merchant that appeared mysteriously in people's towns to peddle their wares in the night. And with the tools and book the apothecarian had given him, he figured he'd be able to make some of the types of medicines that merchant was well known to carry.

"But if I'm found out, wouldn't you be suspected by the Church for giving this to me?" He asked.

"How can they suspect me? I've never spoken to the Shield Demon before in my life Sir Shield Hero." The Lord said, giving him a knowing wink.

…

Naofumi started to smirk and put the trader's pass in his inventory. '_You know, I'm starting to like the people here more and more. They have some great ideas.'_

"Yeah. The Shield Demon doesn't sound like a pleasant guy. He's the worst of the worst." Naofumi agreed with the Lord.

"I see. Then we'll have to make sure to spread rumors of the Shield Demon's whereabouts to the neighboring towns. After all, we can't allow such a criminal to remain loose on our lands." The Lord said, turning around to walk back towards his village.

'_I went all the way out to Dragon Village in the Northeast. If the Church or the Capital aren't morons in their investigation skills, they might think I'll go to parts I'm more familiar with to hide out in...'_ "Make sure to spread the rumor that he's traveling Northeast," Naofumi said to the Lord's back. "I heard he's planning on raping and pillaging a few towns on his way to Dragon Village so he can level up for the next wave."

The Lord stopped to consider it. Then he looked back with a smile at Naofumi. "It shall be as the Shield Hero said." He then continued walking towards his village. Whistling happily to himself as he did so.

Naofumi chuckled to himself. "You know, your Village's Lord isn't half bad." He said to the town guard Captain.

"There was a reason the Queen appointed him to be the ruler over this area." The town guard captain agreed. "The people love him."

Naofumi stopped chuckling to look in confusion at him. '_You mean, it wasn't the King who made him the Lord here? But I thought-'_

"Anyways, you wanted to see the monster tamer?" The captain asked him.

Naofumi nodded his head. "Of course."

"Follow me then." The captain walked off the main road, heading East away from the village. Naofumi followed along behind him.

* * *

_A half-hour later_

Naofumi and the Captain were walking down a well-trodden path through the forest. It wasn't so much a road as it was a path since it obviously looked like it received frequent use, yet it wasn't paved or marked out.

In making small talk with the Captain along the way, Naofumi had figured out a couple of things. One, the Captain's name was Albert. He almost wanted to go back to thinking of him as the town guard Captain since it sounded so much cooler than Albert.

Two, Knights had already gone by the village earlier that day looking for him. They'd left to move on for the next town when he'd arrived. If he'd been planning to go North (which he hadn't) it'd be best for him to avoid going that way.

Three, the monster tamer he was going to see was named Firo. He specialized in all sorts of monsters and monster eggs. Especially Filolials.

Which led to Four, learning what the hell a Filolial was. Which was what they were talking about right now.

"So you're saying they're monsters that love to pull carriages?" Naofumi asked skeptically.

Albert gave him a nod. "Nobody's really sure why. They just really love pulling carriages for some reason. If a Filolial doesn't pull a carriage for a while, they get super depressed, and some have been known to die if they've been depressed for a while."

Naofumi thought on it. "Almost like they lose the purpose they're bred for in life." He muttered out loud.

"Yeah, that's one way of looking at it." Albert agreed. He started to smile as the pathway opened up in front of them. "Ah, here we are."

Naofumi looked around and was surprised to find they'd walked right into the middle of a field of monsters. He recognized the porcupines that had managed to hurt him before, along with a few larger sized pill rabbits. He barely recognized the Filolials because of the brief glances he got of them on roads he and Raphtalia had traveled on. They were like multi-colored ostriches, only bigger, and surprisingly more regal. Outside of that, he didn't recognize the large caterpillar-like monsters or the large worms that popped out of the ground every now and then. Along with a few other ones he didn't feel like describing.

"Hmmm, it looks like Firo lost some of his stock in the last wave," Albert said to himself as he walked towards the large wooden house that stood in the center of the large clearing. It had several other buildings around it. Including a stable that had several carts and wagons. One of which had a Filolial at the ready to pull it. Though the poor thing was strapped to the wagon. Looking at it, Naofumi finally made the connection of when he'd last seen one. Jerry had one that had pulled his wagon from Dragon Village to the Capital. What had taken him and Raphtalia several weeks of travel by walking had taken Jerry's Filolial maybe a day.

'_It doesn't look like he lost a lot of it.'_ Naofumi thought in surprise as he followed behind Albert. It already seemed like there were a lot of monsters here as it was.

'_I hope Raphtalia realizes these ones are tamed if she's around.'_ He thought, looking down to see a porcupine rub its head affectionately against his ankle. It made him think of the way a dog would act for some reason.

It was weird. But with his much higher defense stats, he didn't feel like he'd have to worry about it attacking him anymore.

Albert knocked on the wooden door. "Hey, Firo! I have a customer here for you!" He bellowed loudly.

"Hold on hold on, I just need a moment." An impatient sounding voice said behind the door.

The door opened, and a short strangely plump man dressed in a rough shirt and overalls stood in the doorway. "Yes, what is it, Albert?" He asked.

Albert pointed to the hooded Naofumi beside him. "I brought a passing trader here who wants to have his monster egg checked out."

Naofumi pulled out the monster egg from his inventory. "I bought this off a Trader in the Capital, but I don't know what type of egg it is. I'm planning on a long journey, and need to be prepared in case I don't know how to care for the monster when it hatches." Naofumi said dryly.

The plump man put a hand to his chin in thought. "You look familiar for some reason…" He said to himself.

Naofumi was about to speak when Albert cut him off. "He's just a traveling merchant passing through town Firo. Show him the credentials you showed me, good sir." Albert said to him, giving him a look that clearly said to follow along with him.

Naofumi did so and pulled out the Trader's Pass the Lord of the Village had just given him. Firo looked it over and shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, I see no issues then. I'll appraise that fair monster egg of yours for 15 Silver." He said happily.

_'15 Silvers!'_ Naofumi thought incredulously. He'd already paid 100 for it! "Deal." Naofumi handed over the 15 Silver Coins. It could be worse. He could have paid hundreds of Silver Coins for the appraisal. He just hoped Raphtalia would be okay with this costing 15 Silvers. He figured she would. Hopefully.

"Now, come on in and let's get started."

…

_A few minutes later_

Naofumi sat in a chair next to Albert. The two of them observed Firo, who was busy examining the monster egg on his table. "Hmmm, this has strong magics on it to prevent against appraisals. However, they're not strong enough to keep me at bay forever!" He said excitedly, whispering words under his breath.

'_He seems... really into monsters.'_ Naofumi thought to himself. It was almost strange how into monsters the guy was. He had monster skin furniture, and monster skull lanterns hanging to light up the place. There was a skull of a dragon with its mouth open to roar right above the fireplace in the living room. '_I hope I don't have to see someone who's into monsters as much as he is again.'_

"Albert?" He whispered to grab the burly Captain's attention. "Why did you say I'm just a passing merchant? Isn't he also part of the village."

Albert put his fingers to his lips in a shushing gesture and then gestured above where Firo was working. Naofumi glanced up from under his hood and saw what looked like a decoration on the wall. It was right by a hunter's trophy of… what looked like a giant frog head? He focused on the symbol and blocked out the weird monster trophies. It took his eyes a little bit to get the finer details. '_It vaguely reminds me of the Legendary Weapons. But I can't tell for sure-'_

"Firo is a diehard believer of the Three Heroes Faith," Albert whispered.

Naofumi's eyes widened in realization. With that information, he was finally able to tell that what he was seeing was a symbol of the Spear, the Bow, and the Sword put together. The rosary of the Three Heroes Church. '_Suddenly, this makes a lot more sense.'_

"He was here with his monsters during the wave. But I have a feeling even if he saw what you did for us he'd turn you over to the Knights, or worse." Albert said quietly.

Naofumi pulled his hood down a little lower and made sure his shield was well hidden under his cloak on his back. Firo was still in the middle of doing whatever he was doing. "So you're telling me the only monster tamer left in town was an enemy?" Naofumi quietly asked, though there was an edge to his tone.

"He's the only one I know of that lives nearby, and he's one of the best. If anyone can break Belouka's anti-appraisal spells it's him. Besides, he's never met you before. I figured you should be safe." Albert whispered.

'_Yeah, unless they're still posting wanted posters of me around the Capital. And distributing them to their followers.'_

…

"Aw yes, I've finally cracked the anti-appraisal magic!" Firo yelled cheerfully at his desk. Naofumi and Albert stopped their quiet conversation to glance at him.

"Well, what is it?" Naofumi asked calmly.

"At first glance, it seems like a normal Filolial Egg," Firo said, studying the egg's surface rather curiously. "It's only a few days old, and it would normally hatch somewhere after two to three weeks of being laid."

"Ok-" Naofumi was starting to say.

"However." Firo continued. "This one is growing faster than normal for some reason. In fact, it should be ready to hatch by the end of the week! If not sooner! Interesting." He said, eyeing the egg some more.

Naofumi suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Well, I've never owned a Filolial before. How do you raise one?" Naofumi asked, doing his best to keep a calm voice.

"For the first couple of days, it's best to feed them crushed food, preferably beans. After that, they tend to eat whatever they want until they reach maturity. By that time, they'll need to be hooked up to a wagon otherwise their health will take a turn for the worse." Firo said, his voice was sounding more excited for some reason. Naofumi got the feeling that if the man desired, he'd be on the menu for one of his Filolials.

The feeling was enough that he finally stood up. "Well, thank you for everything. I have all the information I need to take care of my egg. Now I'll be taking my property back and leaving-" He was saying calmly.

"Oh, couldn't you stay for another moment though?" Firo asked.

"... excuse me?" Naofumi asked.

"Well, I'd just love to figure out why this egg is reacting the way it is to the Devil of the Shield."

…

Naofumi's blood ran cold. This time, when Firo the Monster Tamer turned to face him, he had a crazy glint in his eye and an evil grin on his face. "I'm not mistaken, am I? You're trying so hard to hide your face in your hood it's hard to tell."

Naofumi gritted his teeth and brought his shield from his back onto his arm. '_Damn it, I thought Albert said this guy wouldn't recognize me.'_

He heard the sound of a sword being drawn and looked to the side to see Albert was now facing him. His sword was turned towards him, and Albert's body was shaking in fear. "Y-You mean I was w-with the, the Shield Demon!?" He asked nervously.

Naofumi's eyes widened. '_What?!'_

Firo started to laugh. "Oh, tricking the Captain of the Guard with a false identity too. That's just the underhanded trick I'd expect from the Devil of the Shield."

Naofumi stepped back. His face scrunching up from the sour turn this situation was taking. '_That damn traitor!'_ He thought angrily. "Do you really think you two can stop me when the monsters of the wave couldn't touch me?" Naofumi asked.

"You'll stay back if you know what's good for you!" Albert yelled angrily.

Firo laughed. "Oh, I'm not one to pick up a weapon Shield Demon. But I have some rare monsters out back that might be able to do the trick of overcoming your devilishly high defense stats." He raised his fingers to his lips. "One wrong move and I can call them with a whistle. We wouldn't want that now, would we?"

Albert backed away from Naofumi, pointing his sword at him. Naofumi was feeling so enraged, that he was about to yell at him to call him out for the traitor he was. But then he finally saw the look in Albert's eyes. His body was scared, but he was glancing at Firo. It was then Naofumi noticed his backward movement was more diagonal, putting him on a path to get behind Firo.

He got Albert's hidden message. '_Play along.'_

Naofumi inwardly sighed with relief. It wasn't a setup. Albert hadn't turned against him. He was doing damage control. "Fine, what do you want with me?" Naofumi asked, forcing himself to calm back down. He might as well distract Firo by getting him to talk so Albert would have an opportunity to take him down from behind. He really wished he had tried to run after Raphtalia now.

"Oh, what I want is nothing personal. All I want to do is please God and rid the world of his number one adversary." Firo answered.

"Why is the Shield his adversary? Didn't you see me defending a town full of his believers? And don't tell me it's because of what I 'did' before because we both know that's a bunch of bull!" Naofumi said angrily at the end. Plus, now seemed like a good time to try and pry for answers.

Firo laughed in delight. "Why of course. Even if you hadn't been accused of trying to rape our princess we would still think of you as a devil. The Shield has always favored demi-humans to regular humans you see." Firo started to explain.

'_Wait, what?'_ He thought in surprise. "How does supporting demi-humans make me a devil!?" Naofumi asked angrily. That answer sounded dumber than horse crap.

"Why, because humans are our Gods' natural creation for the world. But demi-humans aren't of our Gods." He explained simply. "You see when humans laid with monsters and animals, the filthy demi-humans were created. A vile abomination indeed." Firo said in disgust. "In the past, the Bow, the Sword, and the Spear sided to protect humanity against the waves of Catastrophe and the cursed demi-humans. But when it came down to it, the first Shield Hero betrayed humanity and allied himself with the demi-humans to fight the waves, the most unholy of all creations in this world!" He shouted in fanatical glee. "To them, the Shield is like a God! Blasphemy! Because of his transgression, he has forever lost the title of hero, and will never be anything more than a devil to God's chosen people!"

Naofumi scowled. He couldn't tell if Firo was speaking of himself as the current Shield Hero or the Past Shield Hero, or if the answers were true or just indoctrinated into him, but the more this little plump man talked the angrier he found himself getting. He had to stay calm though. Albert was almost in position. Albert was almost-

"Even now I've heard you've proven your loyalty to them. Falling in love with an ugly whore of a Tanuki demi-human! Why if I had my way, I'd feed her to my pet dragons right now-"

And that was when Firo stepped over the line. He didn't know if he was in love with Raphtalia or not. But calling Raphtalia a whore brought him over the edge.

"Combo Shield! Air Strike Animal Needle Shield!"

Naofumi thrust his hand out, and a green shield with animal needles appeared. It thrust into Firo's plump gut. Launching him over his desk into the back wall. Naofumi breathed in and out heavily at the amount of anger coursing through his veins. He was dangerously close to going to that dark place in his mind. But damn that had felt good. That hit had looked like it hurt too with the spikes added to it.

However, he gasped in surprise when Firo got back up far more quickly than Naofumi had thought possible with the small guy's bulk. And while there were holes in his outfit, none of them were bleeding. "Wrong move... Devil of the Shield." Naofumi realized even though it had looked like it had hurt, he had forgotten how low his attack stat really was. He couldn't have poked holes in a balloon even if he'd tried.

_'Damn it!'_ He thought in frustration. Firo raised his fingers to his lips. Albert realized he wasn't going to be able to move in time, and stood frozen.

"Time to call in my dragons-"

**Whack!**

A form jumped from the rafters in the ceiling and brought one foot down on Firo's head, knocking him to the floor in an unconscious heap. However, when the form landed lithely on the floor, Naofumi realized it hadn't been Albert who'd knocked Firo out. His heart, thankfully, sighed in relief when he recognized who it was.

"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia said in worry as she approached from Firo's downed form. "Are you okay?!"

Naofumi quickly shook his head to clear it. "Raphtalia, how did-" He tried to ask how she had been hiding in the ceiling. But was enveloped in a tight hug from the Tanuki girl. She was shaking slightly as if she had been genuinely afraid for him. _'Actually, it can wait.'_ He decided as he hugged the girl fiercely back. _'If she hadn't arrived, things would have seriously gotten ugly here.'_

…

"I wouldn't stay long if I were you," Albert said calmly. The two looked to the large burly town guard. "Knowing Firo, if he really did know it was you, he would have sent a signal for backup. Unless you want to be knee-deep in Capital Knights and his dragons, I'd suggest leaving now."

Naofumi grabbed the Filolial Egg off Firo's desk. "What about you?" He asked.

Albert shook his head. "Don't worry about me. I'll handle everything here." Albert said, looking down at Firo's form. "I've handled worse before."

Naofumi gave him a nod. "Okay Raphtalia, we're leaving!" He ordered.

"Right!" Raphtalia sheathed her sword, and the two of them ran for the door.

Albert watched them leave, and then looked down at Firo. He was just starting to wake up. "Urgh, what happened?" He groaned in pain.

"Do you remember what just happened?" Albert asked.

"Ugh, I… I remember the Shield Devil trying to trick me by passing himself off as some passing mer-"

**Pow!**

Albert hit Firo over his head with the pommel of his sword. Firo slumped to the ground from the second concussion he had just been given. It took him a full minute to come too again, groaning once more in pain.

"Do you remember what just happened?" Albert asked again.

"Whet're yu tolking ibaut?" Firo asked in a slurred voice. "End whi er yaou en me hause Elbarf?" Firo asked, his tongue trying it's best to speak properly.

Albert smirked to himself. '_Now that he can't remember the full story, I'll be able to come up with whatever bull crap I want for him to say before the knights arrive.'_ He thought. '_Good luck Shield Hero.'_

* * *

Naofumi gripped the reins of Firo's Filolial, which was pulling Firo's former wagon down a dirt road. The surrounding forest passed by around him surprisingly fast. '_I hope he doesn't mind me borrowing this since I've been told a Filolial needs to pull a wagon to live.'_ Naofumi thought to himself.

He didn't know how good Filolials were at fighting. But If the Filolial in the egg could grow up to the point where it could pull a wagon quickly, then he and Raphtalia wouldn't need to walk around everywhere. He could easily pass himself off as a night merchant in case the situation required it. And he could also take a chance to study or compound while riding! Even though he'd almost been captured and turned into dragon food his 2nd day out of the Capital, he was feeling oddly hopeful about the future.

"Master… Naofumi..." Raphtalia groaned behind him.

"Yeah?" Naofumi asked without looking back.

"Can't we... go a little... slower?"

Naofumi looked back. Raphtalia's face was slowly starting to turn green. Naofumi was a little confused as to why she was sick at first... then he remembered what she'd told him on their impromptu ride to the Capital. "How about you sit with me up front. It's less bumpy up here." He suggested.

Raphtalia did as he said, and sat down next to him. Even with sitting up front, she still put her head over the side to empty her stomach a few minutes later. Naofumi grimaced at the sight and sounds coming from her.

"I'll take it that you're still not a fan of cart rides?" He asked.

"This is even worse than when we were hiding in Jerry's crates." Raphtalia moaned in agony. "And worse than the time I was on that prison carriage." She hurled over the side again after saying that.

Naofumi sighed. She was already well past the point of being able to focus on something to help relieve her of her nausea. Thinking quickly, he pulled out a vial of medicine from his inventory. One he'd learned to compound two weeks before the wave accidentally. "Try this, it should hopefully help out until I feel it's safe enough to stop the cart." He said seriously. If it wasn't for him wanting to make sure they were safe, than he would have stopped right then and there so Raphtalia could recover.

Raphtalia weakly grabbed the medicine from him and took a tentative sip. Her face darkened at the bitter taste, and she put her head over the side as she heaved again. "I thought you said it was supposed to help Master Naofumi!" She whined.

"Are you wasting my medicine!?" He yelled at her.

"I can't help if it tastes bitter!" She complained.

"Good medicine's supposed to taste bitter!" He reminded her. "Now drink it up or it won't work!"

"Aughhhhh!" Raphtalia complained.

…

* * *

The sun was setting in the distance when Naofumi finally had the Filorial pull the cart off the trail into a clearing. The clearing was on a rise in the forest, so he could see the walls of Melromarc standing up tall in the distance. '_Wow, to think we've already traveled this far in four hours on a carriage.'_ Naofumi thought.

He released the Filolial from its bindings to the carriage. "There. Thank you for-" Naofumi started to say to it.

The Filolial rushed off into the forest. A blast of air from its speed swept back Naofumi's hair. He stared into the darkening forest where it had disappeared. "I guess it wasn't as attached to this wagon as I was told." He muttered to himself.

"It might be because this wasn't its original cart."

Naofumi looked over at Raphtalia, who was weakly prepping the fire for Naofumi when he started cooking. She looked better now thanks to the medicine she had taken along with the fact that the cart had finally stopped. But she definitely was nowhere near full health territory. "What do you mean?" Naofumi asked.

"Filolials are known to pull carts. But some are also well known to become attached to the ones they love to pull the most. I think there were three other wagons by that stable. So the Filolial is running back to the one it's attached to now." She explained.

Naofumi looked back at the forest. "Then why did it have bindings attaching it to this one?" He asked.

Raphtalia shrugged. "Maybe the monster tamer you met was trying to train it to pull other wagons and not become so attached to its own." She suggested.

Naofumi didn't think too much more about it. "Well, at least we'll have a spare wagon for our Filolial Egg to bond itself too." He said, setting the egg nearby. He then got next to Raphtalia who had finished preparing and started to cook.

Raphtalia watched Naofumi as his hands moved. Cutting up the various vegetables and meats for the dish he was creating this time. "Master Naofumi?" She asked.

Naofumi didn't respond for a few seconds… "What is it Raphtalia?" He asked.

"Were… well..." She trailed off. She then shook her head and moved away to sit on a log. "I'll keep the first watch after dinner." She said sadly while looking down at the ground.

Naofumi stopped cutting the vegetables to finally look at her. He stared, not thinking of anything for a few seconds, and then he got back to what he was doing. A frown was on his face. '_She must be feeling guilty about abandoning me this morning. If she hadn't intervened when she did, that Firo guy mentioned something about pet dragons…'_ How could he help her to feel better?

…

Naofumi sat down next to Raphtalia, handing her her plate of food. "Thank you." She said quietly, moving to grab it.

"Naofumi moved it out of reach. "On one condition." He said seriously.

Raphtalia was taken out of her original thoughts. "What would that be?"

He smiled for her. "Let me have first watch with you so I can start learning the Melromarc alphabet."

Raphtalia looked shocked for a few seconds... and then she started to smile as well.

"Deal."

He handed her her plate of food and set his own on his lap. At the same time, she pulled out the wooden plate from her inventory and held it up for both of them to see while they ate in the light of the campfire.

"This symbol represents your language's A." Raphtalia started.

"Uh-huh."

…

Raphtalia directed a glare at Naofumi. "What, I'm paying attention this time!" Naofumi defended himself.

* * *

_West of the Capital_

Itsuki never thought he'd see himself back to doing this again so soon after the last wave. He'd been plenty strong in the battle with the Chimera Monster and had thought he wouldn't need to level up again for the next short while. Leaving him free to be a hero for the people.

Yet here he was. Sitting up in a tree. Observing the actions of his party members in the forest down below while helping to keep them safe and efficient in their level grinding. Lanterns and balls of magic fire floated in the air, allowing him and the others to see what was going on even though it was dark. That was one of the perks about being the Bow Hero. He had superb vision and could see very well even in the low light up from the thick branch of the tree about fifteen feet up from the forest floor.

"Karn, Crystal and Armor need help with a Frog Monster a few dozen feet to your right!" Itsuki yelled down below to a swordsman who'd just finished dispatching a large porcupine.

"Got it!" Karn ran into the bushes to help out the struggling party members.

Itsuki moved along the branch and released an arrow, calmly dispatching another frog monster he saw in the distance. Nearby, he saw as Marx sent a blast of water magic at a round furry bunny, slamming it into a tree. The familiar experience notification appeared again and again near his face as his party around him grinded the monsters in the area. His stats currently showed him at level 45. _'These low-level monsters won't help me much. But we don't have a choice since Crystal, Marx, and Armor need to level up if they want to be able to help. And this is the best they can manage.'_

After talking with Naofumi and Raphtalia back in the Capital, Itsuki had immediately sought out his party members: the noble knight Mauld/Armor, the party's frontline noble fighter Moudor, the versatile swordsman Karn, and Rachel and Welst; the two party mages. He'd thought they'd be all for this grand adventure. He'd thought they'd be up for saving those poor abused demi-humans.

Boy had he been surprised.

* * *

_Two days ago_

_"Are you insane!? You actually want us to save a bunch of damn demis!?"_

_Mauld looked extremely angry at that moment, and Itsuki couldn't understand why. He'd just said they were going to rescue slaves from their abusive nobles. Hadn't Mauld been one of his strongest supporters for administering justice to those who deserve it? If so, why was he acting this way now?_

_"Why would anyone want to help out a bunch of worthless demis?!" Mauld, or Armor, continued angrily._

_"But… but aren't they being mistreated?-" Itsuki tried to ask._

_"Who cares about those damn creatures being mistreated or not?! We have that job request from the guild about toppling a government that's overtaxing its citizens!" Mauld angrily responded._

_Itsuki grimaced. The other party members were silent, watching what was going on between the two. He knew they'd taken that job request before heading to the celebration. But… "But don't you care about the evil that's going on in your own country? Don't you care that some of your own people are being oppressed?" Itsuki asked. After learning about what Raphtalia had gone through, leaving this country to topple a government in a different country didn't feel like the right thing to do._

_"Demi-humans aren't people! And mistreating them is more than they deserve!" Itsuki gasped at that, and Mauld haughtily put his hands on his hips. "In my opinion, they're less than the monsters we fight day in and day. And if I had a choice, I'd line them all up and I'd… I'd..." Mauld trailed off._

_Itsuki was giving him a very, very dark look. It suddenly made sense. He'd known that Mauld could come off as a bully sometimes, but now he was seeing it first hand without being blinded by anything else. "How can you say a person is worse than a monster?" Itsuki asked, his voice barely holding back the anger he was feeling. "No, how can you say a race of people are worse than monsters when you haven't even met all of them!?" Itsuki angrily demanded. Poking Mauld's armored chest plate hard. Mauld backed away from Itsuki in surprise. "Don't you want to actually help people out and administer justice, or are you only in my party so you can get noticed and rewarded for your service!?"_

…

_An angry look came onto Mauld's face. But his silence told Itsuki all he needed to know. "Whatever your reasons, I'm not doing this for the money or the recognition. I'm not doing it to try and seek someone else's approval. I'm doing it because justice requires that I do something about it. Demi-humans are people too, and they don't deserve the treatment Melromarc is giving them. You can either choose to join me on my adventure, or you can go and topple that government by yourself for all I care." Itsuki gave his ultimatum. "Just know if you don't, if you go back home, and if I hear of you mistreating one demi-human just to spite me, then I'll be coming to dispense justice on you."_

…

_Mauld harrumphed, and without another word he turned to the door and stormed out of their private room in the inn. Itsuki then saw as Mauld left his party on his status screen. He frowned at that. But maybe it'd be for the better if that bully left his party. Who knows how it would have turned out a month or more from now._

…

_"I'm sorry, Sir Itsuki."_

_Itsuki turned to the rest of the party. Welsh had been the one who'd spoken. At that same moment, Welsh's name and Moudor's disappeared from under Itsuki's along with their stat bars. "We'd love to help, but our Faith in the Three Heroes Church keeps us from helping out demi-humans, even if they are being mistreated." Welsh said apologetically._

_Itsuki had to force himself to take a deep breath. Mauld had been powerful, but he'd also been a bully. Always belittling the newest members of the party and making crass jokes about those he felt were inferior. He'd more or less expected Mauld to leave. He hadn't expected the normally reserved Moudor and Welsh to leave too. They had also supported him in all he'd been doing. To have them leave... This was backfiring on him worse than he had thought._

_"It's fine. You can go back to your families. Just don't mistreat any demihumans... I'd hate to have to go after either one of you." Itsuki said calmly._

_Welsh and Moudor bowed to Itsuki, and then calmly left the room. Despite their more polite departure, Itsuki still didn't like how their own faith kept them from wanting to help out other people. That their faith required them to stand for something wrong. Something about that just felt… wrong to him. _

_He turned and looked at his last two party members. Both of whom had received their class ups that day at the Church. He wondered if this was a moment like one of the games, hell one of his life experiences, where they'd abandon him too…_

…

_"Well, Sir Itsuki." Rachel finally spoke calmly. "I can't say I'm not glad those three bastards finally left." She moved some of her long black dyed hair from covering one side of her face. "When do we start?"_

_Itsuki blinked in surprise. "You mean, you two aren't going to-" He was asking._

_"Course we're not." Karn said, raising his fist up high as he smiled. "This country has a slavery problem, and we want to help fix it!"_

_Itsuki blinked again. "But, but after those three-" He tried to say._

_"They're nobles Sir Itsuki." Itsuki blinked at that. He hadn't noticed that Moudor and Welsh had also been nobles. Then again, that could explain why they'd been so close with Mauld. "Karn and I were on the verge of leaving like Val did since they didn't like us commoners," Rachel said calmly. Itsuki was a little more surprised by that revelation. He'd have to pay more attention to what happened in his party in the future. "But now that those buffoons are gone, we can actually help. I have a personal stake in your cause since my fiance is a demi-human I rescued from a group of slave traders." She said calmly, yet with a fiery fierceness backing her words._

_"And my parents might have raised me in the faith. But it was things like mistreating others labeled as inferior and loud-mouthed nobles among other things that drove me away. So I have no qualms with sticking it back at those hypocritical bastards!" Karn said with a wide grin._

_Itsuki was a little shocked at first, and then he found himself wiping away tears from his eyes. This wasn't how situations like this had gone down in some of the games he played. And this wasn't how his own life had played out before this world. But it felt good for this one time that it had turned out differently. That he still had two friends who were willing to back him._

_"Thank you. Both of you." He took a moment to calm himself. "But we're going to be shorthanded if it's just the three of us. We need more party members we can trust if we want to take on some of these nobles."_

_Rachel smiled. It was small, but it was there. "You just leave that to me."_

* * *

Itsuki smiled as he took out a bat in the trees above him with a normal arrow. _'Why couldn't she and Karn have initially joined my party?'_ He thought. He'd originally had four party members, then six when those two joined several weeks before the wave. Val, a blonde-haired mage, had apparently left because of Mauld treating her like crap for being a noble of lower station. He hadn't known that before. Now he was going to pay better attention to anyone that wanted to join his party.

He had been right to trust Rachel. Not only had they saved time in finding three new party members that she knew, but they had also wanted to help Itsuki out on his grand quest. Not agreed, but wanted to help free enslaved demi-humans. Crystal, a silver-haired girl whose weapon of choice was a spear. Marx, a young blonde haired mage who had an affinity for Water magic. And surprisingly, a black-haired knight named Aksel who they'd nicknamed Armor. He was almost as big as Mauld but surprisingly nicer. All three had come from the Commoner class, and, as Itsuki learned, had once had demihuman friends themselves. Up until their friends had been kidnapped by slavers and sold to various nobles. They not only wanted to find and free them but also all the other slaves who were suffering from the same treatment.

The only problem was... the three of them hadn't been very high leveled when they joined. Even after a couple of days of constant around the clock grinding they were barely able to handle the level 20-25 monsters here in this area with both Rachel and Karn, two level 42's, helping them out. And even with resorting to constant monster grinding on their way to Van's estate, Itsuki knew they weren't going to be a high enough level to help out at first. But that didn't stop him from helping them into the night with their level grinding.

"Sir Itsuki."

Itsuki looked down at the base of the tree. Rachel was at the bottom, waiting for her. "My mana supply is running slow. I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my magical fires going for much longer." She said calmly.

Itsuki released another normal arrow, killing a porcupine that had been sneaking up on Armor. "How long do we have?" Itsuki asked.

"A few minutes," Rachel answered.

Itsuki calmly looked in the areas where Rachel's magic was starting to dim. "Gather the others and set up camp." He summoned another arrow. "I can keep hunting in the dark."

"Sir Itsuki, are you sure you'd rather not rest?" Rachel asked unsurely. Itsuki had been staying up doing this for their party more and more. Killing monsters for most of the night so his party members could continue to get more experience while asleep. "You've stayed up far later than us every night since we left the Capital." She said.

"Don't worry. I'll join you guys soon." Itsuki said, killing another monster that had been trying to hide in the shadow of a bush. "I'll come and sleep when I feel tired."

Rachel still looked unsure. "Just make sure not to stay up too late tonight," Rachel called up to him.

"Sure, thanks, mom," Itsuki said. He was smiling a little at his own joke.

Rachel rolled her eyes and went to gather the rest of the party. "Goodnight Sir Itsuki."

Itsuki stayed up in his tree, hunting the monsters that were all around. It was going to be another long night with only him and his bow. He already felt tired. Several days of not sleeping well wore down on his eyes.

_'But I can't sleep now. Not as long as I can help them to grow stronger. It'll be worth it.'_ He thought, pinning another frog monster in the distance to the ground with an arrow to the head. _'By the time they class up and continue leveling up, those nobles will have no idea what hit them.'_

He was still thinking of this all as a game. If he could only raise their levels enough, they'd be able to take down any noble they came across. It would all be easy.

But it wasn't.

**Author's Notes:**

**Well, this was another long chapter. I think the next one won't be as long. I just wanted to note that yes, I'm aware of the intricacies of learning another language. That there are different rules for sentence structure, word placement, word choice, etc. I have tried several times to learn a different language in the past. I just don't have the brainpower for it. So I honestly won't go over it much.**

**Also, I'm starting something new at the suggestion of a reader (Thanks RedFistCannon). I'm going to start including an Omake scene at the end of each chapter. It's not meant to be canon relevant, or even plot relevant for the most part. It's not even meant to be in character (as will obviously be shown down below). It's just something meant to poke fun at a concept or at different characters. I'll try it out for a few chapters and see what you all think. If you want to keep it going later in the story, I'll do so. Who knows, it might just allow me to showcase some of those suggestions I've been given that are way out there.**

**And because of the show Black Clover, I've decided to call these Omake Scenes: Hero Clips.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**The Unhelpful Help Guide**

* * *

"Let's see, is there anything in here to help me understand demi-human girls," Naofumi said as he sat by the fire after making dinner.

His status magic took physical form in front of him, showing a large several inch thick book with the title **Help** **Guide** on the front in English. In typical anime fashion, he flipped through the thousands of pages and had a eureka moment as he stopped on the right one. "Jackpot! How to understand demi-human girls!"

He quickly got to reading it. "To understand a demi-human girl…" His eyes widened comically. "You can't! What do you mean you can't?!"

His magical help guide updated itself with more information at his question. "To understand any type of girl would overload the world's status magic?!" Naofumi yelled indignantly. "Come on! They can't be that hard to understand!"

More words appeared beneath the first. "Wow, you must be one dense moron to say that-" Naofumi didn't finish the sentence. Instead, he angrily got up, gripping the help guide in his hands. "Screw you! I don't need your help to understand Raphtalia!" He yelled before throwing it on the ground and stomping on it in typical anime fashion.

More words appeared on the page. "How's that low attack stat treating ya?" If magic books could smirk, this one would be smirking right now.

"Gahhhhhh!" Naofumi continued jumping up and down on the book anime style. Even though his low attack stat was hardly doing anything to the magic book.

"Um… Master Naofumi…" Raphtalia asked to the side. Unsure of how to intervene in this situation.

Naofumi continued jumping up and down, cursing the stupid magic help guide for the stupid piece of crap it was. Raphtalia sweatdropped and faced the forest. "Maybe I should give Master Naofumi some time to calm down."

She disappeared off into the forest again. Naofumi continued his childish tantrum on the Unhelpful Help Guide.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	15. 15: Growth Sounds Like Rice Krispies

**Another week. Another update. Thanks again for all the support! I'm surprised how many of you commented on Itsuki! It makes me feel a lot better about deciding to include the other heroes to show what's happening elsewhere in the fic and how they're growing/changing. For better or for worse.**

**I wanted to announce I have a new one-shot in the works. I won't say anything about what it is. Just know it should be coming soon. I think most of you would enjoy it.**

**Now with that announcement out of the way, onwards to the chapter!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _20 More Favorites, 27 More Followers (Total: 495 Favorites, 573 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _November 4th, 2019 2:00 P.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen:** _Growth Sounds Like Rice Krispies_

* * *

_A few hours earlier_

"1 Gold Coin in order to enter and leave the village!?"

"That's too much!"

"That's way too much!"

"How do you expect us to pay for that?!"

A crowd of people with the 'former' Lord was gathered in the town square of Lute Village. On a stand that had been set up by the Capital Knights was the new Lord, Motoyasu. He was dressed in new armor that looked exactly like what he'd worn before Naofumi shattered it, only without any bull crap enchantments. He'd have to wait until the court magician was available again to get this new set enchanted. Beside him holding the royal declaration that made him Lord was none other than Myne. Who was being as bitchy as ever.

"This temporary tax will go towards the town's rebuilding funds!" Myne announced authoritatively to the crowd. (Yeah right) "Your town was hit hard by monsters during the last wave! Thus, in order to quickly fix this place up, sacrifices must be made by all!"

"Still! You want us to sacrifice a gold coin just to enter and leave our village!?" Someone in the crowd angrily yelled.

"We barely make twenty to twenty-five coppers a day!"

"We can't afford that!"

"We could never afford that!"

"We're doing just fine fixing this place up without you butting in!"

"It wasn't even monsters who did all this damage! It was your damn knights! They should be the ones to pay for the damages!"

Some of the knights glanced at the two young men who'd shouted last. Some of the people looked like they were agreeing with the young men's logic. The knights slowly moved their hands to their weapons in case the people revolted.

Myne continued to smile haughtily. "This is a royal decree. The King himself has given his approval." She said matter of factly. "Which means Sir Motoyasu's word is law, and you must follow it-"

A roar of yelling came from the crowd, drowning out Myne's next words. It seemed the villagers of Lute did not like her reasoning. She scowled angrily at their boos and shouts. They were supposed to be submissive villagers for crying out loud!

Albert and the rest of his town guard moved between the people and the knights. Trying to calm them down before they did anything drastic.

Motoyasu stayed silent. Observing what was going on around him while Myne did all the talking.

"You're supposed to be a hero!"

"Why are you allowing her to do this?!"

"Please help us sir Spear Hero!"

Motoyasu clenched his fists behind him. He could hear some of the people in the crowd calling out to him for help. He was supposed to be a hero. He was supposed to help them. Yet others in this crowd of people were glaring at him. Looking at him and Myne as if they were the bad guys.

Like he was worse than Naofumi.

'_I'm supposed to be a hero. Myne and the others tell me that I'm a hero… so why do they all hate me? Is it true? Would this tax Myne told me we should implement be something that would hurt them? Are they mad about that?'_ He thought to himself. He didn't want to question Myne about it now. But it didn't help that he'd found himself questioning everything in his mind more and more lately.

He was supposed to be a hero. He was supposed to help protect the people of this world. It was all supposed to only be a game... Yet he couldn't get that Duel out of his mind. He couldn't forget how hard Naofumi, a horrible despicable excuse for a person, had fought to beat him despite having no attack power. He couldn't forget how Naofumi had held Raphtalia before Motoyasu had admitted defeat. He especially couldn't forget what Raphtalia had said to Naofumi after she'd been freed.

_"You've gone through a lot of pain… But from now on, you won't need to be alone with the pain." Raphtalia rested her head against Naofumi's. "I'll shoulder it with you forever Naofumi Iwatani. Because… because that's what love makes us do… I'll always love you. Even when everyone else hates you." She confessed. "You aren't alone anymore. Don't ever forget that."_

He couldn't forget the sincerity in her eyes. The strength of the resolve in her voice. She hadn't been brainwashed or under anyone else's control. She truly believed that Naofumi was the one in pain. Not Myne, not the King, not anyone else Naofumi had supposedly harmed. It had been Naofumi who was hurting...

Motoyasu put a hand to his head. It was supposed to be impossible. How could anyone ever fall in love with that horrid rapist! Had he forced her to act that way using the slave contract as he had during the duel!? But she hadn't had the slave crest on. But did that mean she had been free from the effects of the slave contract!?

Motoyasu scowled. He was at a mental conundrum over this beautiful girl, Raphtalia, having fallen for Naofumi. Slave crest or not, real or not, she had meant it when she said she loved him. It went against everything logical in his mind. Myne said Naofumi was abusing her, but she had defended him with all her heart. It made him wonder if a person could even be brainwashed to be so sincere. And because of that, he was not only starting to doubt Myne. He was starting to doubt himself.

Was he really a hero to the people here? He had been trying so hard… yet standing here, hearing all these people yelling at him… some of them asking him to be merciful… some of them saying he was hurting them instead of helping… some of them saying he wasn't acting like a hero…

Was he really not the hero here? Was Myne only using him to hurt others like Naofumi? Could he trust his friends in this game? Could he trust himself? Why was he staying silent then? Did that mean he really trusted himself to trust Myne's judgment here? Did that mean he was okay with imposing this tax on these people for their sake? They were just NPC's...

"Enough!" Myne tried to silence the crowd. But the crowd wasn't having it. They had already survived a wave of monsters. They were not going to let this monster take away everything else from them.

_'What am I doing?! Of course I trust her! She's one of my friends! I'd trust her with my life!'_ He thought. He couldn't let any doubts in his friends shake him! He had to move forward under his friends' guidance so he could be the hero they wanted him to be!

"Get out of here!"

"We refuse to accept this!"

"Take your dumb taxes back to the King!"

Motoyasu grimaced at their words. He wanted to be confident in his decision... so why did it have to be so complicated to him?

* * *

_The next Morning (42 Days before the Next Wave of Catastrophe)_

"Come on Master Naofumi! You need to wake up!"

"Huhhh!" Naofumi yawned loudly into his hand. "Five more minutes." He said drowsily, rolling over to go back to sleep.

"Master Naofumi, get up, now!" Raphtalia said irritably.

"Ummm…" Naofumi rolled over, wanting to go back into dreamland.

With one hard tug, Raphtalia pulled the sleeping bag out from under Naofumi, putting him in contact with the cold hard ground. It was not the best wake up call he'd received. "I said get up!"

Naofumi groaned at Raphtalia's persistence. '_Damn. How did I stay up so late last night?'_ He thought tiredly to himself.

It was a rhetorical question. He knew how late he'd stayed up.

After a somewhat bumpy start, he and Raphtalia had spent a fair amount of time going over the Melromarc alphabet together. It helped that she had put the Melromarc characters in order. She'd had him read them over again and again, and work on memorizing what each symbol represented. It was still slow going, but he felt they had made some good progress.

After doing that for a while, he carved in the symbols for his language underneath the symbols for Melromarc's language to help him when he studied in his free time. That way Raphtalia could focus more on teaching him grammar rules and word placement using Melromarc's characters in the future. Then, hand in hand with Raphtalia, he'd read the Intermediate Compounding grimoire. Using the translation pad as a rough means of figuring out what he was reading.

He had barely gotten through translating a small paragraph of the first listed recipe (which he discovered to be the nutritional pill he'd first created). He checked his work over with Raphtalia before she'd decided to pull out her sleeping bag and go to sleep.

After that, he'd taken the second watch of the night and used that time to test out his new compounding tools. He'd found, to his delight, that they were much better than the old ones he'd been using. So much so that by the second batch of medicine he'd absorbed the old set into his shield, (unlocking several shields, including the **Medical Research Shield** and the **Beaker Shield)** improved his medicine making skills, and got back to compounding even higher quality medicines from all the various herbs he'd gathered. It was almost like cheating, but it was a lot of fun. He'd had so much fun with it, he forgot to wake Raphtalia up for when it was her turn to keep the third watch… much to her displeasure.

* * *

"_Master Naofumi!"_

_Naofumi looked up from his latest creation. He'd finally discovered how to compound potions when he'd accidentally compounded together several different ingredients he hadn't meant to use (he attributed that to how tired he'd been before the compounding) and ended up making a weak HP Restoration potion. He'd quickly flasked it and had been writing down in his language how he'd done it in his recipe book like a little kid discovering Santa was real when Raphtalia appeared yelling at him._

"_What is it Raphtalia?" He asked quizzically._

"_It's almost morning! Why didn't you wake me up so you could go to sleep!?" She yelled at him irritably._

_Naofumi slowly blinked his eyes. "What are you talking about? It's not supposed to be your watch for…" He trailed off as he looked up and realized he could see the light of dawn appearing in the distance. It should have been her turn to keep watch several hours ago._

'_Oh hell.'_ _He thought in realization. He hadn't realized he'd stayed up almost all night compounding. No wonder why he felt so tired. "Um, heh heh." He chuckled nervously to himself. "Guess I lost track of time." He said lightly to her._

…

_He knew it was a lame excuse the moment Raphtalia grabbed him by the collar of his cloak and started dragging him to his sleeping bag. "Bed, now!" She ordered._

"_Alright alright, I'm going! I'm going! Geeze! You don't have to drag me like a little kid!" Naofumi complained as a pile of flailing limbs behind Raphtalia._

"_Obviously I do!" Raphtalia said as she dropped him down onto the sleeping bag. The previous day's exhaustion almost instantly caught up to him when he made contact with its surface. "Now. Are you going to climb into your sleeping bag yourself, or do you want me to tuck you in like a little kid?" Raphtalia asked him teasingly._

"_Go... to… hell..." Naofumi was slowly drifting off to dreamland. Suddenly way too tired to finish the rest of his sentence._

_Raphtalia happily finished tucking him into his sleeping bag. Once she was done, she kissed him on the forehead. "Sweet dreams Naofumi. I'll wake you up if anything happens." She whispered._

'_Yeah… sweet… dreams…' He managed to think before diving into his own little dreamland._

* * *

Naofumi grimaced and groaned, still feeling tired as hell after thinking last night over. He also felt a headache forming. '_I need to be more careful about staying up all night. This is not like my old otaku days.'_ He thought as he finally got up off the ground. His sleeping bag, which Raphtalia had so rudely woken him out of, was off to the side. _'And I had been dreaming of punching Motoyasu in the face too.'_ It had been such a good dream...

"Good morning Master Naofumi!"

Naofumi blearily opened his eyes and saw a Raphtalia that looked way too cheerful sitting by the fire... His eyes widened. '_Wait, morning!'_ Sure enough, the sun was still slowly rising on the eastern horizon. He groaned, realizing he'd only been asleep for an hour, maybe two. "Why'd you wake me up so early?!" He asked grouchily. "You said you'd only do it if it was important!"

She pointed to the monster egg sitting by the fire excitedly. "And it is! Our Filolial egg is getting ready to hatch!"

…

Any more thoughts of sleep went flying out of his mind. '_Oh hell!'_ He quickly blinked his eyes as he scrambled the rest of the way to sit next to Raphtalia. Sure enough, the egg was moving from side to side. The little being inside trying its best to escape its egg prison. Raphtalia's tail was already wagging in anticipation, and if Naofumi had a tail he bet it would have been wagging in anticipation too. _'But Firo said the end of the week! That's still five days away!'_ He thought in disbelief. Had it been growing under his care faster than Firo had predicted?

He also found it odd. Normally it'd be him that was up early in the morning. Technically, he had been up early that morning, after staying awake all night. Had he not done that, he figured he'd be the one waking Raphtalia up instead of vice versa.

"It won't be long now." She said cheerfully. "It's been doing this for the last few minutes."

Naofumi stayed silent, watching as the egg continued to rock from side to side. Then he gasped lightly when a crack formed on it, and a piece of shell fell off. _'Holy hell, this has to be one special Filolial to be hatching this soon. That means it must be rare!'_ He thought excitedly. He didn't know if Firo had been lying to him or not about how to raise it, but either way, he was about to own his very own rare breed of Filolial...

…

A few seconds of waiting later, the monster egg finally broke apart.

"Piiu!" From the remnants of the egg, a cute little pink-feathered fledgling looked up at Naofumi. A piece of the egg was still on its head. Naofumi was… underwhelmed. _'It doesn't look rare...'_

"Wowwww!" Raphtalia's eyes were wide with awe. "It looks so cute!"

"Piiu!" The little fledgling Filolial jumped off the log into Naofumi's face. It didn't really hurt, it just caught him a little off guard. _'Seriously?'_

"It seems a little energetic for just being born." Naofumi said as it fell onto his lap.

"Piiu!"

He tried to put his hands under it to lift it up, but then the bird ran with surprising speed along the length of his arm and jumped onto his head. Making his long shaggy hair into a nest for it to rest in. "And fast too," Naofumi added to his comment.

"Pii!" It said contentedly. "Pii! Pii! Pii! Pii! Pii!"

"Awww, it already thinks you're its daddy!" Raphtalia said happily as the baby fledgling looked around from its new perch. She started to ruffle one of its little wings gently with her hand, causing it to Pii in happiness.

"Yeah, imprinting, huh?" Naofumi said almost sarcastically. _'Great. Just great.'_ The excitement of the egg hatching had long since worn off. He had been woken up, for this? '_I want to go back to sleep now.'_

"Pii!" The fledgling chirped happily and rubbed its head into Raphtalia's hand.

"Looks like it's imprinting on you too. It must think you're its mommy." Naofumi then added to his previous sarcastic statement.

Raphtalia looked a little caught off guard by that statement. "Do you really think I could be a mom Naofumi?" She asked, her expression looking a little weird on her.

Naofumi shrugged. He was going back to feeling grouchy since he hadn't slept well. "Don't ask me. I wasn't really a parent in my world."

"Well, I've never been a parent," Raphtalia admitted sheepishly as she withdrew her hand.

Before she could pull away completely, the fledgling Filolial ran onto her arm much as it'd done to Naofumi. Then it jumped onto Raphtalia's hair and settled down on top of her head between her Tanuki ears. "Piiu!" It chirped happily.

Naofumi cleared his throat. "Anyways, it's just a monster. I'm sure we won't actually have to think of ourselves as its parents." Naofumi said.

"Right…" Raphtalia didn't sound as enthusiastic as she had before. The little fledgling Filolial, unaware of what was going on, continued to chirp happily on her head.

...

Naofumi sighed. He was already awake. They might as well make the most of their day. "How about we pack up and go hunting. I'm sure we should start grinding levels with our monster Filo here as soon as possible." Naofumi suggested. He felt too tired to try and make breakfast for them both. They could always eat later.

"Okay-" Raphtalia stood up straight. And not because of Naofumi saying they were skipping breakfast. "Wait, did you name our Filolial Filo!?" She asked angrily.

"Well, yeah," Naofumi responded dryly. "I mean. Is there something wrong with that?"

"But doesn't that sound a little obvious to you?!"

"I did buy her." Naofumi pointed out. "And I thought I'd go with something simple so it'd be easy to remember."

"Pii! Pii!" The fledgling chirped happily on Raphtalia's head at being called Filo.

"See, she likes it," Naofumi said a little more happily. He was able to tell Filo was a girl because after having named it, Filo's stats and gauges appeared below Raphtalia's on his screen. Next to Filo's name was the symbol that indicated she was a female Filolial.

Raphtalia gritted her teeth. "If, **Filo, **is going to look to us as her parents," She emphasized Filo. "Then you're starting off as a horrible spouse for not including me in the naming process Master Naofumi."

Naofumi smiled lightly, albeit a little nervously. "What? It's not like we're married or anything. I doubt we'll have to worry about acting like we're its parents." He joked.

Raphtalia blushed a fierce red. "Pii!" The fledgling jumped from her head back onto Naofumi's head.

"I, um, uh... ... ..." Raphtalia didn't say another word as she took off to kill monsters that were closeby.

'_Hmmm, I wonder what's up with her?'_ Naofumi thought, being dense as to why she reacted the way she had. He shrugged. '_Oh well. I guess that means I'm going to pack up camp by myself…'_ He thought.

"Pii!" The fledgling chirped happily on Naofumi's head.

'_Correction, I'm packing up camp by myself while Filo offers me encouragement. Man, I hope she doesn't grow up thinking of me as her butler too.'_ Naofumi thought sarcastically.

Filo's stomach growled loudly above him. '_But first, maybe I should feed her.'_ He realized. He and Raphtalia would skip breakfast, but Filo wasn't. He was glad to have had the sense to throw the bags of beans he'd seen in the stable in the back of the carriage now. The Firo guy had said they needed crushed beans to start feeding Filo. All Naofumi had to do was make sure they were crushed before feeding them to Filo and then he could pack up the camp and join Raphtalia.

As long as Firo hadn't been lying to him, it'd be easy to crush a few beans for Filo to eat.

* * *

"Pii! Pii!"

"Haaaaa!"

Raphtalia thrust her sword into the chest of the large frog-like monster in front of her. She then jumped back as blood sprayed out of its chest wound. The frog monster leaned forward, still alive despite it's wound as it tried to grab Raphtalia with its long tongue.

Raphtalia jumped sideways and cleanly sliced off the end of it. Then, while the frog monster was screeching in pain, she dashed in and slashed through the monster's side as she ran by.

The frog monster teetered on its back two legs from that attack. Blood coming out from its chest, side, and mouth. It looked like it was trying to gather the will to fight, but at last, it croaked (yes, I made a pun out of Raphtalia killing a frog monster) and fell backward to the ground. The fight was over.

"Nice job Raphtalia," Naofumi commented as he approached her and the dead monster.

"Pii! Pii!" Filo chirped happily on Naofumi's head. The pink feathered bird looked a little bigger than she had that morning.

Raphtalia sheathed her sword. She didn't look tired at all. "I was hoping it would pose more of a challenge being a level 30 monster." She said almost as if she were sad about how quickly she'd killed it and all the other monsters today. The carcasses of other monsters laid on the ground all around.

Naofumi dropped the red balloon he'd been doing his daily punching workout with and pulled up her stats while he worked on feeding part of the monster into his shield. She was only level 35, but her stats were surprisingly through the roof for her level. She'd also been far faster and stronger than she had been before in dealing with these monsters. He almost commented on it when he remembered the slaver's shields he had gotten from Beloukas and decided not to mention it. "Well because of your hard work today, Filo is already at level 11," Naofumi said.

"Pii! Pii!" The not so fledgling Filo cried out happily. He looked at her stats and was similarly surprised at how much they had increased since that morning. _'Wow, the shields I unlocked from absorbing Filo's egg and feather earlier along with that one grown Filolial's feather from yesterday are really helping Filo to grow.'_

**Snap! Crackle! Pop!**

Loud, painful sounds came from the baby Filolial as it increased a little more in size on his head. Despite that, it still looked quite happy. "Um, does that sound healthy to you Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked.

"Not really. Is she supposed to be growing this fast?" Naofumi asked. '_That Growth Correction Skill I got from absorbing Filo's Egg is remarkable… but damn, at this rate she'll outpace Raphtalia in rate of growth.'_ He thought. Then he remembered how much Raphtalia had eaten during that time. '_I really hope Filo doesn't eat through our food bill too, I couldn't survive having another child glutton like Raphtalia again.'_

"Were you thinking something rude Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked him.

'_Oh hell.'_ He still wasn't sure how she was able to tell what he'd been thinking. "Of course I'm not." He responded dryly. "I'm just thinking about how hungry Filo is from all that leveling up.

"Pii!" Before Raphtalia could question him, Filo suddenly hopped off his head onto the head of the dead frog monster. Right as he'd finished cutting off a part of it to absorb into his shield.

"Wait, Filo-" Naofumi tried to say.

The sight he saw next was so sickening, he stopped speaking. The young little fledgling opened it's small mouth wide, and it got to work on devouring the frog monster one chunk at a time. The amazing part was how the pieces that disappeared seemed impossibly bigger than the size of Filo's mouth. Maybe even close to her size.

"Oh, hell, I can't watch." Naofumi turned away, looking slightly sick.

"Pii! Pii! Pii!" Filo cried happily in between gobbling up the frog monster.

"How is she eating so much?" Raphtalia asked, looking shocked at the little bird monster.

The almost three-meter tall, chunky frog monster Raphtalia had taken down took less than five minutes to be gobbled into the ravenous gullet that was named Filo. The sounds that came during that time were sounds that Naofumi never wanted to hear again from such a cute small creature. It was a mercy the frog monster had already died. He focused during that time on getting his shield to absorb the monster fragment, unlocking a new shield in the process. **Frog Monster Shield.** A shield that was supposed to increase his defense… and better his ability to swim?

'_What the hell…'_ He didn't know what was more mind-boggling. The fact that Filo was eating a monster many times her size, or that he needed a swimming stat in this world. Granted he hadn't swum around much since arriving in this world unless bathes in the shallow ends of rivers counted.

When she was done, Filo laid back on the grass, resting her small wings contentedly on her stomach. She was surrounded by scraps of flesh and blood. "Pii!"

"Maybe we've leveled up Filo a little too much in one day," Naofumi commented.

**Snap! Crackle! Pop!**

The sounds of Filo's growth hit his ears again. '_Is it just me, or is Filo already three times the size she was this morning?'_ He thought to himself. Another odd thing. The sounds she made, while she was growing, reminded him of an awful lot of the sound of Rice Krispies from back home.

...

"Master Naofumi, just what kind of Filolial did you buy?" Raphtalia asked.

"How should I know? It was an egg lottery, not window shopping." Naofumi said. '_I should have known something was off the moment Filo ate all those bags of beans this morning!'_ Naofumi groaned. He'd thought the bird had only been hungry after putting in all that effort in being born. He hadn't realized it was a sign of high metabolism. "I have no idea what the hell she is…" '_I don't know if this is even normal for Filolials or not! Damn it! __We can't go back to Beloukas to check if this is normal! And we're definitely not going back to Firo!'_

"Pii! Pii!" Filo got back up, and ran up to Raphtalia. She pointed a wing at her beak and opened it, indicating she was still hungry.

"Um, Master Naofumi?!" Raphtalia asked nervously.

"What? You're the one who's supposed to be its mother. Not me." Naofumi said indifferently. He was still grouchy about losing sleep that morning.

"But that's not fair! You're supposed to be Filo's Father!" Raphtalia said pouting.

"I'm not her Father. And you're also the one that hunts the monsters." He added. "Me, all I can do is punch balloons."

…

Raphtalia was giving him a light glare. She didn't say anything, but he got the message. She would be very displeased with him if he didn't try to help her out. And if there was anything he didn't want to deal with, it was a displeased Raphtalia.

Naofumi sighed. "Fine, we can head back to where I managed to hide the wagon. I'm sure I'll be able to cook something up with all the monsters you killed today." Naofumi said blandly.

Raphtalia smiled, and ran up to Naofumi to hug him. "Thank you Naofumi!" She said happily.

'_I mean, Raphtalia did gather a lot of monster carcasses today. And we're both pretty hungry. I'm sure we'll have more than enough to feed Filo with.'_ He thought optimistically as he looked around at all the dead monsters.

* * *

_That night_

Filo sighed contentedly in her sleep, laying in a small nest of balloon scraps in the back of the wagon carriage. About fifteen feet away, a stunned Naofumi was looking down at the large empty pot he had cooked with… again, and again, and again... '_She ate… everything Raphtalia gathered today… and she was still hungry…'_

Pill Rabbits, Pikyu's, Porcupines, everything that had been in Raphtalia's inventory had been eaten by the bottomless pit named Filo. He'd honestly lost count after the tenth meal how many times he'd had to cook. He couldn't even remember if he'd had the chance to eat or not.

**Snap! Crackle! Pop!**

Again, he heard the painful Rice Krispy noises in the back of the carriage. He cringed at them and opened up the magic grimoire next to him. '_Maybe it'd be better to take my mind off of Filo for a while.'_ He thought to himself.

He pulled out the translation pad he and Raphtalia had made and tried to read the magic grimoire. For the next twenty or so minutes he had a rough time trying to translate what was next to an illustration to see if it was a spell he could learn or not. He got the message **Failed to Read** over and over again. He could make sense of some of the letters after some time using the translation pad, yet it was just a bunch of jargon to him.

"Urgh." He groaned, and he rubbed a hand to his forehead to try and alleviate the approaching headache. Learning another language from a different world was harder than he'd thought. And the fact that he hadn't gotten much sleep last night wasn't helping.

"Is there something wrong Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked as she appeared from the forest. She had several large porcupines she had stripped of their needles gripped in her hands. She'd gone hunting for more monsters in case Filo was still hungry.

"Yeah, the translation pad is helping, but this whole page I read is nothing but garbage. None of the letters look like they're in the right place." He said irritably. "I'm still failing to read it." _'It's like trying to use Google Translate on a dead language.'_ He thought bitterly. Thinking back to the time when he'd used the Internet tool to try and learn English more easily in college. He figured it was also because there were grammar rules and word placement rules and other types of rules he had to learn. Just his luck. Why couldn't he just learn the letters and be able to read this world's language like a scholar?

Raphtalia looked the page over. "Are you sure Master Naofumi?" She asked quizzically. "This is the page of text I learned Fast Light from."

Naofumi looked at Raphtalia in disbelief. "You're kidding. I didn't read anything about Fast Light." He said. _'Hell, I didn't read anything about anything!'_

Raphtalia crossed her eyebrows and pointed to a line of text on the page. "See, for me, it's right here." She said.

Naofumi looked at the sentence, and at the translation pad. It took him a little while to be able to read out what it said. "I still don't see anything about Fast Light written there." He said. It was just some garbage letters thrown together.

**Failed to Read**

_'Yeah yeah, I already got the message freaking magic grimoire. Stop badgering it into my brain already!'_

"Wait, I need to ask something. Can you tell if the letters are glowing or not?" Raphtalia asked.

Naofumi looked at her as if she'd grown a second head. "Are they supposed to be glowing?" He asked.

"Well, the rest of the page isn't glowing. And the other characters look like random letters or words to me. But here, the letters are glowing, and when I read them it's almost like they align themselves to make sense in my mind." Raphtalia said. "Kind of like magic that's meant for me."

Naofumi looked over the magic grimoire curiously at that. He flipped through the pages to see if it really was as simple as finding lines of glowing text. However, he groaned to himself when none of the lines of text stuck out to him. "It might also help if you were to put in some effort and read the text yourself, Master Naofumi," Raphtalia said, failing to hide the amusement from her voice.

"At the rate I'm going, I'm going to throw this book into the fire if it doesn't make sense anytime soon." He grumbled. "Or absorb it into my shield."

Despite the threat of being burned or consumed by fire, the magic grimoire still refused to give up its secrets to Naofumi.

**Failed to Read**

He swore it was mocking him.

"How about we take a break from translating for a while then." She suggested, taking the grimoire and translation tablet from his hands.

Naofumi grunted unhappily but didn't resist against Raphtalia's action. He instead brought out his compounding tools and got to work on compounding more medicines and potions.

…

"Master Naofumi, you seem to be making more medicines than usual lately."

"Yeah, I guess I am." He replied without looking away from his work. "If I want to pass for one of those traveling night merchants, I need something to sell to people." Naofumi pointed out.

"I, I guess," Raphtalia said unsurely. She looked down at her lap, her tail slowly moving side to side behind her. The sound of Filo's content sleeping sounded cutely from the back of the wagon.

Despite the day they'd had, Raphtalia still couldn't take her mind off of yesterday.

_"... humans are our Gods' natural creation for the world. But demi-humans aren't of our Gods." Firo explained simply. "You see when humans laid with monsters and animals, the filthy demi-humans were created. A vile abomination indeed." Firo said in disgust._

She looked down at her legs sadly. Naofumi hadn't brought up the incident last night. She hoped he'd never have to bring it up with her... _'That monster tamer was a vile man... but... he's right.'_ She thought sadly. _'My race and all the other demi-human races wouldn't have come into existence if it hadn't been for humans mixing together with monsters... we're not natural in this world...'_

"Is there something on your mind?" Naofumi asked.

"..."

Naofumi looked up from the HP Potion he'd just created to look at her. "Raphtalia?" He asked curiously.

Raphtalia snapped back to the present, and her cheeks flushed a little red from embarrassment. "Sorry." She quickly apologized.

"Don't be." Naofumi responded, going back to his next compound. "It looked like you were pretty deep in thought there."

"I…" Raphtalia sighed. "I was."

"Want to tell me what you were thinking about?" He asked.

_'Do I tell him... should I tell him?...' _She thought about it for a moment... "Just about the last couple of days since we left the Capital," Raphtalia said while looking off to the side. It wasn't completely a lie, but it wasn't a full truth either.

...

"It really has been a couple of days, hasn't it?" Naofumi asked. It was strange, it felt like a lot had already happened since they'd left the Capital. Yet, in reality, it hadn't been that much time. The timer with the hourglass on his menu said there were only 42 more days until the next wave.

"I want to think that we'll be able to get somewhere safe… but every time we separate in the forest, I've been afraid that another situation like what happened with the monster tamer, or what happened in the Capital will happen to you." She said sadly. "And that I won't be able to help you if that happens." That was closer to the truth.

Naofumi set his failed creation to the side of him (he still got failed creations every now and then) next to 6 HP Potions. Then he looked at Raphtalia. His eyes were soft, even if it did look like his face was still getting used to smiling again after frowning for so long. "You know I do my best to watch your HP bar when we're separated in case you get into trouble, right?" He asked.

It was close to what she'd wanted to hear. So close... but yet he didn't have the ability to read her mind. He probably wouldn't know unless she told him. "It's not the same…"

…

Naofumi gently slipped his hand into hers. "It's not." He agreed. "But it's my way of caring about you enough to try and protect you even when you're not with me." He said.

Raphtalia looked at him. Even though he hadn't mentioned yesterday... he still said he cared about her... a warm feeling filled her chest, and she gave him a soft smile. "Thank you Master Naofumi." She said appreciatively.

"No problem." He said. '_If a broken clock is right twice a day. I guess even a guy can get lucky and say the right thing to a girl.'_ Naofumi thought to himself.

…

"Um, Master Naofumi?"

"Yeah?" He asked.

"How… comfortable are you…" Raphtalia's face was flushing red. "With things going in our relationship right now?"

Naofumi looked down and realized he was still holding her hand. His face also started to turn red, now that he wasn't sure if she was comfortable with holding his hand or not. Even after cuddling with her a couple of nights ago. "Well, um, I'm not sure…" '_For so many different reasons…'_ "Why do you ask?"

"I'm not sure… my instincts are telling me one thing, but my mind is telling me another. And I don't want to do anything you're not comfortable with." She admitted.

'_Yeah… animal instincts... okay. We need to find an adult demi-human soon.'_ Naofumi thought to himself. He didn't want to delve fully into a relationship with Raphtalia now. And he definitely didn't want to step into a relationship with Raphtalia without her knowing what was an appropriate place to start in a relationship.

"How about tomorrow we continue what we're doing, and once Filo is large enough we'll head for the nearest town to sell some wares and find an adult female demi-human." Naofumi suggested.

Raphtalia looked at him curiously. "I understood the first part, but why would we need to find another demi-human? And why an adult?" She asked curiously.

"Because... your body and emotions have obviously gone through some changes," Naofumi said, doing his best not to sound embarrassed as he let go of her hand. He honestly wasn't sure what Raphtalia's instincts were telling her or how much she knew, but he didn't want to be caught up in them without Raphtalia having some constraints over them. And he definitely didn't want to check to see if she did know about… stuff. Damn, he was twenty years old and he was afraid to talk to a girl about the effects of puberty! "And I think it'd be best to learn from an adult of your race how to handle them." He finished.

Raphtalia looked curious at that and thought about it. "Yeah, I think that would be a good idea." She agreed.

Naofumi inwardly sighed with relief. '_I won't have to give her the birds and the bees talk after all.'_ He thought in relief.

...

"I'll take the first watch for tonight," Raphtalia said.

"Sounds good to me," Naofumi said, getting up from his log to walk to his sleeping bag. He was tired after today, and all he wanted to do now was sleep. And hope that Raphtalia didn't bring up any questions about relationships until after she'd learned about animal instincts and the like from other demi-humans. _'Man today was exhausting…'_

"And Naofumi."

He looked back over his shoulder at Raphtalia. "I love you." She said quietly.

...

He hadn't realized until that moment it hadn't been since before she got her slave crest back that she'd said those words to him.

"_Master Naofumi no one is forcing me." She said seriously. "I want you to be able to trust me at all times to never lie to you. Even about my feelings."_

Naofumi's mind returned to the present, and he finally smiled for her. "I know." He said back quietly before he laid down in his sleeping bag to fall asleep until his shift. Glad for more than one reason. "Goodnight Raphtalia."

"Goodnight."

...

Where Raphtalia sat on her log, she started to smile as well. '_He didn't say it back… he didn't mention yesterday to me... but at least he knows now that I'm serious about my feelings.'_ She thought, moving her hand over the slave crest on her chest. The crest that would have acted up if she had been lying.

'_And he didn't reject me, a demi-human, for having them.'_

It was progress.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I think I mentioned how a guest reviewer suggested an idea for Motoyasu a couple of chapters ago. I had been wondering about what I should do with him. I mean I had an idea for later, but what would he be acting like now under the butterfly effect? Then I realized, since Naofumi isn't there to try and clean up his mess, and with him still under the effects of his major character flaw (trusting in friends decisions more than his own), I decided three days ago he should face the consequences of his actions for when he trusts Myne to make him a hero and added that scene at the beginning of the chapter.**

**Aw man these upcoming chapters have me shaking in my shoes! I feel like Beloukas when he's close to making a big reveal! Just keep on making those suggestions whether by review or PM! And remember to click on that favorite and follow button!**

**Now. Cue the silly omake scene!**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

_**Wake Up Master Naofumi!**_

* * *

"Wake Up Master Naofumi!"

Raphtalia stood over Naofumi who was dead asleep in his sleeping bag. "You need to wake up! Your egg is going to hatch at any moment!"

"Huhhh!" Naofumi yawned loudly into his hand. "Five more minutes Raphtalia." He said drowsily as he rolled over in his sleep.

"Master Naofumi, get up, now!" Raphtalia said irritably. Her tail was bushed out behind her.

"Ughhhh…" Naofumi rolled over again.

With one hard tug, Raphtalia pulled the sleeping bag out from under Naofumi, putting him in contact with the cold hard ground. "Just wake up already! I'm being serious!"

Naofumi continued to doze. An anime bubble appeared from his nose. Increasing and decreasing in size as he breathed in and out against the hard ground.

"This isn't funny Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled as she raised Naofumi by the shoulders and shook him.

"Huuaahhhh!" Naofumi snored to her face.

"MASTER NAOFUMI!" Raphtalia tried slapping him across the face. Whether because of his high defense stat, or how tired Naofumi was, he still refused to wake up. He continued to snore instead.

"AUGHHHHHHHH!" Raphtalia raised Naofumi off the ground and shook him in the air above her. Showcasing her immense strength. "YOUR FILOLIAL EGG IS ABOUT TO HATCH! WAKE UP! DAMN IT! I SAID WAKE UP NAOFUMI!" Raphtalia yelled.

"Huahhhhhhh!" Naofumi snored again whilst being shaken around.

Over near the fire, the monster egg cracked, and then it burst open. "Piiu!" Filo, the small pink feathered fledgling black hole, cried out happily. Then she looked around curiously when she saw no one around. "Piiu?"

"MASTER NAOFUMI!"

Filo looked over behind her. Mommy was now slamming daddy's back into a tree again and again. The tree shook with each hit, dropping leaves around the pair. "DAMN IT! THIS ISN'T FUNNY! WAKE UP ALREADY NAOFUMI!"

"Huahhhhhhh!" Naofumi continued to snore despite his body being smashed into the tree repeatedly.

Filo watched for a moment more, and then looked down at her stomach worriedly. "Piiu?" If her parents weren't aware that she'd hatched, did that mean it'd be a while before she was fed?

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	16. 16: The Start of the Nocturnal Doctor

**We broke both the 500 Favorites and 600 Followers Milestones this past week! This makes me genuinely happy. I also like the comments people had on Motoyasu! I think you all can guess at this point which hero will have a scene in this chapter, so I won't spoil it and allow you all to get to reading!**

**On a side note, at the time I'm doing my final edits on this, it is passing 11:00 on Armistice Day for me here. Here's to hoping for world peace.**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _31 more Favorites, 38 more Followers (Total: 526 Favorites, 611 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _November 11th, 2019 1:30 P.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen:** _T__he Start of the Nocturnal Doctor_

* * *

Morning_ Two Days Later (40 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"Whoa… is that..."

"Master Naofumi, why is Filo… different?"

Raphtalia and Naofumi looked up at the two and a half meter tall, owl-shaped, white-feathered Filolial named Filo. "Gwah!" She squealed happily. Her voice box had changed just like the rest of her.

"No wonder why she's been eating so much," Naofumi muttered to himself. _'And to think she only hatched two days ago…'_

The past two days had seen the three of them continuing on through the forest. Avoiding being seen by others. Grinding out monster levels. Reading the magic grimoire and medical recipe books together in the morning and evening, going over Melromarc's characters along with a few basic rules, gathering herbs here and there... And watching Filo grow from the pink fledgling form she had been before to the tallest whitest Filolial either of them had ever seen. And that was before this latest transformation that shrunk her down just a little bit but widened her out so that she looked like a large deadly owl.

Naofumi was very inclined to believe Raphtalia when she said that Filo's growth was definitely not normal.

"Gwah!" Filo looked around herself. She was currently at level 23.

"I guess we'll have to drop selling monster carcasses whenever we go to a village," Naofumi said with a sigh.

"She eats so much, and she grew so fast," Raphtalia said in amazement.

Filo affectionately rubbed her head against Naofumi's hair, which annoyed him. Then, after doing that for a few seconds, she started to rub her head affectionately with Raphtalia, who very much enjoyed it. "But at least her nature hasn't changed with her growth," Raphtalia said happily. Petting the large Filo behind her ears.

"Gwah!" Filo squealed happily.

"Yeah, as long as she doesn't try to eat us," Naofumi commented to himself.

..

Raphtalia's eyes widened when she realized what Naofumi had said. "Master Naofumi!"

"Relax, I'm kidding," Naofumi said lightly.

"Save that kind of joking around for when your daughter isn't around to hear you." She scolded him.

"Gwah?"

"I don't know, isn't Filo supposed to be your daughter?" Naofumi said pointedly. While Filo was affectionate to both of them and was constantly seeking their attention when they weren't hunting or traveling, Naofumi still found it a little ridiculous that a monster would think of itself as his daughter. So he was trying his best to not tie himself to such foolish nonsense.

"Eep!" Raphtalia started blushing really hard and fully turned her face to push it into Filo's fluffy neck. _'Filo can't think of both of us as her parents! Then she might encourage us to be more affectionate with each other, and then Master Naofumi might kiss me on the lips, and then… and then I could end up getting pregnant and we'd really be parents! Aughhh!'_

"Gwah?" Filo looked confusedly down at the Tanuki girl, and then up at Naofumi. He gave her a shrug. "Beats me. I don't know what her deal is half the time." He said. _'And the other half of the time, I just guess and hope I get something right.'_

Although Filo couldn't speak or use body language, she seemed to understand Raphtalia and him well enough. A happy smile spread across her face. "Gwah!"

"Now that you're fully grown, how do you feel about pulling the wagon today Filo?" Naofumi asked more cheerfully. _'I'm so glad I won't have to lug that thing anymore. My shield might make me stronger than the average person, but I can only pull so fast for so long.' _Which was about, approximately, a half-mile an hour with the time he spent resting at his level.

Stars appeared in Filo's eyes. Gwah!" She squealed happily. Her life's dream of two days was finally coming true! She'd get to pull her very own wagon!

Raphtalia finally pulled back from Filo. She was still slightly blushing, but she also looked a little nervous. "Maybe I could go and hunt for monsters again before we travel-" She suggested.

"Oh no, I'm not having any of that," Naofumi said. "We're going to travel further away from the Capital and stop by a town to sell off our wares and get supplies. Besides, I want to get you used to travel by cart without using the medicine."

"But, but-" Raphtalia tried to find an excuse not to ride along in the wagon.

"Come on. I promise it won't be as bad as last time." Naofumi said encouragingly.

Raphtalia looked nervously at the wagon. Filo's greatest gift, and her greatest bane. "Well... As long as Filo takes it gently." She said.

* * *

"Blech!"

Raphtalia heaved over the side of the moving wagon again. _'Filo is not taking this gently. She is so not taking it gently.'_ She weakly thought to herself. Her stomach churned more inside her before she put her head over the side and heaved again.

Naofumi grimaced at the speed Filo was taking them down the road and at the fact that Raphtalia was already vomiting thirty minutes into the ride. He couldn't even focus enough to go over the alphabet with all the rocking. He also hoped that he didn't have to clean off the side of the wagon, though he could worry about that later. "Filo, I said slow down five minutes ago!" Naofumi yelled.

"Guahh?!" Filo yelled back almost as if she was saying 'what?!'

"Slow down! You're killing Raphtalia back here!" He yelled angrily.

"Please… mercy…" Raphtalia said beggingly.

Filo's Filolial face pouted, but she finally listened and slowed down to a more gentle trot for mommy's sake. Naofumi sighed in relief. "Honestly, the last thing we need is a speeding Filolial to break through the town gates before I can show the trader's pass," Naofumi muttered to himself as he took out his recipe book and translation pad. _'Or a sick Raphtalia puking all over the town guard as I present it…'_

...

"Master Naofumi, I still don't feel so good." Raphtalia moaned.

Naofumi looked up at the sick looking Raphtalia. She looked ready to hurl again despite sitting on the driver's bench with him and having Filo go at a slower pace. He sighed and pulled on the reins. "Filo, stop here for a moment."

"Gwah!?" Filo looked shocked that they already had to stop. However, at seeing the sick look on mommy's face... and the hard look on daddy's, she decided it'd be best to stop pulling.

As soon as the wagon stopped, Raphtalia put a hand to her mouth, jumped off the wagon, and disappeared into the bushes. The sick sounds that came from the bushes would haunt Naofumi's nightmares in the years to come. Much like Filo's meal with the frog monster.

"Damn. I hope I can get Raphtalia used to riding around in the wagon quickly. I don't want to lose all my medical supplies doing this peddling business." Naofumi said with a defeated sigh, pulling out another anti-nausea medicine flask from his inventory. They could pause here for as long as it was needed. The sun was still rising in the sky. If he wanted to fulfill his role as a night merchant when he arrived in the town, he'd set up shop after the sunset. Not before…

He checked the side of the wagon, and sighed as he got to work cleaning off the mess Raphtalia had made heaving over the side. _'I really hope I can get her used to riding in the wagon quickly.'_

…

…

Sometime later, a pale looking Raphtalia finally stumbled out of the bushes. Naofumi had finished cleaning the side of the wagon and was sitting in the driver's seat waiting for her. She sat down numbly next to Naofumi, waiting for the horrendous order for them to continue onward. "Here, drink this," Naofumi ordered.

Raphtalia drank from the medicine flask, flinching again at the bitter taste of the effective anti-nausea medicine going down her throat. "I wish... your cooking skills... extended over to your medicine making skills." Raphtalia weakly commented.

Naofumi genuinely laughed, which helped to put a small smile back on Raphtalia's face since it was rare for her master to laugh so fully. "And risk you and Filo draining my medicine reserves as fast as my food reserves, no thank you." He said lightly before looking back down at the grimoire.

…

"Are you calling me fat?" Raphtalia asked with a pout on her face.

"You already asked me before, and I gave you my answer," Naofumi said without looking up.

"But you never answered me on whether you prefer your women stout or not," Raphtalia whined.

"I definitely prefer them not acting and whining like little kids," Naofumi said.

"I do not act like a little kid!" Raphtalia's tail bushed angrily behind her. The medicine was already working wonders on her, especially since the wagon wasn't moving yet. The game-like mechanics in this world really did come in handy.

"Sure you don't," Naofumi said sarcastically. "Now come on. I want to make sure I can remember the Melromarc alphabet before we get to the village." He said, holding the wooden translation tablet between them again. "You can pull again Filo. Just keep it at a slower pace for now." He ordered.

Filo, though slightly angry at not being allowed to pull with all her might, followed her daddy's orders.

Raphtalia, though still wanting to pout, gave way when the wagon started moving again and immediately cuddled into Naofumi's side. The medicine combined with his steady heartbeat and the less bumpy front of the wagon finally allowed Raphtalia to keep her nausea at bay. And together they started to go over the symbols of the Melromarc alphabet.

With both of them slightly blushing at the fact that they had to cuddle the rest of the trip.

* * *

_That night_

"Thank you so much good sir!" An older looking gentleman said while bowing to the now hooded Naofumi.

"No problem," Naofumi said as he deposited the silver coins into a pouch. "Hope it's good enough to help your wife." He dryly replied from beside his almost empty wagon.

Again, the man bowed to him before he turned away from Naofumi's stand to disappear into the night. Much like all the other customers that had come shortly after setting up shop when the sun had set. _'This idea is working out better than I expected. No one recognizes who I am because of how dark it is.'_ Naofumi thought.

Naofumi glanced at the ball of light Raphtalia had used to help light up their stall area. She had toned down the brightness so it looked like a floating lantern instead of the freaking sun. It turned out that the people here thought that the Shield Demon was supposed to act like a demon. He passed completely under their radar for one, acting like a civilized human merchant, and two, having one of the most kind-hearted people in the world assisting him.

"The people here are really nice," Raphtalia commented happily in the back of the wagon as she pulled out another crate of medicine. She had Naofumi's old hooded cloak wrapped around her to disguise her face, and to hide her tail and Tanuki ears. The dark night and the soft light helped make her look surprisingly... human.

… Naofumi grimaced. Not because of anything demi-human related. But rather at the fact that, to his chagrin, Raphtalia had sold much more of their stock of medicine than he had. He no longer had the loli loving people excuse to blame for it either. His time spent completely hiding away had allowed Raphtalia the opportunity to handle all of their transactions and to truly flourish as his liaison with merchants wherever they'd traveled before the first wave.

He made a promise to himself to improve again in that regard.

"Seems like it. We've had no troublemakers so far." Naofumi said as he looked at the night sky up above. He guessed it was somewhere between midnight and one in the morning. They'd arrived shortly after sunset, and, after setting up their stall, they'd had a steady flow of customers right after. It turned out the people had known the significance of a night merchant visiting town. However, the line of customers had dwindled as the night grew longer. _'Maybe I should send Raphtalia off to get supplies from any stalls that are still open. I could keep the place open for a little longer on my own before we leave to camp somewhere away from town.'_ No one had recognized them because of the darkness, but he couldn't be too careful.

With Filo dozing off in the stables next to them, it'd be hard for them to make a quick escape. Even if the town's guard hadn't realized he was the Shield Hero thanks to him hiding his shield under his robes on his back again, even if he wasn't recognized since he was in a different part of the country, and even if he'd taken off the breastplate part of the armor while keeping his cloak on so he could look like a normal night merchant; he had to play it safe. At least until he was sure he wouldn't be recognized.

"I just wish we'd see one adult demi-human." Naofumi muttered to himself.

He'd seen some of the villagers that looked more on the noble side with a couple of demi-human kid slaves. But he had as of yet to find another adult demi-human.

"Well... Grown-up Demi-humans are rare to find so close to the Capital due to all the persecution we receive Master Naofumi." Raphtalia pointed out. "I'm sure as we get further away from the Capital, we'll be able to find another demi-human."

Naofumi was about to ask her more about it when he saw another villager come running out of the darkness. The man looked like he was in a hurry. "Sir! I just received word! Are you the night merchant that entered our town today?!" He asked frantically.

_'What the hell?'_ "Yes, I am," Naofumi said dryly.

"Please sir, my child, she's deathly sick! I have no idea what's wrong with her, and neither does the town Elders!" The man continued frantically.

Naofumi looked caught off guard at the man's begging. "Slow down. I merely make my medicines, I'm no doctor-" Naofumi tried to say.

"Please, sir!" The man got down on his knees and held his hands up imploringly. "I've already lost my wife to the waves. I can't lose my daughter too. She's the only family I have left. Please, I'm begging you!"

…

"Where did your wife die?" Naofumi asked. _'Was she one of the few that died in Lute Village?'_ He thought to himself.

The man looked down at the ground. "She died a brave adventurer, helping out her people in the region of Seaetto to the west." He said sadly.

Raphtalia gasped, and Naofumi looked to her. She looked shocked at hearing the name of the region she was from. "Alright," Naofumi said down to the man, who looked up in surprise. "Take me to your daughter. I'll do the best I can." He said.

Tears filled the man's eyes, and he quickly bowed to Naofumi again. "Thank you! Thank you so much! I'll make sure to pay you for your services!" He said gratefully.

"We'll talk about payment after I see her," Naofumi said blandly. He threw the pouch of silver coins to Raphtalia. "Raphtalia, get supplies while I'm gone. I should be back in a bit." He said, gathering several different types of medicines and potions from the stand that he had had on display.

"Right." Raphtalia obeyed.

Once Naofumi was sure he had all the types of medicines and potions he'd made, he approached the man. "Let's move. Your daughter doesn't have all night." Naofumi said a little irritably to the man. Yeah, he definitely had to work on being more nice and approachable. Until then, he'd be doomed to be outsold by his nice, beautiful, female Tanuki companion.

"Yes, thank you, right this way!" He said, quickly running up the road for the town square.

Naofumi ran off after the man, leaving Raphtalia at the wagon behind him. He held his cloak close to himself to keep his hood from flying off and the shield hiding on his back from showing. _'I hope this isn't a trap set by the Capital or the Three Heroes Church.'_ He thought. _'But if it isn't, and if his wife did die while defending people from the waves, then I have to see if I can help his daughter out or not.'_

…

After a couple of minutes, he and the man entered what Naofumi guessed to be the man's home. He noticed it was close to the center of town and was a little bigger than the rest. As he walked in, he saw a couple of old men who were conversing quietly to themselves at the table. _'I'm guessing these are the town Elders.'_

"How is she? How is my beautiful Petal?" The man asked.

The elders stopped talking and looked at the man with sad eyes. "We still cannot identify what it is she has. Even if we could, we fear it's too late."

"Her breaths are far too weak to continue supporting her, and her coughing fits aren't helping her. It is only a matter of time before her lungs succumb to the sickness completely." Another of them said sadly, defeatedly.

"We're afraid that she won't survive the night." The last Elder said depressedly. "All we can do is try to make her last few hours as comfortable as we can…"

…

Tears started falling down the man's face. "No, please, not my beautiful Petal…" He buried his face in his hands. "I can't lose her too…"

…

"Where's her room?" Naofumi finally asked in a dry tone.

The Elders finally noticed Naofumi was there. He pulled his hood further over his face to hide it in shadow. "I'm here to help her if I can," Naofumi said determinedly.

"But, but the patient could be contagious. Without proper preparations, we're afraid even a human could-" One of the Elders was trying to say.

"Tell me where she is," Naofumi said, his voice harder than before. The girl's father looked at him hopefully. "Or would you prefer this girl to die?"

…

"Do you really think you can help?" The head Elder asked.

"I have to see her first to determine that," Naofumi said logically. He was no doctor, but he had medicine, the skills needed to boost their effects, and a very handy shield. Maybe he could do something to help here.

…

The Elders moved to the side, revealing the door that had been behind them. "She's back there." One of them said.

"Please, help her." One of the more humble of the three asked pleadingly. "For our Lord's sake." He added, pointing to the Father.

Naofumi silently noted the Father as being the Lord of the Town and walked past them to enter the room. Thinking about it, the house, for a Lord's house, was rather plain. Wood floors, wood furniture, almost a complete lack of decorations in general. He had to be among the poorer set of Lords in the country.

He closed the door behind him, and finally looked inside. He mentally gasped at the sight.

It was a closed-off room, but with more color than the rest of the house. The walls were painted to look like a meadow in the middle of the forest. A small carving of what looked like a fairy resting on a nightstand held a lantern in its grip. The light from the lamp illuminated the small bed in the room. Lying in it was what looked like a little eight-year-old girl. Her skin was pale and covered in sweat. Her chest weakly moved up and down under her thin blanket as she breathed. Her arms, resting above the blanket, were small, almost delicate. She had long black unkempt hair spread out like a blanket on her pillow. Hair that didn't hide the familiar Tanuki ears on top of her head.

_'A... a demi-human… but he said his wife…'_

Naofumi made the connection based on what was said earlier. _'His wife was a demi-human.'_ He looked down at the girl, looking baffled. _'So her parents…'_

The little girl coughed weakly and turned her head to blearily look at her guest. Naofumi approached and got on one knee next to the bed to examine the little girl. The girl weakly opened her eyes to look at him. Her pupils were green, dulled from the pain of her sickness. She looked too weak to speak.

"Petal, is it?" He asked softly. He decided to throw his developing thoughts about what he'd discovered out the window and felt the girl's forehead. She coughed again but weakly nodded her head in response. He used an appraisal skill he'd gotten from one of the shields he'd unlocked by absorbing his old compounding set to check her status.

_'Her forehead is hot… and her coughs…'_ The name of the sickness appeared in his menu. He might have not seen the title for Raphtalia's ailment when he first got her... but he got the distinct feeling that what he was seeing now were the advanced stages of the same illness she'd had.

"You're going to be okay Petal. I promise." Naofumi said quietly, taking out a flask of medicine and an HP potion from his inventory. Using an alchemy skill, he poured the HP Potion into the same type of medicine he'd used to cure Raphtalia long ago, hoping that it would provide the boost needed to help this little girl overcome her advanced illness. The medicine fizzled in his flask, but he quickly received a notification saying the combination had been a success. The quality went up from Very Good to Exceptional. "I just need you to trust me. Will you drink this for me Petal?"

…

Slowly, the little girl nodded her head and opened her mouth to drink the medicine.

* * *

_A few minutes later_

The Father, the Lord of the Village, was pacing in front of the door expectantly. The town Elders sat at a table. Two of them were looking at the door sadly. The last one looked like he was praying…

…

The door finally slid open, and Naofumi stepped out. The Father immediately stopped his pacing and stared at Naofumi expectantly. "Is she… were you able to…" His throat closed up on him, the sobs wanting to escape. Whether from grief or relief, the man didn't know. "Will... will she be..."

"Daddy?"

Before Naofumi could speak, a little girl in blue pajamas, holding a familiar stuffed version of the Legendary Shield, appeared beside Naofumi. Though her skin still looked pale, color was gradually returning to it. She rubbed tiredly at her eyes, her tanuki ears sticking out from her disheveled hair. Her tail trailed tiredly on the floor behind her. "What's going on?" She asked before yawning.

The Elders all stood up from their chairs at the same time.

"He did it."

"He brought her back from the brink of death."

"It's a miracle from God..."

The Father's relieved sobs overran all of what they said, and he quickly got down on one knee to hug his precious daughter to his chest. "Oh Petal! My sweet beautiful little girl!" He cried happily.

Naofumi pulled his hood farther over his head and turned away to hide his smile. _'Thank goodness I was right.'_ He thought to himself. It'd taken longer than normal, and he almost thought the addition of the HP Potion did nothing to help, but it had worked. The girl's status showed she was cured, and she was heading back to full health. Again, it was a good thing this world had game-like mechanics to it.

"Daddy, I'm hungry." Petal tiredly complained to her father. Her stomach growled loudly in agreement at that moment. "And I want to get rid of the bitter taste of that stuff that weird man gave me." She complained.

_'Even her reaction after recovering was the same as Raphtalia's.'_ Naofumi thought humorously to himself. Despite being weak, Petal had almost gagged and coughed up the valuable medicine right after taking it. The damn girl was about as spoiled as Raphtalia.

He didn't know why, but he could have sworn he heard Raphtalia next to him asking if he was thinking something rude.

"Here's the rest of what I gave her, in case the disease returns," Naofumi said, grabbing the man's attention. He gave the flask to the still crying man. "Make sure that her lungs stay clear, and that she stays active at least an hour a day. She'll have a better chance of fighting off the sickness again if she stays in good shape." Somehow, without being a doctor, he knew exactly what to say. He made a note to himself to look through those medical shields again. He might have overlooked something from them.

Then again, if he was right, then he would just be gaining another one of the skills needed to become a butler to his party.

The Father looked at the flask, then at his girl, and then back up at Naofumi. "Thank you. Thank you so much." He said, almost choking on his grateful sobs.

Naofumi continued to stare calmly down. He was beginning to think that maybe there'd be another benefit of being a traveling night merchant. If he did things like this enough, he could help to turn his reputation around. '_However, that would also mean me having to reveal my identity to people… and I don't trust others enough to reveal who I am to them.'_

"It's nothing," Naofumi said blandly. "I'm still expecting to be paid."

"No, what you did here wasn't nothing. You have done something amazing today." One of the Town Elders said.

Naofumi grimaced under his hood. _'All three of them are wearing rosaries. I doubt they'd be saying that if they knew who I was. Besides, aren't they supposed to hate demi-humans?'_ Maybe the indoctrination that Firo had spouted out at Naofumi didn't cover every follower in Melromarc...

"How much is it that I owe you?" The Father asked.

"One silver was how much I was charging for this batch of medicine," Naofumi responded, he then thought it over in his mind. "But that's the only thing I'll charge you for." He added. _'Raphtalia would kill me if I tried overcharging him for helping his daughter.'_ He thought in his mind.

The Father stood back up and handed Naofumi a small pouch. Naofumi opened it up and was surprised to find two dozen silver coins instead of one. "Take them. As my thanks for what you did today." The man said gratefully. "My daughter is worth more to me than any money in the whole world."

Naofumi looked at the bag, and then up at the Father and the Elders. He gave them a small nod, and then he walked out the front door out into the night without another word. Because he didn't trust himself to speak at that moment. He was afraid he would have broken down from the amount of kindness they had shown him. _'Thank you.'_ Naofumi thought gratefully in his mind.

...

"What a strange man." One of the Elders said.

"He seems a little rough around the edges if you ask me." Another Elder said.

"I could barely see what he looked like under that hood of his." The last Elder said ponderingly to himself. "Maybe he's trying to hide his face..."

"I don't care who he is or what he's like." The Father said, making the three town Elders look to him. He smiled down at his daughter who was still tiredly clinging to his leg. "He went out of his way and risked himself to this disease to save my daughter. As the Lord of this area, I will never forget the kindness this... Nocturnal Doctor gave me today, and I will send word of his exploits so others like me may seek his help when he arrives in their towns."

* * *

Naofumi took his time walking through the town in the darkness. He wasn't afraid of anyone trying to mug him. Even if someone did try, their attack was bound to be far weaker than his defense. And besides that, Filo and Raphtalia's HP bars showed nothing was wrong on their end. He could be allowed a moment to ponder to himself while walking alone in the darkness.

_'Damn. I didn't find a single adult demi-human while I was here… But I can't argue that our time in this town wasn't wasted.'_ He thought to himself.

It had been almost surreal. He had always pictured that other people would frown or spit upon him for being the Shield Hero. He never thought outside of the small instance at Lute and a few other rare exceptions that people could be kind, much less grateful for having him around… granted he hadn't revealed to some of them who he was, but it still surprised him that the people of this town were happy and grateful that he had come.

Even if most of them had bought from Raphtalia instead of him.

_'Part of this world still sucks… but at least I'm finding that there are more good parts to it.'_ He thought. The smiling Lord and his demi-human daughter came to mind. And a smile slowly worked its way onto his face.

…

He walked out of an alleyway and found himself next to the stables where the wagon was parked. Raphtalia was setting the last of their merchandise and the supplies she had purchased into the back when her ears flicked in his direction. "How did it go Master Naofumi?" She asked curiously as she turned around.

"Great." He said. "I was able to cure his daughter's illness. And he paid me for saving her." He said, handing Raphtalia the pouch.

"That's nice…" Raphtalia trailed off when she saw the two dozen silver coins in the pouch. "And did you overcharge him for your services?" She asked, putting a hand on her hip as she glared at Naofumi.

"Of course I didn't. I only requested one silver. He insisted on thanking me." Naofumi said. Raphtalia continued to glare at him. "Hey, I'm being honest!" He said truthfully.

Raphtalia's glare disappeared. "Alright. I believe you." Maybe it was a good thing that she could read him so well at times. "I just didn't want to think you were taking advantage of him." She said, adding the coins to the pouch he had given her earlier. He took his shield out, and she absorbed the pouch of coins into it.

"You know I'm too kind to do something like that," Naofumi said before hiding his shield again.

"I like it that you can be kind. But sometimes, I can't help but worry that this world will take that kindness away from your heart and that in turn will take you far away from me." She said sadly. Thinking back to the time in the duel arena when he had been lying on the ground. Crushed by the hate everyone there had projected onto him.

...

"You know as long as I have you here with me Raphtalia that I'm not going that direction again." She didn't respond to that. "Besides, the guy's daughter was a Tanuki. I couldn't find it in myself to charge the guy."

Raphtalia looked to him in surprise at that. He smiled a little bashfully. "Apparently, his wife was a Tanuki." He explained. "Hell, I was trying to undercharge him for helping out saying the medicine was only one silver." He joked at the end. Combined with the HP Potion, the medicine had easily been worth around 5 Silver. Give or take a silver or two.

"Did you find out what the daughter's name was!?" Raphtalia quickly asked him.

"Um… Petal I think." Naofumi said, wondering why Raphtalia was suddenly so curious.

Tears entered her eyes, and she covered her face. Naofumi looked surprised as Raphtalia started to cry. "Is there something wrong Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked worriedly.

_'One of my friends didn't go into slavery… I'm so happy.'_ Raphtalia thought to herself. Petal hadn't been as old as Keel, Rifana, and herself. But she and the other little kids had always been fun to play with at the village. To hear that even one of them was safe with her father filled Raphtalia with relief.

"Raphtalia, did you know this girl?" Naofumi asked.

Raphtalia wiped the last few tears from her eyes before finally smiling for him again. "Yes… Thank you, Naofumi." Even after hearing Melromarc's story about how her people had come into existence, she was happy that Naofumi had gone out of his way to help a demihuman.

He gave her a head pat and smiled as her tail started wagging happily behind her. "It's no problem. Now go wake up Filo. It's getting late, and I want to get a few miles out of town before we rest." Naofumi said.

"Okay, I'll be back in a bit," Raphtalia said happily before walking into the stables to wake up Filo. She wanted to see her friend again. But that could wait until after she and Naofumi were no longer fugitives. Besides, she doubted Petal would recognize her now. She could be happy with the knowledge that she was okay.

'_I wish I could stay at the inn here.'_ He stretched his back out. '_However, I don't think that'd be wise. Being a criminal of the Capital and all that. I'll wait until I'm sure we aren't recognized in this part of the country before we stay in a town's inn.'_

Naofumi leaned against the side of the wagon. _'To think the person I helped out was someone Raphtalia knew…'_

He smiled at that thought. It was good to do something nice for Raphtalia after everything she had done for him. '_Hell. With how much money we made today, we should be well on our way to getting enough supplies and equipment for the next wave… and you know what, maybe I'd be better suited for making personal house visits to help out sick people while Raphtalia runs the stand. It'll be for the better.'_ He thought. He could already tell his reputation as a night merchant was going to receive a major boost for some reason. All he had to do now was keep going and work farther away from the Capital.

…

…

After a few minutes, he looked to the doors of the stables. '_What's taking her so long.'_ He thought skeptically to himself. He had no idea what time it was at this point, but he was beginning to feel pretty tired, and he wanted to be in a secluded clearing out in the woods as soon as possible so he could rest in the back of the wagon. '_This is ridiculous. How could it be hard to wake that big fat KFC farm up?'_

He walked up to the open doors and peeked inside. "Hey, Raphtalia, what's taking so long?" He asked.

Raphtalia didn't look to him. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was open in disbelief. Staring at the stall Filo was supposed to be resting in. "Um, master… master Naofumi?" She asked nervously.

Naofumi got a confused look on his face and approached Raphtalia. "What is it? All I did was tell you to wake up Filo-"

He stopped speaking mid-sentence, most likely out of shock. In the stall he had put the large owl-shaped bird to rest in, there was now a little naked blonde girl sleeping in its place. Curled up in the hay of the stall.

'_WHAT THE HELL!? WHERE DID FILO GO!? WHY THE HELL IS THERE A NAKED LOLI SLEEPING IN HER PLACE?! WHAT THE HELL!?'_ He'd already thought that last part in the beginning. But he was so shocked it was like his mind was set on repeat.

"Raphtalia, where's Filo?" Naofumi asked, trying to keep his voice calm. While also trying not to portray how much internally his mind was freaking out.

"I, um, I…" Raphtalia tried to find something to say.

"Huaaaa!" The little girl in the hay yawned loudly and opened her eyes. They were a startling blue color, a very familiar blue. Before either of them could make the connection, the little girl sat up, her long blonde hair covering her chest. A happy innocent smile came onto her face. "Master! Master! Hi!" She said happily to both of them. Addressing them both as Master.

...

"W-What? W-Who are you!?" Naofumi yelled.

"Master Naofumi?! What happened to our Filolial?!" Raphtalia finally managed to say.

The little girl tipped her head to the side confusedly. "Don't you recognize me? It's me. Filo."

…

Raphtalia and Naofumi looked at each other. Their faces equal mixtures of shock and confusion. "There's no way," Naofumi muttered. '_Just what the hell kind of egg did that Slave Trader sell me?!'_ He thought.

"It's not possible," Raphtalia said back. The two looked back to the naked girl.

...

Filo tilted her head to the side. "Can I have something to eat?" Filo asked innocently.

…

'_It's definitely her…'_ Naofumi thought with a groan inside his mind.

This was going to be a longer night than he'd thought.

* * *

_Somewhere across the country_

"Hah!"

The large boss frog monster screeched as the Legendary Sword cut off one of its six arms. Ren jumped back, avoiding another fist that slammed into the ground, leaving a crater where it hit. He had a calm look on his face as he landed, and then lithely jumped out of the way of the tongue that followed up the punch.

_'This is definitely the boss. He's faster and stronger than all the other monsters in this forest.'_

A purple arrow pointed down at the Large Frog Monster. It was level 45 and was at half health. Besides the cut off arm, it also had gashes on two of its other arms, and a large gash on one of its two legs. It roared in frustration at Ren.

Ren ran diagonally, avoiding a spit attack. _'But it's not fast enough.'_

He zigzagged, avoiding another spit attack, the tongue, and one of its fists as it tried to crush him into the ground. Ren then used the arm as a support to jump and slice out one of the frog monster's eyes as he flew over one of its hulking shoulders. It screeched again as half of its vision disappeared. It looked around frantically for the human that was killing it.

"Now, **ThunderBolt Slash!**"

From behind while still in the air, Ren slashed his sword, releasing the skill. The skill sliced into the monster's back. It's screeching immediately cut off as the electric attack shocked it, causing all of its muscles to clench up.

Ren landed on the ground, dug his heels into the soft dirt, and sped forward in a burst of speed. He leveled his sword at the monster's back while it was paralyzed. "**Light Thrust!**"

Ren's sword glowed white before forming a light sword twice it's size in his grip. He sped forward with the sword and buried it to the hilt into the large frog monster's back. The tip of the Light Sword burst out of its chest. The other uninjured eye widened in shock and a dying screech came from the monster. Finally, after a moment, it's remaining eye became like glass. The monster teetered to the side and fell with a great crash.

Ren calmly breathed in and looked down at the frog monster with the same bored expression that was normally on his face. "Well, that was disappointing." An experience notification appeared next to Ren's head. His level went up from 49 to 50. Ren pulled his sword out of the dead monster and returned it to its sheath on his back. "Let's see if this boss had any good drops."

…

While Ren was checking the monster's carcass for drops, he could hear the sounds of fighting nearby. His party members, who were busy dealing with some of the lower leveled monsters, were busy grinding. This was normally how it worked. Ren would go after the stronger monsters in an area while his party members would grind using the lower leveled monsters.

For some reason, they had offered to help Ren with the frog boss. Ren, however, had done as he normally did and assigned them to fight the other lower leveled monsters in the area. Ones they were capable of fighting against at their levels. It was like how a guild leader would assign the weaker party members to fight in areas suited to them, and Ren was the guild leader who preferred fighting alone. They had looked disappointed, but Ren didn't pay it much mind. They needed to fight for themselves if they wanted to level up.

Ren worked the leveling system like he did when he'd played Brave Star Online. By setting the party settings so that party members didn't share experience unless they took down a monster together. Meaning they got no experience from the monsters Ren killed by himself. Ren did this not to be selfish with his experience points. Rather he did it so that his NPC party members could get better at fighting instead of just relying on their levels. He'd seen too many gamers rely on parties in other games to power themselves up, only to lose easy battles since they had no actual experience in fighting. As a hero, he could rely more on leveling up since he got way higher stats with each level up than NPCs. But as NPC's, their programs needed to get more used to learning the various styles of combat.

'_It's for their own good. They'd only get in my way if they never learned to fight like a real person.'_ He thought.

Shortly after that thought, a memory pushed into his mind.

_"Hey, Ren!"_

_Ren was almost to the stairs leading back down from the wall when he turned around to look back at Naofumi. "Just remember that this isn't a game! If you or Itsuki die trying to help me and Raphtalia, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself!"_

Ren shook his head, clearing the memory away. _'I know Naofumi went through a lot in the last month, but he honestly can't believe that this world isn't a game.'_

He could still see the status magic icon in the corner of his screen. He had just brought down a boss monster. He was picking up its drops from its dead carcass and absorbing them into his sword. His current sword had gained weapon experience that he could use to upgrade his swords. He was on his way to take down an end game boss. This was too game like to be real.

_'Then again, I haven't gone through what Naofumi went through.'_ He thought to himself. He didn't personally know the hell Naofumi had gone through that first month. But if it was as bad as he imagined, he might be convinced that this wasn't a game. Games were meant to be fun. Not to break and crush your soul.

He could also remember how he'd responded to Naofumi's words.

_"I'll keep that in mind Naofumi," Ren responded, walking away from the two while giving them a wave of goodbye. "Don't get yourself killed either. I'd rather we both got to live at the end of this whole mess."_

Ren shook his head, having finished collecting the monster's drops. He didn't know at this point if they were incapable of being killed or not. Having not gone through a life or death situation as Naofumi probably had. But if Naofumi was worried about them being killed... _'It doesn't really matter.'_ He thought. _'We're still three days travel from Dragon Village. I said I'd look into what was going on with this world's story after I killed that dragon. I can worry about the rest later.'_

Ren honestly wished they could teleport to Dragon Village and get it over with. He had the skill to teleport thanks to absorbing some sand from the Dragon Hourglass, courtesy of the Three Heroes Church. He wanted to get it over with as soon as possible since the dragon in his game had been an evil warmonger who wanted to bring destruction down upon the various nations. However, he hadn't been to this part of the country before while he had been on the hunt to get stronger his first month. Plus, he was planning on including his NPC party members for this fight. So they had to fight and grind now if they wanted to be ready in about four days when they faced the dragon.

Ren sighed to himself as he stood up. _'This reminds me a lot about my game… but the story is developing far differently.'_ The first princess falsely accusing Naofumi of rape. The State Religion trying to bring down one of the four heroes. The guild assigning him the quest instead of him hearing word about the evil dragon at the celebration after the wave. It just didn't add up. The NPCs hadn't been nearly so lifelike or tied to the inner plot of his game like these NPCs. It really was almost like they were… real…

Ren shook his head. _'I'm thinking too much about this. I already killed the boss monster here. I'll gather my party so we can continue on towards Dragon Village. Then, after I deal with the dragon, I'll look into the Three Heroes Church. As long as I don't get an emergency request from the guild.'_

Ren walked off into the forest.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**There we have it. Another chapter out of the way. I lost track of how many times I went over the part where he healed the Lord's Daughter. Hell, I think at first the concept didn't involve the Father being the Lord of the area. But that's what you get when you write something and think it over.**

**Thanks again for the support and suggestions! I'll make sure to keep holding my end of the bargain on posting each Monday (since we all could use something good to look forward to on a Monday). I can't wait to see you all next week!**

**Also, in response to a review, yes, when I write the Hero Clips omake scenes, I generally picture the characters in chibi form. I highly recommend it.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**The Better Vendor**

* * *

"Step right up!" Naofumi yelled, indicating the banner for his part of the stall. "Nocturnal Doctor medicine for sale! Only 4 Silvers a bottle! Get it while supplies last!"

No one stood in front of his stall.

Naofumi coughed into his hand. "Step right up! Life-saving medicine from the Nocturnal Doctor himself! Only 4 Silvers a bottle! Get it while supplies last!" He yelled again.

Again, he got nothing but silence on his side.

"Step right up! Literally damn medicine that can save your life for the cheap discount of 4 Silvers a bottle!" He yelled again.

...

A cricket chirped in the darkness.

Naofumi sighed. "Damn it all." He looked to the side. "I wonder if Raphtalia's having better luck-" His words cut off in astonishment when he saw what was happening on the other side of the wagon.

"Please, I need that medicine badly!"

"No, I need it from her more!"

"Hey, you two are holding up the crowd!"

Raphtalia smiled appeasingly to the growingly unrestful crowd of customers in front of her stall. "Please, there's enough medicine for all of you. As long as you pay five Silver per bottle." She said happily.

Stars appeared in the eyes of the crowd of dozens of people. "You've got yourself a deal, pretty lady!" The man up front shouted happily as he slammed eight Silvers on the table.

"You call that a tip!" The other man yelled as he slammed nine Silvers on the table.

The crowd rushed forward, throwing their money at Raphtalia so they could get the medicine they needed for their families. Or maybe an autograph from the beautiful night merchant girl. It was hard to tell.

"Wha… whatttt…" On Naofumi's end, he started to grumble to himself as he leaned on his hand. His elbow resting against the hardwood of his stall. "Freaking country of lolicons." He muttered indignantly to himself while Raphtalia drowned in customers.

"I want to buy from her!"

"No, I want to!"

"Please, there's enough for everybody!" Raphtalia tried to yell.

"I just want something to eat master!" Filo appeared out of nowhere.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	17. 17: This Chicken Loli is Not My Daughter

**Wow, this last week was stressful for me. I'm really glad I have chapters written in advance. I hardly got any writing done at all. Hopefully, it should be better this week. I discovered some of the causes of my stress and dealt with them appropriately. Now I just have to survive these last few weeks of college and make it to winter vacation. Then I'll have a lot more free time to write!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:**_ 35 more Favorites, 40 more Followers (Total: 561 Favorites, 651 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated: **_November 18th, 2019 2:00 P.M._

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen:** _This Chicken Loli is Not My Daughter!_

* * *

_The Next Day (39 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"But Master, I want to-"

"No! I am not allowing you to change form when we stop!" Naofumi yelled angrily from the seat of his wagon. The sun was already high up in the morning sky, and Naofumi's grouchiness and tiredness had been stretched to the limit.

"Wahhhh! But I want to Master!" Filo whined as she continued to pull the wagon down the dusty dirt road.

"I said no!" Despite Naofumi forcing his foot down, the large owl-shaped bird continued to cry.

Naofumi grimaced deeply in his seat and held his head with one hand to fight back the coming headache. The other hand gripped the reins of the disobedient KFC monster tightly. '_My worst fears are confirmed. She is acting like a spoiled child. A spoiled child that treats me as her butler.'_ He thought to himself.

He and Raphtalia had barely managed to convince Filo to change back into her big bird form the night before so they could travel a few miles outside of town (because she was complaining about being hungry and sleepy). Somehow, they'd managed it again earlier that morning. However, she'd been wrapped in Naofumi's old cloak to cover her nakedness before she transformed. Now said cloak was ripped into several large pieces. Pieces Raphtalia still held cradled in her arms while she looked down sadly at them.

Raphtalia being sad strangely wasn't the worst part about that morning. He'd also found out that, for some reason, the monster crest that had been put on Filo when she was an egg wasn't working anymore. Naofumi had a feeling it was because Filo was a different type of monster altogether. But whatever the reason, he couldn't force Filo to obey him anymore. And she was being really whiny and disobedient.

It sucked. A lot.

"I want to transform when we stop! I want to!" Filo cried like a child.

'_Freaking Beloukas!'_ He thought to himself angrily. '_I swear if I ever get my hands on that rat again, I'm going to wring his fat little neck with that stupid bowtie of his!'_

Filo stopped pulling the wagon and started to pout when Naofumi didn't respond. "Fine! I don't have to listen to you any way you big meanie!" She said childishly.

A vein pulsed largely on Naofumi's forehead. _'Correction, I'm going to wring my hands around this fat chicken loli's neck right after she transforms back to her loli form before I wring Belouka's neck.'_ He thought darkly.

"Master Naofumi, are you thinking of something dark?" Raphtalia asked without looking up from the tattered cloak.

_'Aw hell. Ring in the anger. Just ring it in. Don't let it out.'_ Naofumi tried to think calmly.

"Filo, can you get back to pulling the wagon please?" Raphtalia asked nicely.

Filo's pout dropped. "Okay, Master." She said to Raphtalia before grabbing the wagon and pulling again.

Raphtalia was honestly one of the only reasons holding Naofumi back from acting on his dark and grumpy thoughts... And possibly one of the only reasons Filo had obeyed last night and this morning. She was still obviously sad that the old cloak Naofumi had used to wear, the one she'd spent many a night sleeping in, had been ripped into several large pieces, but she was still doing her best to treat Filo like her daughter... Plus, she'd bitten the bullet that morning and had some bitter anti-nausea medicine without complaining about it; so he owed her to not lose his temper and kill her daughter.

"Master, why can't Filo transform when we stop?" Filo asked Raphtalia curiously.

"Filo. We can't have you transforming into a naked girl every time we stop and visit a town." Raphtalia tried to say gently to the big bird.

"But what's wrong with Filo transforming inside a town master?" Filo asked Raphtalia innocently.

"Well, um, uh…" Raphtalia looked at Naofumi unsurely. '_I'm not sure I know the full reason why… other than my parents telling me that it isn't something either a guy or girl should do in public.'_ She thought to herself. She looked to Naofumi along with Filo. "Maybe Master Naofumi could explain."

_..._

'_Damn it… this just isn't my day.'_ Naofumi thought exasperatedly. He really hoped it wasn't a sign of how much Raphtalia was ignorant of in the world. He did his best to rein in his tiredness and anger. "Look. We just can't have you transforming out in public Filo. It's indecent, and other people don't want to see you naked." Naofumi explained calmly, hoping her childlike mind would understand. '_Besides those freaking lolicons.'_ He thought to himself grumpily.

"But why can't I walk around naked master?" Filo asked in a whiny voice.

"Didn't you hear me?! It's indecent and people don't want to see it! Including me!"

"But what makes it indecent?" Filo asked.

Naofumi gripped the reins more tightly to keep himself from losing it. '_Only 39 more days till the next wave. Only 39 more days till the next wave.'_ He thought like a mantra, again and again, to try and calm himself down. There were much worse things in the world that he could be dealing with. A trash king and a bitch princess were coming to mind. "Look, just listen and do as I say. Otherwise, I won't cook for you anymore." Naofumi threatened.

"Wahhhhh! But I always want to eat your cooking master!" Filo complained.

"Well tough! I'm not your butler! And I'm not going to cook food for a spoiled child who doesn't listen to what I tell her!" Naofumi yelled, his anger and frustration escaping again in that moment.

"You big meanie!" Filo continued to cry.

It was like all of Naofumi's efforts to get used to smiling all the time since the Sacred Duel went flying out the window. He was still grimacing, holding a lid over his jar of dark thoughts as he looked to Raphtalia. "Please help me." He pleaded quietly.

Raphtalia looked confused. "What can I do?" Raphtalia whispered back.

"I don't know, speak whatever comes to your mind. She listens to you." Naofumi suggested. He just couldn't get through to this KFC girl without a ladle in one hand and a pot full of food in the other.

"What are you whispering about back there? Are you talking about me?" Filo whined as she cried about the possibility of not being able to have Master's delicious cooking. A delight she'd known ever since the day she was born… three days ago.

"Filo, listen to mommy please," Raphtalia said encouragingly as an idea entered her mind. Filo stopped crying and looked back at Raphtalia. "I think what Naofumi is trying to say is that you're special." She explained. "And if you show how special you are around other people, they might get the wrong idea and try to take you away from us."

…

Filo's blue eyes went wide in realization. "You mean, somebody would try to take me away from both my masters if I were to walk around naked?!" She loudly asked.

Raphtalia honestly didn't know, but Filo didn't have to know that. Naofumi was giving her a thumbs up from under his cloak, indicating her to keep going. "Yes. And you could end up being harmed if that happened." Raphtalia said while smiling affectionately. "After all, the last thing we'd want is for someone to try and hurt our daughter because she's different."

Naofumi's thumbs up became a thumbs down at her calling Filo his daughter. However, Filo thought it over in her mind for a moment… "Okay, master." She said happily, and with that, she continued to pull the wagon without another complaint.

…

Naofumi sighed in relief in his mind. '_Thank the Gods for Raphtalia.'_ He thought. "I should have you speak your mind more often," Naofumi whispered to Raphtalia.

"Or maybe you could put some better stuff in yours Master Naofumi," Raphtalia said happily, picking up the magic grimoire from behind her so she could study it.

'_... Ouch.'_ Naofumi thought to himself. '_It's not my fault I'm not good at explaining things like why it's bad to be naked in public while I'm tired.'_ He thought in his defense, looking down at the magic grimoire with Raphtalia. He was feeling a little bit better about Melromarc's alphabet. At least, he could make out a few words here and there before he pulled out the familiar wooden tablet. '_Though to be honest, it's also taking up a lot of my brainpower trying to learn and retain a new alphabet in my mind. I have no time to deal with this stupid monster that so is not my daughter.'_ He thought in his defense.

"Also, Filo. Naofumi and I are your parents, not your owners. There's no need to address either of us by master." Raphtalia said.

Filo looked back at them confusedly. "What can I call you if not master?" She asked.

"Mom and dad sound nice," Raphtalia said happily.

Naofumi looked at Raphtalia like she'd gone mad. Had she not just read his mind there?! He didn't want to think of this loli as his daughter! "Wait, no, I'd rather she didn't call me her dad-" Naofumi tried to say. He had given her the thumbs down on applying that term to him for crying out loud!

"Okay mom and dad!" Filo said happily.

...

_'Ugh… great. Now, this walking bird loli is really going to think of me as its parent. Thanks, Raphtalia.'_ Naofumi thought sarcastically.

"Did you say something Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked curiously.

...

'_How the hell can she always tell what I'm thinking?!'_

…

"So, if I were to be dressed instead of naked, would I be allowed to transform inside of town?" Filo asked.

"No!" Naofumi yelled in his seat. _'Oh come on! I thought we were already past this?!'_

"But why not?" Filo whined.

Naofumi gritted his teeth. He really didn't want to continue arguing right now. He just wanted to get to the town and take a nap or something after they found a tailor for Filo! "Look, if we can find something you can wear that won't shred on your transformation, then we can talk about allowing you to transform inside of a town! But only when I say so!" Naofumi said with finality.

"You promise dad!?" Filo asked.

"Yes!" Naofumi yelled back irritably.

Filo continued to pull the wagon, now humming happily to herself at the prospect of not having food served from Mas-, no, dad taken away; and that she'd gotten her dad to agree to let her transform. _'Dad has a much nicer ring than master. I'm happy to have mommy around to keep dad in line.'_ Filo thought happily in her childlike mind.

Naofumi heard giggling next to him and turned to lightly glare at Raphtalia. "What's so funny?" He blandly asked.

"Oh, nothing," Raphtalia said, pretending to act innocent as she looked somewhere else. Her wagging tail behind her gave her real feelings about the situation away.

Naofumi groaned to himself. If Raphtalia tried to get him to wear a patch saying **World's Proudest Father** on it, then he was going to throw himself off a cliff.

"So when we get to the next town, we're going to have to ask around for a tailor for Filo. Then we'll have to leave before dark since I didn't have time to compound new medicines." He grumbled. "Hopefully we'll get something that she can wear, and hopefully I'll be able to get herbs and a nap…" He had to rub at his face, groaning exaggeratedly. He could already tell that their finances were going to take a huge hit. They weren't going to be able to sell anything to make up for it. And he was tired, so tired; he wasn't even sure if a nap would help or not.

"This day can't get any worse." He muttered.

"Ooh!" Raphtalia suddenly said happily next to him while looking down at the grimoire. "As source of thy power-"

'_No way. Another spell!'_ Naofumi thought as he turned to look at her. '_It's only been a few days since she learned the last one! I thought the witch said it was supposed to be hard!?'_

"I command the elements to obey my will, and to hide me from my target… **Hide Mirage.**"

A layer of light moved over Raphtalia's body, gradually hiding her from view until she'd disappeared next to him entirely, along with the magic grimoire she'd been holding. On his stat screen, Raphtalia's MP gauge went down a third from using the spell. '_What the hell…'_ Naofumi thought in disbelief. Raphtalia could turn invisible now?!

He'd had dreams of turning invisible since he was a kid, and here Raphtalia had learned the freaking spell for invisibility! '_She's already learned two awesome spells, and I still can't read the damn book!'_ He thought, pangs of childish jealousy coursing through him. The witch had made it sound like it'd be really hard to learn a spell from the damn thing. What the hell?! Was he cursed or something for not knowing Melromarc's language?!

"What do you think Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked somewhere nearby.

"Dad, where did mommy go?" Filo asked. "I don't see her behind me anymore, but I can still hear her."

Naofumi grit his teeth. A small part of him was trying to remain calm. To stay neutral and to not lash out like a little kid... But the spell turned out to be the straw that broke the camel's back. "Run as fast as you want Filo!" Naofumi ordered her.

Filo's curiosity about where mom had gone was replaced with joy at being given permission to run as fast as she wanted. Okey day!" Now that was an order Filo would gladly obey from her daddy.

**Whoosh! **"Aughhhhhh!"

In a burst of speed, and with a loud scream, the invisible Raphtalia fell into the supplies in the back of the wagon. Filo was now taking off like a bullet down the road. Naofumi gripped the reins tightly while wind blasted at his face. "Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia complained somewhere behind him. "That wasn't fair!"

"Life is full of unfairness! Get over it!" Naofumi shouted back at her.

…

Raphtalia appeared beside him again. She was pouting at him. "You know that's really childish of you, right?!"

"I don't care! I'm tired, I'm frustrated, and now I have to deal with a disobedient monster loli girl calling me her dad! I believe I can be allowed to act a little childish!"

* * *

_A couple of hours later_

An older lady in her mid 40's hummed to herself as she folded and stacked various styles of clothes on the shelves of her humble shop. It had been another slow day for her, just the way she liked it. Other than a little reorganizing every now and then, it wasn't very tedious work running her front of a clothing shop in a rural village. Hardly anything interesting ever happened way out here.

"Hmmm… Maybe I'll finally be able to finish that old book today." She muttered to herself.

…

The sound of the front door opening dragged the white-haired lady from thoughts on her book.

"Excuse me, are you this town's tailor?"

"Hmmm?" The older lady turned to face the pair that came in and studied them. There was a green hooded figure hiding his face in shadow. She couldn't make out any more details because of his cloak other than the fact that he was frowning.

Then there was the girl who had spoken. A beautiful looking young woman with rich brown hair and the most dazzling color of eyes she'd ever seen. Plus, if she wasn't mistaken, the girl was a demihuman while the hooded figure was a regular human.

"Yes, I am. You may call me Tanya." She responded lightly. These people seemed nice enough. If a little familiar for some reason.

"Do you have clothes that can fit a child by any chance?" The girl asked.

The older woman smiled. _'Aww, they're just a cute couple wanting to get clothes for their kid-'_

"Preferably clothes that can transform with their wearer." The hooded guy added dryly.

Tanya blinked. "I beg your pardon?" She asked. She'd heard of some demihumans that could transform before but had never met one in person. Plus, the girl didn't look like any of the species she'd heard about that could transform.

The guy sighed. "Filo." He said behind him.

From behind the two came a little blonde-haired girl wrapped in the tattered remains of a green cloak. Her blue eyes looked around with childlike wonder at the clothes shop.

"Oh my. Hello, you little cutie." Tanya greeted in a sweet voice.

Filo looked curiously at the lady. Then she smiled widely. "Hi. I'm Filo." She said happily, before looking up at her dad. "Am I allowed to transform now dad?" She asked.

Naofumi sighed at being called dad. "Fine, you can do it in here, but take off that cloak first so-"

**Poof! Ripppp!**

Filo transformed into her large owl form on the spot, ripping the already ripped green cloak into smaller pieces. "Nooooo!" Raphtalia yelled in agony as she quickly moved to pick the pieces off the floor around Filo. _'Not again…'_

Tanya blinked in surprise at the large owl-shaped creature standing in the middle of the store. She had to look up to see Filo's head close to the ceiling. "My, I can see why you need transformation clothes now." She said after a moment.

"Daddy! Something here smells really good! Can I have a taste?" Filo asked energetically as she tried to turn around to face Naofumi.

"I think we're going to need something that won't rip. And something that Raphtalia won't treasure as much in case you do rip it somehow." He said blandly to himself, ignoring the hungry Filo to look to the side at the silent Raphtalia. She was looking down through tears at the tattered remains of the cloak.

_'I understand why she's sad about it. I used to wrap her in that cloak all the time to help keep her warm… it's almost like her childhood blankie... though, if I remind her about the time she peed on it, maybe she'll be glad to not have it anymore.'_ He thought. He was almost tempted to remind her but decided not to embarrass her in front of the cloth tailor. He was sure she'd get over it... eventually.

"And here I was thinking that this girl was your daughter," Tanya said to Raphtalia and Naofumi while she examined Filo with awe in her eyes.

"But I am their daughter! That's what mommy told me!" Filo said happily.

Raphtalia was brought out of her sadness, and a blush crossed her face. "Well, I mean, um," She said quickly while doing her best to hide her blushing face. She did think of Filo as her daughter, but saying Filo was her and Naofumi's daughter in front of other people brought a major blush of embarrassment.

"She's adopted," Naofumi said bluntly, again not understanding why Raphtalia was blushing. He refused to think of this girl as his daughter after all.

"What does adopted mean?" Filo asked.

"So, do you have anything that could fit her or not?"

Filo pouted at Naofumi ignoring her. Tanya looked at Naofumi at last. Though she couldn't tell who it was under the fur-lined hood. "I'm afraid I do not. Neither do I have the skills to make a dress that can transform with its wearer… however, I do have the machine needed to make the material. And you're fortunate that my daughter is visiting me today. I'm certain she will have the skills necessary to fashion your daughter here a suitable dress." She said politely. "If she doesn't spend too much time gawking over her that is."

"How long is that going to take? I have some other errands to run." Naofumi asked dryly.

"I reckon it could take an hour. Two if my daughter isn't too busy gawking. Your daughter would have to stay behind the whole time." Tanya answered.

Naofumi was more than happy to be told Filo would have to stay with the tailor. "Alright then. Filo, you'll stay with this lady while your mother and I go around town." Naofumi ordered.

"Awwww, do I have to daddy-" Filo started to whine. When she turned her head at dad though, he was giving her the father of all glares.

"Don't question it. You got me?" Despite her being bigger, Naofumi suddenly looked far more intimidating and imposing. With anime fires like twin suns burning in his eyes, and hellfire springing up behind him. The dark look on his face completed the fatherly glare of death.

Filo gulped nervously, and with a **poof!** she turned back into a naked girl. Naofumi and Raphtalia both looked away while Tanya stared with amazement at the wings on Filo's back. "Filo!" He yelled. She was naked, again!

"I'm sorry Father!" Filo said loudly. "I didn't mean to!"

"Stop calling me your Father!" Naofumi said angrily.

"Fascinating. I can already tell my daughter is going to love working with her." Tanya said seriously while examining Filo's wings.

"Come on Raphtalia. We have some errands to run." Naofumi said as he started to walk towards the exit.

"But-" Raphtalia was saying before she stopped talking and followed Naofumi. Finding it might be wise for the moment not to press when he was obviously in a bad mood.

He needed a nap. Or he needed to do something to cheer himself up. And come hell or high water, he was going to do just that.

* * *

_Over an hour later_

"No way. These herbs are too low quality to be worth 10 silvers. I'll pay 4 silvers for them."

"Are you kidding me?! These are the best quality herbs you'll find for miles around boy!" The shopkeeper said angrily. "10 Silvers! Take it, or leave it!"

Naofumi finally seemed to be in a better mood. For some Gods forsaken reason, he couldn't nap in the back of the wagon. With the glare of the bright sun and everything else holy up above stabbing through the cloth material into his eyelids. So he settled for the next best thing. Haggling for supplies. He wasn't the best seller by a long shot. But years as a traveling merchant in online games had given him a love for haggling for other merchants wares, even if the item he was haggling for wasn't needed. Oddly enough, it was a great mood lifter when he could get something for a much lower price.

He couldn't haggle his own wares like Raphtalia, but damn could get a discount.

"I said 4 Silvers. And I won't accept anything more." Naofumi said determinedly.

"And I said I won't lower my price you cheating bastard." The shopkeeper responded angrily. "Now if you won't buy, then get lost!"

The hooded Naofumi sighed. He decided to pull one of his old tricks. "In case you aren't aware." He pulled out several high-quality herbs from his inventory. "I picked these just outside of this town. Take a look, they're a much higher quality than what you're trying to sell me you cheapskate."

The shopkeeper didn't believe it at first, but then he gawked as he saw the item's description appear in his status menu. "There's no way. I know the woods here better than anybody. The herbs are never that high in quality here." He said in disbelief. These had been found right outside of his town?

"If you wouldn't mind trying to rip me off, I'd like your box of herbs for 4 Silvers please," Naofumi said calmly. The herbs had honestly been the same quality before Naofumi picked them. His shield helped out a little bit in that regard. Was it lying, yeah. Could he have gone out and picked more if he wanted, sure. But that was time-consuming, and he wanted to haggle somebody desperately if only to alleviate his frustration. Especially someone who was already ripping off his customers by selling lower quality herbs for such a ridiculously high price. Even he wouldn't sell a box of high-quality herbs for that much.

The shopkeeper growled. "7 Silvers!" He finally countered.

"3 Silvers." Naofumi countered back.

"Are you mad!? 8 Silvers!"

"2 Silvers."

The haggling and negotiation were really helping him to feel a lot better. He'd almost forgotten what it was like as it went on and on. Maybe it helped that someone else was getting frustrated at him and not the other way around. It was weird how that sounded, but it worked.

The shopkeeper grimaced at one point. That was when Naofumi knew he had him cornered. All he had to do was take a look around at the other stalls with a bored expression from under his hood. It didn't look like any of the other merchants sold herbs. It was likely why the shopkeeper was charging so much. The move made it look like he was about to leave the shopkeeper high and dry. "6 Silvers, but that's the lowest I'll go!" The shopkeeper said with finality.

Naofumi sighed. "I guess I could just go to some other village to buy the herbs I need. Or I could just pick the better quality ones myself. After all, it won't cost me anything." He said while looking down at his fingernails to examine them.

The man behind the stall started to sweat profusely. A rural village already made it hard enough to get new customers as it was. He'd thought he could get away with the high prices he sold his herbs for since none of the other shopkeepers knew where the herbs grew in the forest. But if this hooded individual knew of places he didn't know about that yielded better quality herbs. And if he were to get any ideas about sharing it with the other shopkeepers, then... "Alright, you got me! I'll sell to you for 4 silver!" The shopkeeper gave in.

"Hmmm. Looks like we've got ourselves an agreement." Naofumi said as he smirked under his hood. He dropped 4 silver onto the counter and took the box of herbs given to him. "Thanks for your business. And for giving me such a good deal, I'll leave you this as a parting gift." Naofumi said as he dropped one of his higher quality herbs next to the silver before walking away with his new box of herbs. "Try not to lose it. It might help you out one day."

The shopkeeper stared down in surprise at the high-quality herb as Naofumi left.

"Master." A hooded Raphtalia whispered to Naofumi as she fell into step beside him, placing the supplies she'd purchased into her inventory. She didn't add his name since they were in public. "I saw what you did there. That was mean to do to that shopkeeper."

"He was overcharging customers," Naofumi replied boredly. "Besides, I showed him a better way of doing business."

"And what was that?" Raphtalia asked.

"Don't cheat your customers, give them good deals, and you won't have to worry about other shopkeepers stealing your customers." He replied. It was sound business logic.

Raphtalia looked back at the shopkeeper Naofumi had been talking to. Even though they were farther away, she could see the gears turning in the guy's mind. This simple action might turn out to be enough to make the fellow merchant a little more honest in his dealings. Maybe. "Still, I don't think you had to bully him into it, Master."

"I wasn't bullying him. I was persuading him to not be a thief." Naofumi said dryly.

"That doesn't make it right." Raphtalia quietly fumed.

Naofumi looked at Raphtalia and gave her a smile. "You know, you're looking really beautiful today." He said seriously.

Raphtalia's eyes widened, and her face started turning a deep red. "Um, uh, oh, um…" She was rendered speechless at Naofumi calling her beautiful.

_'And just like that, I made her forget what we were talking about.'_ Naofumi thought smugly. Maybe he was finally learning a thing or two about girls…

However, his face was starting to blush from calling her beautiful out in public. _'Damn. I need to sort out my feelings for Raphtalia. And soon.'_ He also needed to improve on his flirting skills... and figure out if he knew what the hell flirting was.

"How about we go check up on Filo?" Naofumi suggested, wanting to immediately change the subject so it wouldn't feel so awkward anymore.

Raphtalia had paused in her stuttering to think of something intelligible to respond with, but at his words, she came back to reality. "Yes, let's do that."

…

For a moment as they walked down the street, the two were silent… then Naofumi felt one of Raphtalia's arms hug him from behind. She leaned up against him while still walking. "And... thank you for saying I'm beautiful Naofumi." She whispered quietly so only he would hear.

Naofumi smiled and put an arm over her shoulders. The two looked like a cute young couple now to passerby. "No problem."

…

"Though I still don't approve of what you did to that poor shopkeeper." She added.

Naofumi's smile turned into a frown under his hood. "Way to ruin the moment." He said dryly. _'And to think I thought I'd managed to change the topic.'_ It turned out he didn't know as much about girls as he thought.

"You're welcome." She responded happily from under her hood.

_'And there's the sarcasm I've been missing. Great.'_

Despite his fouler than usual mood, for just a small moment, everything felt right in the world…

Raphtalia's ears perked up, and she looked behind the two of them. All of a sudden, her tail stood on end, and she faced ahead again. Her face was stony under her hood. "Master…"

Naofumi looked at her. "What is it?" He asked.

"Behind us." She whispered. "Three figures are following."

He turned his head, pretending to look at another stall so he could glance back. He saw three hooded figures following the two of them from a distance. He realized Raphtalia was right because even though they were looking at the various vendor's stalls around, they kept looking back at him and Raphtalia. When he moved on to the next stall, he glanced back again and saw that they had moved to another stall closer to him and Raphtalia.

Naofumi would have found it unsettling, but he also noticed they weren't knights. And under their hoods, their facial features didn't look exactly… human. _'Wait, were those grown demi-humans...'_ He glanced back again and saw the lead figure gazing towards him. That definitely wasn't a human face under the hood. He looked to Raphtalia again. "Holy hell, I think we finally found ourselves some demi-humans-" He started to say.

"We have to grab Filo and get out of here." Raphtalia whispered so lowly Naofumi barely heard her. "Make sure we aren't followed."

He looked down at her frowning face curiously. "Is something wrong Raphtalia?" He asked. _'Why do we need to leave? We finally found some grown-up demi-humans! Now I won't have to give Raphtalia the talk, and-'_

"Those three are from Siltvelt," Raphtalia said as quietly as she could. "I overheard what they're mumbling behind us. They're excited they found you. They want to take you to Siltvelt, but they don't… they don't want to bring me along." Though the last part was quiet, there was a little anger mixed into it.

_'... oh.'_

Suddenly, Naofumi wasn't so happy to have found some adult demi-humans. "Can you use your magic to hide us?" Naofumi asked.

"Maybe, but that might set them off. Better we let them think we didn't see them and try to lose them." Raphtalia said back quietly.

They tried changing streets, even though the tailor's shop had been on the street they were originally on. They then went through an alleyway into a crowded shop and exited onto another street. Pretending to quickly browse and window shop as they went along as they tried going through crowded areas to lose their pursuers. Yet the demi-humans kept following them, never leaving their sight for long.

_'It's like they're following our scents…'_ Naofumi mentally facepalmed. They were demi-humans. He had never thought to ask Raphtalia if that came with heightened senses or not. _'If they're tracking us using our scents, then the chances of us escaping by getting out of sight is zero to nil!'_

Sure enough, the demi-humans gradually started to get closer to the pair. And they were running out of areas to take side trips down on the way to the tailor's shop. Naofumi tried to listen to what was being said behind him as the demi-humans were getting closer and closer. After a little bit, he finally started to discern what they were saying to each other in low voices.

"... can't believe how this kingdom has treated our Savior."

"These people should be ashamed of themselves. Don't they realize the evil they've committed against our great God? The mighty Shield Hero?"

"Tis a shame indeed. We would have treated him much better had we summoned him to Siltvelt as the Grand Council planned."

_'Hmmm, so far, I'm not getting any red flags-'_

"I can't believe our God has even had to sink so low as to have a traitorous Tanuki girl as his only source of aid."

"No doubt the whore has whispered things to him to corrupt his mind and kept him from our spies."

"A mistake. The Grand Council should have killed off the whole traitorous Tanuki race instead of exiling a few from our beloved nation and enslaving the rest."

"Our God deserves a much more suitable mate of a more worthy noble class than a Tanuki."

"Enough you two. We're here to convince the Shield Hero to rejoin his true followers in Siltvelt. Not to argue over his choice of mate. Now we're getting close, so try not to spook him."

…

Naofumi had a dark look under his hood. Raphtalia might not have known why her parents said not to go to Siltvelt, but now he was getting a pretty good feeling why she'd been told that. And as good as it sounded to be considered a God by someone, he did not appreciate most of what they said.

'_They want to convince me to go with them to Siltvelt... But they don't approve of someone who's helped me out since I got to this world?! Bah!'_ He felt himself getting angry. It didn't sound like these demi-humans actually cared for him! If anything, they probably wanted to use him as a figurehead more than anything else! Naofumi didn't think he'd have interaction with demi-humans from Siltvelt so soon... but they were definitely not making a very good first impression on him. _'If I only had an attack stat.'_

Raphtalia's hand itched under her cloak to grab her sword. She looked like she wanted to turn around and show these idiots what the weak Tanuki whore girl they wanted to dismiss was capable of. He was about to give her permission when the two of them noticed that another hooded individual was approaching them from the front. Another demi-human.

Naofumi quickly glanced at the sides, trying to find another shop they could enter. But there was nowhere else. They were right in front of the tailor's shop. If they went in, they'd be surrounded by demi-humans who were likely going to cause a scene to convince him to go with them. And if he refused, they'd attack thinking Raphtalia had him under her control. Then it'd cause a bigger scene, and...

_'Damn it!' _Things couldn't get any worse-

"Halt!"

Up ahead behind the hooded demi human, a group of Church Knights wearing rosaries around their necks appeared running out of an alleyway. "There they are! Seize them!" The Squad Captain ordered before the Knights charged in Naofumi's direction.

Naofumi's eyes widened. '_Are you kidding me?! Are we going to have to fight both groups-'_

Before Naofumi could react, the demi-human who'd been approaching him and Raphtalia turned to the side and ran down a different alleyway. He also heard running behind him. He turned his hooded head to see the original cloaked demihumans running away. Their hoods had fallen back, and terror was written on their furry faces. _'Wait. Are they part tiger?'_ Despite the situation, that was the first question that came to his mind.

The Church Knights passed the hooded Naofumi and Raphtalia without giving them a second glance. "Come back here you damn demis! You can't hide where the Shield Demon is hiding forever!"

The two watched as the chase scene disappeared from view… both looked surprised at how quickly their problem had resolved itself.

…

"I guess two wrongs can make a right." Naofumi muttered to himself.

"What does that mean?" Raphtalia asked.

"Nothing. Just a phrase from my world. Let's hurry and purchase Filo's clothes so we can get the hell out of here." Naofumi said calmly. It was a stroke of luck what happened here. He didn't want to try and stay to press his luck.

"Right."

He also decided to save the questions he had for Raphtalia for later. That could wait until they were a safe distance from this part of the country.

Before they entered the store, he took out some anti-nausea medicine from his inventory and gave it to Raphtalia. "Drink it up now. When we leave, I'm having Filo run as fast as she can again." At least he was forewarning her this time.

Raphtalia grimaced. _'Ohhhhhhh.' _She moaned in her mind. _'Twice in one day?'_ Yet she was quick to drink down the bitter medicine and follow Naofumi into the store.

"Daddy! Mommy! Doesn't Filo look great in her new-" Filo was saying excitedly as she twirled around in her new dress. It was a mixture of white and blue, mixed in with ribbons. It complimented her Filolial form well. With the fringes really complimenting her feathers. Had Naofumi not been in a hurry, he might have taken a second to appreciate it.

"How much is it?" Naofumi asked Tanya curtly. He saw no traces of Tanya's daughter who made the dress anywhere.

Filo pouted off to the side. "Dad! Aren't you going to tell me how cute I look?!"

"Don't you want to see how cute your daughter looks-" Tanya tried to ask.

"I said how much?" Naofumi dryly asked, cutting her off.

When Naofumi ignored Filo, she pouted and stuck her tongue out at Naofumi childishly. "Meanie."

"Don't worry. I think you look adorable Filo." Raphtalia said happily, giving Filo a head pat as she did so.

"Mmmm, but I want Dad to acknowledge I'm cute to mother!" She yelled in a childlike tantrum.

Tanya sighed. She'd honestly wanted to soften the blow with how great the outfit looked. But... "The outfit will be 4 Gold Coins," Tanya said.

...

Naofumi sputtered. _'4 Gold Coins!? I know we're not in the Capital, but it's that much for a stupid dress!?'_ He thought incredulously. First, there was the 100 Silvers Filo's egg had been worth. Then there was the 15 Silver for Firo to appraise the egg. Not to mention the unknown cost of food Filo had already eaten. Now Filo's outfit was worth 400 Silver Coins!? '_This little brat just sucked up all the money Ren and Itsuki gave me, and then some!'_ He thought angrily.

Raphtalia gasped as well. "Is... is that a lot of money mommy?" Filo asked Raphtalia.

_'That's like… ten times what I was worth when Naofumi bought me…'_ Raphtalia cringed. Not only because Filo's dress was far more expensive than she had been, but because of how big a blow it was to their finances.

In the status menu, their shared ghost bank started to plead for mercy because of Filo.

…

"Is that... okay with you?" Tanya asked unsurely.

"Filo, I want you to transform," Naofumi said coldly.

"What, what do you mean dad-" Filo tried to ask.

Naofumi glared at her. "Just do it or I won't cook for you anymore!" Naofumi yelled back at her.

"Eep!" **Poof!**

In a poof of feathers, Filo transformed back into her Filolial form. The large owl-shaped bird looked at Naofumi, who gave her a nod. "Change back." He ordered more calmly.

Filo didn't question this time. Daddy was definitely scary when he was in a bad mood. And threatening to not cook for her was obviously the most effective way to make her compliant. It'd probably be best if she obeyed whenever he was cranky. Hopefully, it wouldn't be all the time. She transformed back to her loli form and was once more dressed in the dress she'd been wearing before her transformation. Naofumi carefully examined Filo and saw no tears anywhere in the dress.

"It'll have to do." He pulled out 4 Gold Coins straight from the ghost bank vault and looked calmly from under his hood at Tanya. "You're not ripping me off with this price now, are you?" He calmly asked. He'd already dealt with one cheating shopkeeper that day.

Tanya shook her head. "I'd never dream of ripping off a customer." She said calmly.

Naofumi gave a slight nod and dropped the stack of coins in her hands. "Good... And thank your daughter for me for making Filo a good outfit on such short notice."

Tanya slightly smiled, and bowed to Naofumi. "I am sure she will appreciate the praise."

Naofumi looked to Raphtalia and Filo. "Come on, we're leaving now."

"Right," Raphtalia replied.

"Okay!" Filo said excitedly. Daddy had said her outfit looked good!

The group of three walked out the door. "Take care you three! Come by again anytime!" Tanya said happily.

She continued to smile. It'd turned out not to be another boring day after all. It wasn't often Tanya got to help out one of the Four Cardinal Heroes by making a dress for his Filolial Queen to wear. She put a sign up in the front window saying her shop was closed.

She was sure the Queen would be happy to hear a report from this undercover Shadow.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Alright! I was unsure about a couple of things when I first wrote this chapter, but I think it worked out. I think it did at least.**

**I had an extra scene for Motoyasu I wanted to include. However, because of how stressful last week was, and with how long this chapter was, I'm still working on it and putting it in a later chapter. I'm already working on several suggestions for what people want to happen with Motoyasu at Lute Village, but I'm open to more ideas. I'm hoping one of you will say something that'll help me know how to wrap that matter up.**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the Chapter! I'll be seeing you next Monday!**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**What can I call you?**

* * *

"There's no need to address either of us by the term master," Raphtalia said next to Naofumi. Both of them sat in the driver's seat of the wagon.

Filo looked back at them confusedly as she pulled the wagon. "What can I call you if not master?" She asked.

"I don't know," Naofumi said boredly. "Owner sounds pretty nice,"

"But isn't that just another word for Master?" Raphtalia asked curiously.

"Yeah, so what? It's simple and easy to remember." He boredly replied.

Raphtalia started to pout. "We are not doing something because it's simple Master Naofumi!"

"Alright then. How about she thinks of us as... her boss." He suggested.

"That still doesn't sound right," Raphtalia said unsurely.

"Then how about overlords,"

"That's even worse than being called Filo's owner!" Raphtalia responded angrily.

"Fine. She can just call us her lords then." Naofumi corrected.

"That's literally the same word!" Raphtalia yelled angrily.

"Well sorry! I'd rather not be thought of as some monster loli girl's daddy!" Naofumi responded heatedly.

"You can't say that in front of our daughter!" Raphtalia responded just as heatedly.

"I'll say whatever I want! I'm not allowing her to call me her daddy!" Naofumi responded. The two continued to argue and bicker on the driver's seat of the wagon.

Filo looked down at the ground. "Mom and dad would sound nice." She said quietly to herself. Meanwhile, her '**parents'** continued with their arguing.

"Her chiefs then!"

"No, her parents!"

"Her rulers!"

"Parents!"

"Her governors!"

"Are you using a Thesaurus to find words that mean the same thing as Master!?"

"... well, Master does have a nice ring to it-"

**Slap!**

"Ow!"

"We will definitely not be called her Masters!" Raphtalia said with finality.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	18. 18: Slice of Life

**I don't have much to say. Let's get to it so we can start diving into more plot soon!**

* * *

**Since Last Time: **_34 more Favorites, 40 more Followers (Total: 595 Favorites, 691 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated: **_November 25th, 2019 5:00 P.M._

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen:** _Slice of Life_

* * *

_Close to Sunset (39 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"You doing alright back there Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked from the front of the wagon where he sat holding Filo's reins tightly in one hand. His other hand held the open magic grimoire he was reading from.

"Never better Master Naofumi." Raphtalia weakly said from where she was laying down, giving him a weak thumbs up. She didn't look nauseous, but she looked close to falling asleep again. In fact, as he watched, she did fall asleep.

Naofumi grimaced. '_So when she has that medicine twice in one day, she doesn't get nauseous. Instead, she gets really fatigued.'_ He felt kind of bad as he noted that interesting side effect in his mind. Raphtalia had already napped twice since they left the village behind. He hadn't known that taking too large a dose of medicine in one day would make her so sleepy...

Then again, he realized he could potentially use this as a way to put Filo to sleep when she was annoying… Nah, he wasn't that cruel… probably.

Naofumi made note of their surroundings. The forest that had been all around the village had long since dispersed. They were now heading into a mountain range. He wasn't sure where they were since he didn't recognize it from his earlier travels. But wherever they were, they were making progress. Very fast progress. He had to hold the grimoire just right so the wind wouldn't blast the pages around.

"How you doing Filo?!" Naofumi yelled loudly enough so Filo could hear him. She'd been keeping up the running pace almost since the moment they'd left the town behind. They'd passed by some very surprised merchants along the way.

"Not to worry! Filo can keep going, Dad!" Filo yelled back. If she was tired, it wasn't showing.

"Good!" '_She might be a brat, but damn. This beats having to walk around everywhere.'_ Naofumi thought. Though he still wished this KFC Loli wouldn't call him her dad. '_And now that she has an outfit, we won't have to worry about her running around naked either. Though she'll still have to keep from talking and transforming around other people.'_

He looked back down at the magic grimoire. He'd been reading ever since they left the village earlier that day despite being tired. His translation pad was in his lap, though he was trying not to look at it while he read. It was still going to take him a while to get proficient at reading Melromarc's language. But hey, at least he was able to recognize the letters and read a few words a minute on his own! He could even boost it a little if he came across words he recognized! Which, the way the words and letters in the grimoire were organized, made it almost impossible.

_'I hate this thing so much…'_ But he wouldn't be able to learn a spell without it. So he kept on reading.

...

Another half-hour passed, and the sun was beginning to set over the horizon. Naofumi still stared at the grimoire in his hands. He wanted to learn a spell, any spell. He didn't want all the effort he'd put in since they first rode out to go to waste. Raphtalia had already learned her second spell that morning damn it! He had to learn something even if he wanted to fall asleep from all the studying he'd done!

'_Come on! Just give me something here! Anything!'_

He was staring at the grimoire so intently, he didn't realize that it was dark out until he got to the end of a line of text and realized he couldn't read what was next. It was too dark for him to read it. '_Wait, what the hell-'_ His thoughts stopped. The text he'd just finished reading started glowing blue in the gradually coming darkness of night.

The text was glowing blue!

'_Does that mean…'_ He took a minute to read through it again. Wanting to make sure that his eyes weren't mistaking him. But with the stars barely starting to appear in the night sky up above, there was no mistaking it. The words and illustrations on the page had finally come together and given him access to a spell! _'I did it! I learned a spell! I finally learned a spell!'_ A notification popped up on his status screen, telling him he had just unlocked the spell menu. He opened it up, and the spell he'd just learned appeared at the top of the menu. With its description and mana cost underneath it.

'_It's not an attack spell, but…'_ He looked back at Raphtalia, who was still asleep where she laid. All he had to do was cast it and see if it worked. If it did, protecting his party was going to become a hell of a lot easier. "As Shield Hero, source of thy power, I order thee, decipher the laws of nature; and defend my target." He stretched his hand out in her direction. "**Fast Guard!**"

…

A frown came onto his face. He hadn't noticed anything happen after chanting the spell. "I said, as source of thy power, I order thee, decipher the laws of nature; and defend my target. **Fast Guard!**"

…

'_What's going on...'_

"And defend my target! **Fast Guard!"**

…

Nothing happened. He had no drop in his Mana gauge at all. _'Why isn't it working!?'_ He pulled open his status menu and opened his spell menu again. Fast Guard was right there, with its description as a support spell and everything! Yet for some reason, he wasn't able to cast it. Like he wasn't attuned to his own mana...

"... … … DAMN IT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?"

Filo squawked in surprise at Naofumi's shout and stopped. Raphtalia also jumped to alertness inside the wagon thinking they were under attack, however, they weren't. Naofumi was ticked. He'd put in far more effort to read the magic grimoire than his medical grimoire. He was tired. He was frustrated. And he'd just learned that all the work he'd put in had been wasted as soon as he discovered a spell! He didn't even know why he couldn't cast it! Motoyasu could cast magic, so why couldn't he do it too! "WHY WON'T IT WORK! I DID NOT JUST PUT ALL THIS DAMN WORK INTO READING THIS DAMN BOOK JUST TO FIGURE OUT I CAN'T CAST ANY DAMN MAGIC-"

"Master Naofumi?"

It wasn't until that moment that he'd finally realized that one, Raphtalia had put a hand on his shoulder, and two, Filo had stopped and was looking back at him. "Is everything okay daddy?" Filo asked.

Naofumi grit his teeth as he tried to calmly breathe in. '_Calm down… it's not the end of the world… it's not… the end...'_

Naofumi shook off Raphtalia's concerned hand, jumped off the wagon, ran up to a large boulder, and punched it. "DAMN IT ALL!" He yelled angrily. The boulder didn't budge, so he kept on punching the boulder angrily, his high defense stat keeping him from feeling the full sting of the pain from each blow.

Raphtalia looked shocked at Naofumi's display of anger and looked to Filo worriedly. "Do you have any idea what happened to Naofumi Filo?" She asked worriedly.

Filo shook her head. "Filo has no idea mommy." She said sadly, before looking sadly down at the ground. "Filo was pulling the cart when daddy started yelling."

Naofumi was punching the boulder relentlessly. He didn't fully understand why he was so mad at that moment. Maybe it had been a while since he'd let out his frustration. Maybe it was because he hadn't slept well the night before. Maybe it was because his dream of buffing Raphtalia and having her punch Bitch and Trash in the face repeatedly had been taken away by the fact that he'd learned a spell, but for some reason, he couldn't cast it, and would likely experience the same thing if he attempted to learn another spell. Whatever the case, he kept up with his tantrum, punching the boulder's hard surface again and again and again…

Up until a firm hand grabbed one of his wrists, stopping him mid punch.

"Naofumi, stop this right now," Raphtalia ordered him sharply.

Naofumi looked at Raphtalia. She was giving him a very stern gaze, which told him he needed to calm down right now. Naofumi looked at his trapped hand and saw blood slowly dripping out from scrapes and cuts he'd gotten from punching the boulder relentlessly. His other hand was in the same shape. He had a high defense stat and a low attack stat. But he could still hurt himself punching a hard object full force repeatedly.

Naofumi finally managed to take his first calming breath and unclenched his fists. He suddenly felt more drained. "I'm sorry." He said blandly.

"I don't need an apology Naofumi... What happened?" Raphtalia said seriously. Though with a soft undertone behind her words.

"I… I finally learned a spell from the grimoire… but for some reason, I can't cast it…" His hands balled up in shame. "I can't cast one stupid spell…"

...

Her face softened as she allowed herself to feel worried for him again. "It'll be okay." She said as she let go of his wrist and hugged him. "We're here for you."

"I just… I just wanted to be able to do something that wouldn't make me feel so damn useless when all I have is a shield!" Naofumi said in frustration. "I got the glowing letters in the book and everything… so why… why can't I still use magic?" Naofumi asked despondently.

Raphtalia honestly didn't know. She didn't know much about magic other than what she'd already learned. So she hugged him for a moment more since she had no words that could help him out.

"... do you feel better now?" Raphtalia asked.

"Yeah... a little bit…" He said. Now that anger wasn't clouding his mind, his hands stung like hell. And he felt drained. And tired. Very, very tired. He hadn't had the chance to nap as Raphtalia had.

Raphtalia pulled out an HP potion from her inventory. "Here. Drink this." She ordered.

Naofumi didn't question her and did as she said. As he drank down the healing potion, the pain coming from his hands disappeared. The cuts and scrapes healed over. Within ten seconds of drinking the potion, it was as if nothing had happened to them.

"Now I want you to ride in the back of the wagon and sleep," Raphtalia said seriously. Naofumi looked like he was going to open his mouth to complain. Wasn't she still fatigued from the anti-nausea medicine? "I've slept plenty today Master Naofumi. You'll feel a lot better if you get some sleep yourself." She cut him off before he could protest.

A stunned look appeared on Naofumi's face. "Are… are you sure?" He asked.

Raphtalia smiled happily. "Of course, I'm feeling much better now."

He continued to look in surprise at her. She continued to smile happily for him. "I really don't mind doing this for you Naofumi." She said, almost as if she was reading what his next thoughts were. "After everything you've done, you could use a nice long rest."

Naofumi stared wide-eyed at her. Then he looked down at the Shield on his arm. "Okay, I'll rest… but on one condition." He looked up at her. "Since you're feeling better, when I wake up, I want to ask you about those demi-humans that were trailing us in that town." He said seriously. "If we see them again, I need to know exactly what their deal is."

"Of course." Raphtalia's smile was a little smaller than before, but it was still there.

He stared at her for a moment more and then gave her a head pat. Along with a soft smile. "And… thank you." He said before he walked towards the back of the wagon.

…

"Mmmmmm!" Raphtalia was red-faced after the head pat and hugged herself embarrassedly. '_Master Naofumi! He makes me want to hug and kiss him so badly! But what if I get pregnant from the kiss!? Oh no oh no oh no! I don't know how much longer I can restrain myself!'_ Raphtalia thought as she shook her head quickly, trying to rid it of thoughts of her and master Naofumi sharing a loving liplock with each other. Only for them to have a little child nine months later because of a simple chaste kiss. Then he'd hate her, and she wouldn't be able to fight in the waves, and… and… '_AUGHHHHH!'_

Naofumi sighed contentedly as he climbed into the back of the wagon and laid down on the blanket Raphtalia had been laying on a few minutes ago. It was still warm, and it smelled of her. He still felt a little bitter that he couldn't cast magic yet, but he felt more warmth and love because of his Companion that drowned away the bitterness. '_Thank the Gods for Raphtalia. I'd be angry all the time if she wasn't helping me out.'_ He thought as he closed his eyes, and allowed himself to be lulled off to dreamland. Unaware of the panic attack Raphtalia was currently having outside.

"Mommy, are you ok?" Filo asked.

Raphtalia finally came back to awareness. "Why wouldn't I be Filo!?" Raphtalia asked in a higher-pitched voice than normal. Her hands balled up at her sides.

"You've been standing there the last few minutes. And your face is all red. Like daddy's when he gets angry." Filo pointed out childishly.

"Gahhhhh!" Raphtalia shrieked in embarrassment.

Fortunately for her, Naofumi was already heading off to dreamland.

…

* * *

_*Gasp!*_

_Naofumi woke with a start. He was surrounded by darkness. The ground all around him was cement. Ruins of structures hid in the darkness all around him._

_Worse, he realized he was all alone._

"_Raphtalia! Filo!" Naofumi yelled as he sat up. No sounds came from the darkness all around._

"_Where am I, and where are those two?" Naofumi said to himself as he got up. He couldn't remember how he got here. The last thing he remembered was the wagon. He had just learned a new spell. What had-_

_A fire burst to life to the side, almost blinding Naofumi because of the darkness. He raised his shield to his face to block it out. The light illuminated the shield on his arm. It was bigger than any other shield he was supposed to have. With black and red colors like hellfire twirling across the surface. 'What the hell-'_

"_Ahhhhhh!" Raphtalia screamed._

_His previous thoughts were thrown out the window. "Raphtalia!" Naofumi turned and ran in the direction of the fire. It was blazing behind the ruins of a large building._

"_Daddy!" "Naofumi!" Both Filo and Raphtalia yelled._

"_Hang on! I'm coming you two!" Naofumi yelled, worry filling his voice. Had they been separated? Was it an ambush? What the hell was going on!? _

_Suddenly, the scenery around him disappeared. He found himself in the wagon he'd been sleeping in, the wagon which was now ablaze. Fires ate up everything that had been inside. The unknown shield was still on his arm. 'What the…' "Filo, Raphtalia!" He called out. The fire wasn't hurting him for some reason._

_"Filo!"_

_He peered through the smoke around him to see a large bird-like form on the ground. When he jumped out of the wagon though, he gasped. A severely burnt Filo laid next to the remnants of some burnt boxes, unmoving. "No, Filo…" He gasped again. Lying a few feet in front of Filo facedown on the ground was Raphtalia._

"_No!" Naofumi yelled. "Raphtalia!" He jumped over Filo and rolled Raphtalia over. He gasped in shock and pain. 'No…' Raphtalia looked back up at him, her eyes were glassy. The remnants of tears drying beneath her eyes. "No… it can't…"_

_"Da… Daddy…" Naofumi looked over in shock at Filo. Her blue eyes were already fading. "Why… why did you… you attack… Filo..." Filo's head dropped back to the ground, and her breaths ceased._

"_No… Filo!… Raphtalia!…" Naofumi clutched his hands to his chest. Hot tears pressed against his eyes. "No… NO!…"_

_They were both dead. He had failed. 'Wasn't I supposed to protect them? Wasn't I supposed to keep them safe?' He thought. The fiery remnants of the wagon continued to burn…_

_..._

"_Too bad Shield Hero."_

_He looked up, and Myne's figure appeared out of the darkness behind the wagon. "Looks like you weren't able to protect your party."_

_Naofumi sat in his spot, staring at the red-headed bitch in shock. Myne laughed bitchily into her hand. Fire glowed in her hands, showing she was the one who'd set the wagon on fire. "It seems you'll have to go back to hunting monsters all by yourself! But I guess that's no surprise, since you-"_

_Something snapped in Naofumi, and he quickly stood up. A look of rage coming onto his face as he charged forward. She knew fire magic. He was surrounded by fires. She had been the cause of this. She had killed Raphtalia and Filo! "YOU BITCH-" He yelled as he punched for her face._

_His fist passed right through Myne as if she was made of smoke. He stumbled in surprise and looked behind him. Myne was no longer standing there, and neither was the burning wagon. He was surrounded once more by darkness and the ruins of buildings._

"_Show yourself!" Naofumi yelled angrily as he looked around. The Shield on his arm changed to the Chimera Viper Shield._

_After a moment, a figure appeared from the dark door of a building. Only, it wasn't Myne._

"_Shield Hero. As if. A shield isn't even a weapon." Motoyasu said cockily, hefting his spear over his right shoulder. "You couldn't even save your party members with your shield. How pathetic. But I guess that's what you should expect from a useless shielder."_

_Naofumi backed away. "No, this can't be real! This has to be in my head!" Naofumi yelled, putting his hands over his head. It was the only thing that made sense!_

"_Is it all in your head though?" Myne asked as she appeared behind him again, opposite Motoyasu. He looked back at her. She looked real, from her manipulative smile to the glint in her eyes. "You're all alone Shield Hero. No one can help you now."_

"_You're wrong!" Naofumi yelled at her. "I'm not alone! I'm not-"_

"_And I was hoping you were trustworthy Naofumi." Naofumi looked to the side. Ren was standing calmly against a pillar, looking boredly down at his sword. "I can't believe you'd kill your own party members."_

"_No, not you… too Ren." Naofumi said, reaching out towards Ren. Had Myne so easily manipulated him with those words?_

"_Just give it a rest Naofumi." Itsuki appeared out of the darkness next to Ren. Holding his bow in one hand. "None of us ever believed you were trustworthy. Running away after you raped Myne. And now this?" He looked away in disgust._

_Naofumi backed away from the two. A shocked look on his face. "No, you're wrong! I had to run away! She was going to frame me! Her and the Three Heroes Church! They're both framing me right now!"_

"_Hahaha, as if Shield Demon."_

_Naofumi turned around and quickly backed away from the nun that had appeared close behind him. "The Church of the Three Heroes would never sink so low to deal with somebody as useless as you," Altara said. Her pride clearly showing in her voice. "Especially when you have so conveniently incriminated yourself!"_

"_We should have never summoned a demon like you to our world." The Trash King appeared between Motoyasu and Altara._

"_It'll be better for us all if you never existed kid." Erhard appeared between Ren and Myne._

"_Raphtalia and Filo would have never died if they didn't travel with you!" Motoyasu yelled angrily._

"_We'd save a whole lot of trouble if we just locked you away like the demon you are!" The mustached Royal Knight Commander appeared between Itsuki and Motoyasu._

"_To think we ever thought to help out a demon like him." The old apothecarian and witch from the Capital both appeared between Altara and Myne._

_Naofumi dropped to his knees and held his hands over his ears. More people joined the circle around him. Albert, Jerry, Pope Balamus, Firo, the nobles he'd met in the King's palace, the Lord of Lute Village, Tanya, and a bunch of random people he'd overheard either in the Capital or during his travels appeared all around him. Their voices becoming like a chorus of hate._

"_Who does that lowly Shield Hero think he is?"_

"_To think he'd kill his own party members!"_

"_He's worse than the rumors say he is!"_

"_We'd be doing our Gods a favor by ridding the world of him!"_

"_He'd do the whole world a favor if he were to disappear himself."_

"_Why did we ever need to summon this filth? Without his companions, he's just a useless piece of trash."_

_"He killed his party in cold blood. Who's to say who he'll try to kill next?"_

_'No! I didn't do anything! I didn't kill them! It was Myne that did it! Why won't any of them believe me!? Why are they all believing that bitch over me!?' He thought in pain. 'What the hell did I ever do to this world to turn them all AGAINST ME!?'_

"_Urghhhhhahhhhhh!" Naofumi screamed in the middle of it all. Anger and grief coursing through him like a hurricane about to explode. What was wrong with these people!? What was wrong with this world!? Why did they all hate him?!_

_He felt the shield on his arm activating, green flames appearing over it as his mouth opened to yell. Red lines covered his face._

_"DARK GAS-"_

"Master Naofumi!"

* * *

***Gasp!***

Naofumi sat up suddenly, his eyes looking frantically around him. The voices were gone. But it was dark, it was so dark! '_What's happening to me!? Where am I?! What-'_

The flap to the front end of the wagon opened. Raphtalia peaked in worriedly, holding a ball of light in one of her hands, illuminating Naofumi's surroundings and briefly blinding him. She rubbed tiredness away from her eyes. "Master Naofumi! Are you alright?" She asked in a worried tone.

…

Naofumi stared at the Tanuki girl in silence. '_But… but she…'_ Realization finally hit him, and he allowed himself to relax. His eyes looked at the shield on his arm. It was still in its default setting where he'd left it before falling asleep.

It had only been a nightmare.

"It was nothing. Just a bad dream." He whispered.

"Are you sure? I thought I heard you whimpering." She said as she entered, looking down at him worriedly. She set the ball of light to the side. "Are you okay?" She asked sincerely.

He leaned forward and put a hand over hers. "I'm alright now. Thanks though." He said. Despite that, she continued to look at him with worry in her eyes. _'Was it really that bad while I was asleep?'_ He thought.

He decided it'd be for the best not to dwell on the nightmare he'd had and stopped thinking about it. "How long was I asleep?" He asked.

Raphtalia stared at him, visually making sure he was okay. "About seven hours." She finally said. He was surprised. He had slept for that long? "Filo ran for half that time before I made her stop at the base of a large hill. She ate all the monsters in the nearby area before she went to bed. I've been keeping watch ever since. I felt it'd be best to let you rest." Raphtalia further explained.

"... Well, at least I won't have to cook for Filo tonight." He said optimistically.

"... That might have been because I promised her you'd cook us breakfast in the morning." Raphtalia admitted sheepishly.

…

Naofumi sighed, and leaned back against the covering of the wagon. "I guess there's no backing out of that promise?" He asked.

Raphtalia shook her head. "Figures." He muttered. "I guess I don't have much of a choice. My cooking is one of the only things helping to keep her somewhat obedient."

"Maybe if we continue to be nice to Filo and treat her as our daughter, she won't need a monster crest or good cooking to behave," Raphtalia suggested.

"Maybe." He muttered, looking down at his legs. _'I'm still not going to think of that Chicken Loli as my daughter. The last thing I need is the other heroes thinking I've gone off the deep end again.'_ He thought.

Raphtalia, instead of inviting her master out of the wagon, sat down next to him, holding her hands in her lap. With what had happened while he was asleep mostly out of the way, and as much as she'd like to press him about what he'd been dreaming about, she knew the subject was about to change to an uncomfortable one. She decided not to try and avoid it, and waited for Naofumi to bring it up. That didn't keep her tail from moving apprehensively behind her.

"What do you know about those Siltvelt demi-humans?" Naofumi asked. It wasn't a hard voice, but neither was it soft. It was like a calm, a calm that could fall to either side depending on what way the conversation went.

Raphtalia looked down at her hands. "I don't know much. I've never visited their country before." She admitted.

"But you know more than what you told me before at Erhard's place?" Naofumi asked.

…

Raphtalia's head lowered, as if she was ashamed. "I knew a little bit… but I wasn't sure what you would have done if I told you." She admitted quietly.

...

Naofumi raised her chin up so he could look her in the eye. He didn't look upset as much as he did worried. "It's okay. I wouldn't want to leave you or Filo behind no matter how good the offer was."

Raphtalia smiled. "Weren't you wanting to be rid of Filo this morning?" She asked.

"Okay, maybe I was lying about not leaving Filo. But you care for her too, so I can't leave you both." Naofumi said.

Raphtalia held his hand. It was progress on his end. Or maybe it was because he saw the uses of a Filolial that could help them travel. Whatever it was, it helped her to start talking. "To be honest, almost all demi-humans view the Shield Hero as a Savior. Some go as far as viewing the Shield as their God." She started. "And Siltvelt is one of those places. I learned that from my parents."

* * *

"_When I grow up, I want to meet the Shield Hero!" A young Raphtalia yelled happily to her father. Who chuckled at the childlike way she'd said it._

"_I wouldn't mind getting to see a Cardinal Hero myself." He said._

"_I'm sure every demi-human from Castle Town to Siltvelt would love to meet him, dear." Raphtalia's mother said as she appeared, resting her chin on her husband's shoulder._

_"True. But I'd be happy if our daughter got the chance to see him face to face." He smiled widely. "It's because of him that us demi-humans are here today."_

_Raphtalia looked curiously at her parents from her father's lap. "Is the Shield Hero the most popular hero out of the four heroes of legend?" She asked curiously._

"_Not so much among humans as demi-humans Raphtalia." Her father said as he closed the storybook he'd been reading to her from. "Because of him though, our kind survived the original Waves of Catastrophe along with the humans. It's even said that some of his descendants were among the greatest rulers in Siltvelt."_

_Raphtalia moved out of her Father's lap to stand in front of her parents. She continued to look at them curiously. "Does that mean Siltvelt is a good place for demi-humans because of the Shield Hero?" She asked._

_The smiles on her parent's faces suddenly became strained. "Yes, it was… at one point." Her Father said, forcing happiness into his voice._

_Raphtalia looked at her parents confusedly, sensing their change of demeanor. "Does Siltvelt not love the Shield Hero anymore?" She asked sadly._

"_Oh, it isn't that sweetie." Her mom said. "They still love and worship the Shield Hero in Siltvelt."_

_Raphtalia continued to look confused. "Then why-"_

"_We'll explain when you're older Raphtalia." Her Father said, cutting her off. "For now… here comes the tickle monster!" With that, her Father jumped out of his chair and began tickling Raphtalia all over._

"_Ahhhh! Noooo!" Raphtalia yelled happily as she fell back to the ground while being tickled in all her sensitive spots. She tried in vain to resist and rolled on the ground laughing. Up above, her parents tickled her relentlessly, laughing happily with their daughter._

_Her original question was soon forgotten under the maelstrom of flailing limbs and childlike laughter._

* * *

Raphtalia looked up at Naofumi. He didn't appear mad. Rather, he was looking down at his hands with a contemplative expression. '_So I was right about those demi-humans worshipping the Shield Hero… and if the whole nation worships the Shield Hero like the Three Heroes Church worships the Sword, Spear, and Bow Heroes…'_

Naofumi looked up at Raphtalia. "If I'm worshipped as a God by the demi-humans, why haven't I seen them before today?" He asked. Had he known before the first wave, he could have easily escaped over into Siltvelt. The Church hadn't been sure if he'd survived the mines or not, so it would have been easy for him and Raphtalia to sneak across the border.

Raphtalia's ears folded to her head as if she were ashamed. "I didn't realize at first how severe our situation was." She admitted. "Had I known, I would have suggested Siltvelt being a place to go since they worship you."

Naofumi could get part of her reasoning. He had, after all, kept her in the dark about his reasons for running away from the Capital until after the Sacred Duel between him and Motoyasu. '_But she knows why I ran away now. And she said she would have back then... So what would make her want to keep away from wanting to leave the country for Siltvelt? Her parents never told her anything about the place... Unless…'_ "Was back in that village the first time you met demi-humans from Siltvelt?" He asked. She had never been to Siltvelt, she said she would have led him there if she'd known how serious their situation was, but now she held a dislike for the place.

Raphtalia shook her head. She had met some Siltveltians before. "From what I understand, they've been searching the Kingdom for you for a long while… the first time I met demi-humans from Siltvelt was back in Dragon Village... I was approaching the bathhouse when I was confronted by two Genmus." She said.

"Genmus?" Naofumi asked. However, upon her mentioning the demi-human race, he found information about them appear in his help tab. _'Odd, I don't remember it being there before?'_ He thought. His did a quick read through while Raphtalia thought to herself. His help guide showed that Genmu's were a race of demi-humans distinguished by a turtle shell on their back. They preferred aquatic or humid environments. They were listed as one of three major races that held power in Siltvelt. The other two races were currently unknown to him and distinguished with question marks. It also labeled the Genmus as worshippers of the Shield Hero. More question marks laid along the bottom, indicating that there was more information he had as of yet to acquire about the Genmus.

"They're a race of demi-humans," Raphtalia said sadly while looking towards the back of the wagon. "One of the few who rule in Siltvelt." It was a basic summary of what he'd read in the help guide, minus their physical differences. "The two I met were males. They said they were searching for you under the orders of the Grand Council... they weren't very nice…"

...

_'Wait… didn't she mention…'_ He finally remembered that time from what felt like a long time ago. He'd asked Raphtalia if the bathhouse in Dragon Village had offered private baths when they walked by it. She'd said it had and had admitted it was because she didn't like some of the stares the men were giving her. He'd written it off as some idiot lolicons wanting to get a look at Raphtalia. He had never felt to press…

He realized Raphtalia was remaining silent now, and he became worried. "Raphtalia, what did they do?" He asked as he gave her hand a squeeze.

…

"When they realized that I was a Tanuki… I learned why my parents never talked about Siltvelt…" She looked back at Naofumi with tears in her eyes. Her tail wrapped around one of her legs, and she lowered her head in shame again. "The demi-humans of Siltvelt hate humans. But they also exercise prejudice against weaker classes of demi-humans. Ones the ruling class like the Genmu feel are inferior to them… or ones that they feel betrayed their nation..."

…

"And your race is possibly one of them?" Naofumi asked.

Raphtalia nodded, and her fists clenched. He was starting to get the bigger picture from what the demi-humans he'd overheard back at the village had said. "I don't know what my race did. But they said some of the nastiest things to me Master Naofumi. And they threatened me at sword point to reveal where you were hiding. Somehow, they thought that the Tanuki race was hiding you in Melromarc just to spite Siltvelt, and they wanted to kill me and take you away... If it hadn't been for Jerry chasing them off…" Raphtalia couldn't continue. Tears were falling from her eyes and she hung her head in shame. She hadn't told Naofumi because she hadn't wanted to worry him. She hoped Naofumi wouldn't be mad at her for keeping this from him.

...

Naofumi's weight shifted, and Raphtalia was surprised when a pair of warm arms brought her close, allowing her to lean into Naofumi's unarmored chest. "It's okay." He said. One of his hands moving through her hair comfortingly. '_So Jerry wasn't just treating her well because she was a customer.'_ He realized. He felt a little bad for assuming the blacksmith had been a lolicon before.

"You're… you're not mad?" She asked, sniffling a little.

"By the sounds of it, these people in Siltvelt sound like a bunch of religious zealots," Naofumi said calmly. "And I don't think we'd have anything to gain moving from one country of religious zealots to another." He chuckled. He found it ironic. He was being hunted and persecuted in this country, but he'd prefer being hunted and persecuted in Melromarc than being treated as a figurehead in a different country that would persecute and/or kill Raphtalia and possibly Filo. "Besides, you're my Sword and Companion," Naofumi mentioned. "I'm not going anywhere without you by my side. Whether some ruling class approves of Tanukis or not."

…

Raphtalia wiped tears from her eyes. "And, and Filo?" Raphtalia asked again.

He thought about it. "Ehhhh, maybe I wouldn't leave her too." He said with a shrug. She looked up into his eyes and saw them twinkling with mischief. Before she could realize why he released her and looked towards the wagon's front flap. "After all, I'm not sure I approve of you listening in on important conversations, FILO!" He yelled.

"Ahhhhh!" The surprised to be caught loli form Filo fell through the flap onto the floor of the wagon in a heap of limbs.

"Filo!" Raphtalia said in worry as she reached for the girl.

"Yeah, went straight to sleep my ass!" Naofumi yelled.

Raphtalia stopped reaching and looked to Naofumi in shock. "Naofumi, language!" Raphtalia berated him. However, she was surprised to see him not looking angry. But again, his eyes were showing mischievousness.

"Wahhhh! Daddy you big meanie! You're being all lovey-dovey with mother and not meeee!" Filo cried childishly as she beat her fists against the floor of the wagon.

"No, this is me being mean!" Naofumi said as he crouched over and proceeded to tickle Filo relentlessly. The surprised Filo tried to resist, but couldn't stop herself from rolling all over the floor of the wagon, laughing her head off as Naofumi continued to tickle her. "How do you like peeking in on people's conversations now Filo!?" Naofumi asked, trying to hold back his own laughter. "Huh?! Huh?!"

"Hahahaha! Stop, please! Hahahaha! Dad! DADDDD!" Filo continued to laugh despite her pleas, enjoying the attention.

Raphtalia gasped at the familiarity of the sight in front of her. For a moment, she saw the same memory she'd shared with Naofumi pass before her mind again. Only Filo had taken her place as the little girl. '_Filo… Naofumi...'_ A wide smile appeared on her face, and Raphtalia joined Naofumi on the fun. Replacing her mother's spot in the memory while Naofumi replaced her Father's. "Are your feet ticklish too honey?" She asked as she started tickling the bottom of Filo's feet. Continuing her memory where it had left off.

"Augh! NO! NOOOOOO!" Filo yelled whilst laughing from the double tickle tortures being applied to her.

Raphtalia started to laugh, and Naofumi started to laugh too. '_We might be on the run from the Capital, the Three Heroes Church, and mercenaries from Siltvelt…'_ Raphtalia looked from Filo to Naofumi. '_But I'm so glad we can still have moments like this despite all that.'_ Raphtalia thought happily. Even if Naofumi didn't view Filo as his daughter and got annoyed with her for acting like a child, he looked very happy in that moment.

The thought of kissing Master Naofumi went through her mind again, and Raphtalia's face burned a bright red. '_Oh no! Not again!'_

"WAHHHHHHH!"

It'd be a long while before Raphtalia and Filo went back to bed. Allowing Naofumi to keep watch for danger in the night. But for now, all three enjoyed the family moment they were having.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**And that's another chapter out of the way.**

**I am so looking forward to Christmas Break. I'll get the chance to sleep more, maybe get a little more writing done all around. I have many of the next few chapters written out, but I'm still trying to write the next one since it's relevant to the rest of the story. I'm going to need some prayers of help and inspiration from you guys and gals.**

**Also, thanks again for all your support. This is a fun project to do in my downtime. I hope you all have a great week, and I'll be seeing you next Monday! Enjoy the omake scenes!**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**What if we kissed?!**

* * *

'_Master Naofumi! He makes me want to kiss him so badly!'_ Raphtalia thought to herself where she sat in the corner of the camp. Naofumi was making breakfast in the background, and Filo was running around as a small child, chasing a butterfly. Raphtalia was still red from the head pat he had given her that morning for getting the ingredients he needed for today's breakfast.

'_But if I kiss him, I could end up getting pregnant!' _She thought.

Her mind briefly entertained the risk. '_No, I can't get pregnant now! I have to be able to fight for Naofumi, not raise a family! Even though I'd really like to raise a family with him!'_

Her mind wandered. Imagining something more simple she could do instead to show her appreciation. Like massaging his shoulders for him instead. Raphtalia's face blushed a brighter red at the thought, but it seemed safer. He always seemed so tense. _'Wait, but if I do that, then Naofumi might feel obligated to kiss me in appreciation! I have to think of something else!'_

She imagined themselves going out on a date. That would be a great way to show her appreciation. And- '_Oh no! But Rifana always told me about how guys are supposed to kiss girls on dates! What if Naofumi took me on one and I was obligated to kiss him! Then I'd… I'd...'_ She thought.

Her mind wandered even further upon a realization. Naofumi gave her headpats whenever she did something for him without being asked. But what if Naofumi decided to kiss her instead of giving her a head pat as a show of appreciation for doing something for him. Like the time she'd made the sandwich for him! Her eyes widened at that. Anything she could do for him would end with them kissing and raising a family.

'_Oh no! I won't be able to do anything for Naofumi anymore in fear of being rewarded! But if I don't do anything for him, then he could think I'm useless, and then I'd do something nice to make it up to him and then, then, then…'_

"Ah! Ahhh! Ahhhhhhh!" Raphtalia started to roll around on the ground. Feeling embarrassed because she had no idea what to do. Every outcome always seemed to end with them kissing!

Filo and Naofumi looked down confusedly at Raphtalia. Naofumi was holding two plates of food; one for her and one for himself. Filo was holding the pot that held the rest of the food he'd made. "Daddy, what's wrong with Mommy?" Filo quizzically asked Naofumi.

"I have no idea," Naofumi said dryly while he and Filo watched Raphtalia rolling around on the ground.

_'What do I do what do I do what do I do?!..." _Raphtalia thought over and over again in her embarrassment.

Naofumi sighed. '_Sometimes, I really wish I could read her mind.'_ He thought to himself.

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**Ara Ara Naofumi-kun**

* * *

_*Gasp!*_

_Naofumi woke with a start. He was surrounded by darkness. He couldn't see anything around him. His hands and legs were tied down. 'Is this another nightmare?!'_

"_Raphtalia! Filo!" Naofumi yelled as he tried to sit up. No sounds came from the darkness all around._

"_Where am I, and where are those two?" Naofumi said to himself. He couldn't remember how he got here. The last thing he remembered was the wagon. He had just learned a new spell. How had he gotten here… and why did the ground beneath him feel so soft?_

_A candle lit itself on his left. The light allowed him to recognize that he was back in the room he'd stayed in at the castle. He was lying in a large, comfortable bed. He was dressed in only a bathrobe, and his arms and legs were restrained by rope._

_He was confused as hell. 'How did I get back here!? What am I doing back here!? Why the hell am I tied up in only a bathrobe!?'_

_The door to the room slid open, and Naofumi looked up. He wanted to ask whoever it was for answers right now. But instead, his eyes bugged out at what he saw._

"_Ra-Raphtalia?!"_

_Raphtalia had a towel wrapped around her. Her hair was damp from having showered. She smiled seductively as she started to approach the bed. Eyeing him like he was a piece of prey. 'No way. There's no way.'_

_"Ara Ara, Naofumi-kun. Are you ready to begin?"_

"Augh! Augh! Aughhhhhhh!" Naofumi awoke with a start in the back of the wagon. Screaming his head off. He looked absolutely scared after what he'd seen in his dream.

"Master Naofumi! Are you okay?! Why are you screaming?!" Raphtalia asked worriedly outside the wagon's front flap.

Naofumi clutched at his chest. His heart was beating faster than a drummer that'd had a little too much caffeine. 'That_ does it! I'm finding a demi-human who can teach Raphtalia about the changes in her body!'_

"Master Naofumi?!"

"Is daddy okay?!"

_'Ara Ara, Naofumi-kun.'_

Naofumi shook. He still couldn't get those damn words out of his mind. Nor could he get rid of the image. Something was rising, but it certainly wasn't the Shield Hero.

"How am I ever going to look at Raphtalia the same way again?!"

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	19. 19: Doctor Meets Accessory Merchant

**I'll admit up top here that I included a reference to another anime somewhere in this chapter. Anime seekers, get searching! And as always, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Since Last Time: **_17 more Favorites, 27 more Followers (Total: 612 Favorites, 718 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _December 2nd, 2019 2:30 P.M._

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen:** _Doctor Meets Accessory Merchant_

* * *

**Carry on**

_Three Days Later_ _(36 Days before the next wave of Catastrophe)_

"Thanks again!"

Naofumi nodded his head to the young woman who ran off with a batch of medicine to help her young husband. _'I hope it's enough to help.'_ He thought as he looked around at the dark town.

Thankfully, he had a much clearer head about him today. Because one, he'd caught up on his sleep. And two, he'd made the decision that, until he could cast magic, he'd study solely from his medical grimoire. A task that wasn't so stressful, and which brought him a feeling of satisfaction instead of frustration; especially since he'd learned how to compound Better Quality Nutritional Pills. Which allowed him to sell them for a higher price. '_I'll have to make more of those. I forgot with the threat of the waves that people would want to make sure they were in top shape in case they had to fight off monsters.'_ He noted in his mind.

His experience in this town was turning out to be similar to the first village he visited along with the one he'd visited yesterday as a night merchant. He arrived at the town after sunset. The stall had been set up shortly after, and groups of people sought him out for the medicines he was selling… ... and again, more of them had bought from Raphtalia instead of him. Which he blamed partly on the fact that she had Filo over on her side helping her out by being a cute playful loli advertisement.

That was part of Naofumi's excuse for being outdone... again. The other part was because of how things had gone differently after he'd arrived in this town. Word of a new night merchant going by "The Nocturnal Doctor" had already spread to this region. Apparently, successfully healing a Lord's daughter had given him a new name and a reputation boost. Meaning it'd be easier now for him to lay low from Melromarc Knights and the Church.

Unlike the last town, he'd had several people here ask for his help in healing their loved ones. Meaning he'd had to leave the stall to Raphtalia and Filo for most of the night. So, of course, they'd sell more than him. That was his excuse anyway.

'_At least I made some serious coin doing personal visits. That'll counterbalance for me not being able to sell much.'_ Naofumi thought as he held up the pouch holding the coins people had paid him with. Most of it was money the family members of those he saved had gifted him. Hell, it seemed like the more he tried to undercharge them, the more they were willing to gift him for saving their loved ones. _'At this rate, I should be able to afford to get Raphtalia new equipment while still being able to feed Filo.'_

Naofumi smiled. Despite staying disguised and unknown whenever he was in town, he was really beginning to like being able to help out other people. Especially since it paid well.

"Daddy, Mommy was wondering if you were thinking something greedy."

Naofumi sharply turned and looked down at Filo in surprise. She was smiling sweetly, not having a clue what the term greed meant in her childish mind. Raphtalia was busy talking with two other customers.

"You can tell her I wasn't." Naofumi lied. '_Seriously?! How the hell does she do it?!'_

Filo continued to sweetly smile. "Mommy's also wondering if we'll have any more customers tonight," Filo asked.

Naofumi sighed to himself. _'Why did Raphtalia have to tell her I'm her Father? It's so weird.'_ He thought as he looked down at the happy smiling innocent Filo with a blank face. "Probably not. We'll stay open an extra fifteen minutes just in case. Now go back to… mommy." He grimaced. It was weird to call Raphtalia by that term.

"Okay!" Filo happily ran back to Raphtalia immediately after Naofumi answered. Raphtalia had just finished selling medicine to the two travelers when Filo jumped up into Raphtalia's waiting arms. The two of them laughed as they spun together. The two travelers awed at the sight.

_'I mean, it's much more obvious that Raphtalia is like Filo's mom. Even those two strangers can tell.'_ Naofumi thought as he watched the two. A smile came onto his lips at the sight when Raphtalia and Filo rubbed heads affectionately. Filo whispered something into Raphtalia's ear, and she started to giggle. She made it look so natural. Like it was built into her to be motherly...

He shook his head to clear it. '_Might as well start packing up my side. I doubt I'll have any more customers with those two acting so cute.'_ He thought with resignation.

He was having some good success as a merchant and as a doctor… but he still hadn't found another adult demi-human since they'd left Bellona Village... And he was still very much unwilling to open the question mark box with Raphtalia's name on it inside his mind until they found one… that preferably wasn't from Siltvelt.

He lifted one of his remaining crates of medicine and put it in the back of the wagon. He found it ironic. On one side, he had Myne glaring down haughtily in his mind, keeping him from wanting to enter a serious relationship. On the other hand, he was afraid to advance to a more serious relationship because he didn't know if Raphtalia knew what the boundaries of a relationship were. And until he could find a friendly demi-human from Siltvelt that wasn't hunting them down that could give her, 'The Talk,' he'd be wary of going further than hugging or cuddling. _'I never thought I'd have to be picky about what kind of demi-human would give Raphtalia the Talk-'_

"Hmmm. Are you the famous Nocturnal Doctor I've been hearing about?"

Naofumi was brought out of his reverie. "Huh?" He looked around for the person who had spoken but couldn't see anyone.

"I'm down here."

Naofumi finally looked down and saw a guy almost as short as Beloukas standing in front of his stall. The man was dressed in red and gold-colored clothes. He spoke with an accent that Naofumi hardly recognized, and wore a rich red hat on his head. _'He kind of looks like a merchant.'_ Naofumi thought. "Who are you?" He asked.

"Hickwaal's the name. And trade and commerce are my game." The merchant replied happily, his eyes closed while he smiled widely.

"... right…" '_That's a merchant's sales pitch if I've ever heard one.'_ Naofumi glanced over at Raphtalia and Filo. But the two of them were already talking to another person who wanted to stock up on medicine for colds.

"Not to worry. I'm not here to try and extract any trade secrets from you or anything!" Hickwaal said, holding his hands up appeasingly in front of him while he continued to smile widely.

"You also don't look like you're here to buy anything," Naofumi said, crossing his arms as he dryly looked down at the merchant. It was like the guy was hiding something. But he didn't see any rosaries on the guy or anything. Yet something felt kind of off with this guy.

"Indeed I'm not." The merchant replied happily.

_'... Well, at least he's honest.'_ Naofumi thought. He could give him that.

"At least, I'm not here to buy any of your medicines. Rather, I'm here to buy transport to Algade." He said.

Naofumi's eyebrow raised at that. "Buy transport?" He asked. _'Does he think I operate some kind of taxi service or something?'_ He was about to say 'no' when the merchant continued.

"Yes. You see, I have some merchandise I need to deliver to a customer. Unfortunately, all the other wagons have either left town or are traveling elsewhere." The merchant said, finally looking a little sad. "If I don't get my merchandise to my customer by tomorrow evening, then I'm afraid I'll lose a lot of money. You're my last shot at making it on time."

… Naofumi thought it over in his mind. _'I'm not sensing anything hostile from him. It sounds like he doesn't have many options and could give me the chance to make more money… but if I remember the map correctly, Algade is a town that puts us deeper in the mountain range. I don't want to start thinking that we got away from Bellona Village on dumb luck. Reputation or not, the sooner we leave the mountains for another part of the country, the better… …'_

"What kind of merchandise are you transporting? And how much?" Naofumi asked.

"Hmmm. Nothing too much. Only two crates." The merchant looked around as if he was checking to make sure nobody was listening in. "The merchandise are some accessories I made. They'll bring in a pretty penny for my customer with the Waves of Catastrophe and everything going on."

"... Accessories, huh?" Naofumi tried to think about what an accessory was. Despite his past gaming experience, he hadn't heard that gaming term before. He guessed the closest definition would be something you could wear that would better your stats, like an amulet or a ring. He'd already heard it was possible to enchant armor in this world, so why not some random trinket?

"Alright, I'll help." Naofumi finally said. The merchant smiled with glee. "But I want 20% of what you get from that customer for travel expenses. And I want a close look at one of those accessories on our way over." He added dryly.

"Hmmm... You've got yourself a deal!" The merchant happily shook Naofumi's hand. "I'll go get my goods arranged immediately so we'll be able to leave in the morning!"

'_Holy hell. He accepted that even with the 20% price tag. I hope he isn't ripping me off here.'_ Naofumi thought in surprise. He'd thought for sure the 20% price tag would be too high for the merchant. It turned out he was wrong. The merchant was desperate to not lose this customer.

The merchant hustled away, looking very eager to have found someone reliable to help transport his goods. "Master Naofumi, who was that man?" Raphtalia asked curiously.

"Yeah Daddy, who was that weird man?" Filo asked curiously.

Naofumi shook his head to clear it before looking at the two of them. "An overnight customer." He answered blandly. "Let's load the wagon and head back to camp. We're coming back here again in the morning before we leave."

"Right."

"Got it… so does that mean I can transform now-?" Filo asked curiously.

"Transform inside the stables! Not out here where everyone can see you!" He said exasperatedly. Even now that he was caught up on sleep, Naofumi still had a short fuse about Filo transforming out in public. "And no talking while you're in your Filolial form tomorrow, or else Mommy will be the one making your dinner!"

"Wahhhhhhh!" Filo immediately cried at the prospect of her dad not making dinner for her. Raphtalia had already tried once. And while Filo loved her mommy, she loved daddy's cooking much more than her's.

"Naofumi," Raphtalia said with a sigh.

"What?" He asked.

Raphtalia sighed again. "Never mind."

* * *

_The Next Morning_

Raphtalia sat in the driver's seat of the wagon, holding the reins to Filo. Filo was in her Filolial Queen Form pulling the wagon. The two of them hummed happily together in unison as they traveled. "Remember to pretend that you're a regular Filolial Queen Filo." Raphtalia whispered to the big bird. "No talking, or else daddy will get angry."

Filo nodded and continued to hum to herself happily.

Inside the wagon, Naofumi sat with the merchant from the night before. The merchant had one of his two crates open in front of him. He pulled a ring out for Naofumi to look at.

"So an accessory is just that?" Naofumi asked curiously.

"Why yes." The merchant said, handing Naofumi the Silver Ring. It had a green gemstone on it. "An accessory is any trinket that an adventurer can wear. Be it an amulet, a necklace, a ring, a bracelet, or any other fine jewelry that has been enchanted. Some of these in the box are just for show mind you because of their weak enchantments, but that ring is one I personally enchanted myself." He said proudly.

"You mean, you enchanted that?" Naofumi asked.

"Of course. I wouldn't be a good accessory merchant if I didn't know how to perform enchantments." The merchant said as he handed the ring to Naofumi so he could look it over.

The item description appeared on his status magic screen. His eyes almost widened, but he managed to restrain himself from looking so surprised. "Very High Quality. Gives wearer Magic Up and Agility Up." Naofumi said.

"Yes, or in other words, it will increase a wearer's magic capabilities and his or her speed." The merchant said happily. "It's one of my masterpieces. A rare enchantment to be able to get with silver. I couldn't hope to make such another using silver in my life."

'_This would work perfectly with Raphtalia's stats.'_ Naofumi thought incredulously. "How much is it?" He asked.

"Hmmm, I'd say somewhere around 8-10 Gold Pieces," Hickwaal said.

'_WHAT?!'_ Naofumi thought, before looking down at the expensive silver ring he was carrying again. It was worth much more than some of his best medicine... He contemplated purchasing it still since Raphtalia could use the stat boosts, then he remembered that he was holding a ring, and grimaced at the thought. _'Actually, I'd rather not give her the wrong idea.'_ Stat boost or not, it might send the wrong message. "Is Silver hard to enchant or something?" Naofumi decided to ask.

"Digging for my trade secrets now, hmmm?" The merchant asked Naofumi, feigning curiosity.

"Not really. I already know how to craft and compound. I just never knew that you could make accessories, much less, enchant them." Naofumi answered.

"Really? Does that mean you make all your medicine yourself?" The merchant asked, this time actually being genuinely curious and surprised. It almost obviously looked like a way for the merchant to try and change the subject. Naofumi smirked under his hood.

"Well, since you're asking." Naofumi pulled out his compounding tools from his inventory along with some herbs. He needed to start compounding medicines for when they visited the next town anyway. He set an empty crate in front of himself, and with the merchant watching opposite him, Naofumi got to work with his tools.

Five minutes later, Naofumi set a dozen bottles of various medicines in the crate. Then he finally set the compounding tools to the side and allowed the merchant to look at what he'd created. "What do you think?" Naofumi asked.

"Hmmm!" He hummed in amazement as he examined the item descriptions. "None of these medicines are below Good Quality! And some of them are hard to come by." The merchant said as he studied each medicine's description on his status screen. He then looked up at Naofumi. "Tell me, how did you manage this?" He asked curiously.

"What do you mean?" Naofumi responded curiously in the same tone the merchant had used on him.

"I've had the pleasure of watching several great apothecaries make medicine. But never have I seen them get this kind of result before." The merchant responded in awe.

Naofumi shrugged. "I guess that's just my trade secret." A few shields that increased his compounding skills, success chance, and medicine quality also helped out a fair bit.

"Your reputation as the Nocturnal Doctor is well called for then." The merchant said, almost as if he was thinking to himself. If he was that good at making medicine, then maybe... "And you said you're also into crafting?" He asked.

"A little bit. I haven't crafted too much though since I don't have much to work with-" Naofumi was replying.

"Master Naofumi." Raphtalia cut him off.

Naofumi and the merchant looked up. "What is it Raphtalia?" He blandly asked. '_Come on! I was about to learn how to craft accessories from this guy! Couldn't it have waited another ten minutes?!'_

"There's a large gang up ahead. They're cutting off our path." Raphtalia said.

… '_I guess it couldn't wait another ten minutes.'_ Naofumi thought to his chagrin. He looked to the merchant, who suddenly didn't look so good. His skin had noticeably paled. "We'll finish our talk later." He suggested.

"Oh, yes, that sounds... wise." The merchant said. He looked really nervous and was starting to break out in a nervous sweat. Naofumi frowned, now realizing that his hunch from the day before had been correct. The merchant had known something that Naofumi wasn't aware of. Maybe something more than just beating some random competitor to the customer.

He poked his head out of the wagon flap next to Raphtalia to look ahead. "What are we dealing with Raphtalia?"

Filo had taken them down a path that led between two low hills. In the middle of the small valley was a group of what appeared to be thugs. It looked like all of them except two out front were holding weapons. They were purposefully blocking the road about 200 yards in front of them. Naofumi looked around but didn't see a path that diverged from their road.

"It looks like a group of bandits. Filo counted fifteen of them. What do you think we should do Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked.

Naofumi thought for a second. "We could have Filo run at full speed and see if they move out of the way or not," He suggested.

…

Raphtalia gave him a light glare. While his plan could work, Filo could possibly get hurt by one of those weapons. "Or we could stop and see what they want." Naofumi amended. Even if they did get by, these bandits looked like the sort who'd track and harass his wagon if they got away.

However, he looked back at the merchant. He seemed genuinely afraid to hear that there were bandits up ahead. '_Having merchandise like that on him, I could see why he'd be afraid... But something doesn't add up. I doubt a low-class merchant carrying just accessories would attract a whole gang of bandits all at once. Not unless they knew I was the Nocturnal Doctor… or...'_

"Hey, you," Naofumi said back to the merchant. "Just how high up in the merchant world are you?"

"Hmmm… I was keeping that secret for my own safety… trade secrets and all that..." Naofumi lightly glared from under his hood. "But, um… I might be one of the leaders of the merchant's guild here in Melromarc." He answered.

'_... Great. That's the last time I ever ferry someone around for money.'_ Naofumi thought sarcastically to himself as he climbed out and sat next to Raphtalia. Closing the flap of the wagon behind him. He kept his shield hidden under his cloak on his back. The last thing he needed was to reveal his identity as the Shield Hero. "Slow down Filo. Let's see if they want our merchant friend or not."

Raphtalia pulled lightly on the reins, and Filo gradually slowed until they stopped ten yards in front of the group of bandits. This close, he could see that some of them were armed with axes, while others wielded swords or daggers. He saw one in the back holding a bow. Naofumi grimaced under his hood at the looks some of the bandits were directing at him and Raphtalia. The two unarmed bandits in the front of the group stepped forward. The two spokesmen of this band of bandits.

"Strange bird you've got there stranger." The one on the right said humorously as if he was greeting an old friend.

"Just cut the crap and tell me what you want already," Naofumi said dryly. Unbeknownst to the group of bandits, he was using his appraisal skills to measure their strength. And using a party skill to allow Raphtalia's status screen to obtain information on the various bandits' levels and stats as he acquired them.

"Oh, we're not here for trouble friend." The thief on the left said. "We just heard there was an accessory seller hitching a ride in your wagon. One our employer is very interested in… silencing."

The merchant eeped quietly in the back of the wagon. '_Alright. So they are after this merchant.'_ He thought to himself. "What will you do if I hand him over?" Naofumi asked.

"At the least, we'll spare your lives." The thief said with a smile.

…

"So you mean you'll take everything but our lives?" Naofumi clarified.

"Heh, you're a sharp one lad. At most, we'll silence you if you refuse to cooperate." The other thief spokesman said, before finally pulling out a sword and pointing it at Naofumi.

'_... Great. So they not only want to kill this merchant, but they also want to rob us.'_ Naofumi thought sarcastically. That was just his luck. _'Why did I think it was a good idea to bring this merchant with me again? I could have avoided so much trouble by going somewhere else.'_

"Hey. That girl there's pretty hot for a demi-human. Looks like we'll be having ourselves some fun tonight boys." A bandit in the back of the group said with a naughty laugh. Some of the others laughed along with him.

A vein bulged in Naofumi's head at that comment. Just by the bandit's tone of voice, he could tell their version of fun wouldn't be fun for Raphtalia.

"Do I have permission to cut him down, Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia calmly asked. Her tail was spiking angrily behind her at what the bandit had said, and her hands were tightly gripping Filo's reins.

At that moment, Naofumi finally finished using his appraisal skills to check the level of the last bandit. Most of the bandits of the group were around level 25 to level 30. the two spokesmen were around 35, and there was one special guy near the middle at level 42. '_Somebody who must have had a class up.'_ He logically deduced based on what Ren had told him before. He pulled up the guy's stats on his status screen out of worry... but then he started to smirk. '_Really. His stats are like that even after a class up?'_ He had no need to be worried at all.

"Sure, I don't see why not," Naofumi answered as he relaxed back onto the driver's bench. Even at level 42, the class up guy's stats were still below Raphtalia's, who was at level 38. This group wouldn't stand a chance.

Some of the bandits looked confused at what Naofumi had said. A couple even looked nervous at how this hooded figure easily dismissed them to his demi-human companion, who stood up and unsheathed her sword. The still unarmed spokesman upfront puffed out his chest. "Don't even bother. Our class-up bodyguard Sensei can protect us-" He was saying haughtily.

"Yeah yeah, I already saw that," Naofumi said boredly. "Geeze, do you think I'm blind or something?" He asked sarcastically.

Some of the bandits looked even more surprised to hear that. They had just told this fellow that they had one classed up guy with them. Normal merchants and adventurers wouldn't stand a chance. Yet, despite knowing, this hooded figure known as The Nocturnal Doctor still acted as if he was safe. "Hey, are you stupid or something-" One of the bandits in the group tried to ask.

"Go ahead Raphtalia. Oh, and aim for the groin if you can." Naofumi said in a bored tone with his head lowered, hiding the smile on his face. '_These bandits have no idea what's about to hit them.'_

"Right." Raphtalia jumped down beside the wagon. '_Why did he say to aim for the groin area?'_ She thought confusedly to herself. She'd never gotten a suggestion like that from Naofumi before in a fight. But then again, she had never fought against another person before. "As source of thy power, I order thee, decipher the laws of nature, and hide me from my targets." Raphtalia raised an arm above herself. "**Hide Mirage!**" Raphtalia disappeared inside a pillar of light.

The bandits all looked around in shock. Including the class up guy. Naofumi merely whistled to himself as he looked up from under his hood and observed. _'Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that she learned how to turn invisible.'_

It made what happened next even funnier.

"Where did she go!?"

"I can't see her-"

**Pow!** "Ooooooohhhhhhhhhh!" The bandit who'd suggested having fun with Raphtalia fell to his knees. His hands clutching at his groin area that had been crushed by the invisible kick.

'_Ohhhh, that's why.'_ Raphtalia thought in realization. It was their weak point!

The group immediately backed away from their comrade in surprise. "What the hell-" The bandit wielding the bow started to yell.

**Pow!**

He fell face forward into the ground. The ground muffled his screams of pain as he held himself.

"Hah!" Another large bandit wielding an ax brought it down on the ground in front of him where he'd thought he heard Raphtalia moving. "Hey, I think I got her-"

**Pow!**

He stopped speaking in shock. Never before had he felt such pain coming from his nether regions. "Never mind." He squeaked out as he fell over. Screaming as he had never screamed before in his life.

Naofumi continued to watch the chaotic spectacle play out. Grown men started to run around in confusion. One hand wielding a weapon, the other covering their cajones in a desperate attempt to preserve their future posterity, if they ever had any.

**Whack!** "AHHHHHHHH!"

Naofumi was smiling. He was very close to laughing hard now after seeing a seventh bandit fall to the same brutal treatment. '_This is amazing! I never thought getting ambushed by bandits would be this entertaining!'_

Filo leaned her head in close to Naofumi's so she could whisper to him. "Daddy? Should we be helping mommy out?" She asked quietly. She knew she wasn't supposed to speak, but she was genuinely worried about helping out her mommy.

"I think she's got this." As he said that, the class up bandit tried slashing the air in front of him while protecting his balls, only to receive a hard hit to the head, knocking him out. "Yeah, she's definitely got this."

Being invisible on a battlefield really had its benefits. However, Naofumi noticed that Raphtalia's mana gauge was steadily dropping the longer she stayed hidden. _'It's a good spell. But we wouldn't be able to rely on it in long drawn out fights.'_ He thought.

This fight, fortunately, wasn't one of those. The last bandit, one of the two spokesmen, fell to the ground. Squeaking in agony as he gripped his groin area. "O… Owwww…"

Raphtalia reappeared again in the middle of them all. No blood coated her sword. She had either punched/kicked their groin areas or bashed them in the head with her sword hilt. She sheathed her sword and turned to Naofumi. "What are your orders Naofumi?"

Naofumi smiled back as the merchant poked his head out in disbelief. "I can't believe it. She took care of that whole group?"

"Tie them up. I have some questions for them." Naofumi said calmly.

* * *

_A few minutes later_

All the bandits were tied up individually and placed together in one large circle. Those who had been knocked out had finally come too. Those who had taken a hit to their groins… were still recovering. Moaning in pain, or speaking in higher-pitched voices that would have made Opera proud. Raphtalia stood beside Naofumi, who was in front of them. Filo stood behind them, making sure they couldn't escape. The merchant stood behind Naofumi and Raphtalia, using them as a shield in case one of the bandits got loose.

"So. Anyone want to tell me why you thought it was a good idea to attack my wagon?" He asked the group calmly. None of the bandits responded to his question and some continued moaning in pain. He waited patiently for a moment. "Well?"

"... We were targeting the accessory merchant you were transporting." The bandit spokesman finally answered in a higher-pitched tone. "A trader hired us to mug him since he was transporting some really good stuff."

Raphtalia was starting to have second thoughts now about where she'd aimed. '_They're still hurting this much after being tied up… maybe I shouldn't aim for that area in the future.'_ She noted to herself.

"Hmmm… It must have been my competitor." The merchant said to himself behind Naofumi. He nodded to himself, thinking along the same lines.

"Alright, next question. What's the name of the trader that hired you?" Naofumi asked.

"As if we'd tell you!" Another of the bandits yelled defiantly. It would have sounded manly... if it wasn't for his higher-pitched voice. "We'd never betray one of our clients!"

"I didn't think bandits had integrity," Naofumi said sarcastically. They were thieves. Low lives. He guessed they were only bitter about having been defeated so easily and refused to answer him out of spite.

"You know, your merchant friend there has rivals who'll pay handsomely to have him removed from the table." The bandit spokesman interrupted. "If you were to untie us and help us eliminate him, we'd forget all about this little mishap. We'd even split part of the payment to you and be nice to your demi-human for helping us out. How does that sound?" He tried to say in a convincing, higher-pitched tone.

…

The merchant looked at the bandits, and then at Naofumi. He feared Naofumi might take up the bandits on their offer... "Tempting." Naofumi finally said. "However, I'm not interested in betraying my clients. I'd rather know who it was that hired you."

… The bandit spokesmen scowled. "Then I guess you'll never know who hired us. Because we won't tell you." He answered spitefully.

Naofumi sighed. He could try turning them in to the local guard and have them interrogate them. But that posed the risk of being recognized out in the daytime. Plus, these guys didn't know yet that he was the Shield Hero, and neither did the merchant. He'd rather keep it that way. He could just let them go... "And if I let you go, I'm guessing you'll come after me to pay me back for what I did to your little group," Naofumi said dryly.

"Well aren't you always the sharp tool in the shed." The bandit said with a smirk. "You can bet we won't forget about this anytime soon! We'll have your head if it's the last thing we do!"

...

Naofumi sighed to himself. "I guess I have no other choice." He said dryly.

"You all have to die."

…

The bandits' eyes widened in surprise. All the moaning and complaining stopped as his words registered in their small peon sized brains.

Raphtalia looked at Naofumi in shock. However, he had a mischievous look under his hood. '_What does that mean-'_ She started to think.

"Hey Filo, you have permission to speak now. You hungry?"

"Yes, Daddy! I'm very hungry!" Filo said as she happily nodded her head at the prospect of finally being fed.

Most of the bandits gaped in shock at the weird Filolial who could also apparently speak. "Wait, what?!" One of the bandits yelled.

Naofumi's smirk widened. Even the merchant behind him looked surprised about how special Filo was. It was on the fly, but he couldn't have these bandits also chasing after him. The more he could persuade them to leave his party alone, the better. "You see, Filolials are omnivores, and mine is no exception. She'll gulp anything down in one go." Naofumi calmly explained with the same mischievous look hidden under his hood. "Including all of you."

'_WHAT?!'_ Raphtalia thought in horror. She'd realized what Naofumi was doing, but that was going too far.

"They do look pretty tasty," Filo said, flicking her beak with her tongue in a drooling manner.

Raphtalia screamed inside her mind at the thought of her daughter thinking a person looked tasty. _'What is Master Naofumi thinking?!'_

The bandits started to freak out. "Wait! Aren't you supposed to be the Nocturnal Doctor!? Do you really want to commit murder?!" The bandit spokesman asked desperately.

'_So they attacked me even knowing who I was.' _Naofumi thought. He was really glad he hadn't decided to let them go. Neither the Capital nor the Church was hunting the Nocturnal Doctor. These bandits, however, could have ended up hiring all their friends to impede his job. "I'm no doctor. And I certainly won't care if the world has fewer murderers like you in it." Naofumi said dryly as if they weren't really of much worth to him anymore. "After all, it's in my best interests to protect not only my clients, but myself. If you know who I am, then I can't have you hunting me or any of my future patients down."

"Wait, please, we'll do anything! Just spare our lives!" The bandits all pled beggingly.

"I don't know, I'm not sure your lives are worth much-" Naofumi continued to say boredly.

"It was Madrock! He was the one who hired us to off Hickwaal!" The bandit spokesman said beggingly. The merchant behind Naofumi gasped at hearing the name. "He paid us 20 Gold Coins for the job, and said we could keep whatever the merchant had when the job was done!"

"Madrock? He's supposed to be one of my assistants in the Merchant's Guild!" Hickwaal said angrily. He'd overcome his shock at hearing Filo speak at hearing that it wasn't a competitor who had hired these bandits. It was one of his own men!

That caught Naofumi off guard in his thought processes. He was so used to being able to logically deduce a situation that the error caught him off guard for a second before he recovered. "Looks like one of your assistants was looking at taking your place," Naofumi said calmly while looking back down at the bandits. "Is he lying about who hired you?" He wanted to make certain.

The bandits all shook their heads in unison. Those who were conscious at least. Some of them had fainted at the prospect of being eaten alive. "Alright. Will any of you try to hunt me down again after this?" They all eagerly shook their heads. "Good, it looks like you're not being eaten after all," Naofumi said boredly. "Sorry Filo, you'll have to wait for dinner."

"Awwwwww…" Filo sighed despondently.

The conscious bandits all sighed in relief. "However, you're not off the hook yet."

Raphtalia balled her fists at her sides. "Master, are you sure we should-" She tried to calmly ask Naofumi. As much as she didn't like this group of bandits, she thought Naofumi was going too far. She was especially worried that Naofumi had even thought of having their daughter eat people.

"Relax, Raphtalia, I'm not planning on killing them," Naofumi said to her. Before he looked over the group of tied up men. He had a very evil-looking grin on his face that made some of them gulp. "However, they won't want to come after us after this."

He lifted the bandit spokesman off the ground by the armpits and turned the struggling man towards Filo. "Filo." He began teaching. "Give them the same treatment that Raphtalia gave them."

"You mean, you want me to kick them between the legs daddy?" Filo asked.

"Yep!" He said. Just to make sure the group got the message about what would happen to them if they tried to hunt down his party again.

"Okey-day!"

"Wait-" The bandit spokesman tried to say.

**CRACK!**

Filo obediently kicked said bandit in the groin with all her strength.

And that was how Filo learned how to punish bad, evil men.

* * *

_Sometime later_

"Alright, we're here." Naofumi said boredly. They'd finally passed through the toll gate and were entering the town. It was getting towards sunset, meaning he didn't have time to compound more stock. Which meant he didn't have much to sell. Meaning he'd have to leave after the merchant was dropped off.

The merchant poked his head out of the back of the wagon. "Hmmm. That ride felt like the longest in my life."

"Yeah yeah. Just get to pulling your merchandise out already." Naofumi said impatiently. He was grouchy. Raphtalia had been 'hunting' in the forest all around ever since the bandits incident. She said it was so they'd have dinner tonight. He theorized it was because she didn't like the way he'd dealt with those bandits. It'd left him in the driver's seat for the rest of the trip, and the merchant had insisted on staying inside the wagon in case anyone else tried to attack. So he hadn't been able to learn how to make accessories or anything like he'd planned. '_Ugh…'_

"Hmmm. It was very interesting though." The merchant added. "I've never seen a demi-human take down a whole group of bandits... nor have I ever met a talking Filolial."

"Just make sure to keep that to yourself. The last thing I need is people thinking my giant bird is a God." Naofumi said sarcastically.

"Wait, am I a God?" Filo asked curiously.

"No, and we're in town now, so stop speaking," Naofumi said through gritted teeth. It was late in the evening, but there were still people out and about. And he was able to tell that some of them looked excited that 'The Nocturnal Doctor' was visiting their town.

'_Awwww…'_ Filo quietly whined inside her mind.

Naofumi got off the wagon and stretched his stiff muscles. '_Damn it!'_ Naofumi thought in frustration. He realized some of these people would be disappointed if he didn't stay to help out their sick. But he'd used up most of his medicine in the last town. He sighed in disappointment. The thrill of being ambushed by bandits had long since passed. '_Guess besides the money I'll get, this trip turned out to be a waste of time-'_ He started to think.

"Oye, it's about time! Don't ya realize we've been waiting all week for these accessories?!"

Naofumi's thought processes stopped. He turned at the sound of the familiar voice that had come from what looked like the town's blacksmith shop. "Jerry?"

Sure enough, Jerry the blacksmith came jogging out of the blacksmith shop along with another guy. He was taller than Jerry, and muscled like Erhard, except younger. "You sure took your sweet damn time Hickwaal. Don't ya know I've still got me own shop to run in Dragon Village?" Jerry asked the merchant in annoyance.

"Of course!" Hickwaal said excitedly. He'd managed to beat his competitor here. "But you were the one that agreed for me to deliver my accessories here. Hmmm?" He reminded him.

"That was because I was doing me job making sure the newest member of the Blacksmith's Guild was doing alright on his own here-" Jerry was responding when his eyes fell on Naofumi. His original line of thought went flying out the door. "Lad! I barely recognize you! How ya been!?" Jerry asked excitedly as he grabbed Naofumi and embraced him in a bear crushing hug.

Naofumi was confused, on so many levels. His high defense stat came in handy again as he wasn't crushed in the blacksmith's embrace. '_The hell?'_ Jerry was here? He was Hickwaal's customer. He was part of a Blacksmith's Guild? "I'm fine. Please let me go." Naofumi responded dryly.

Jerry released Naofumi from the bear hug. "I see ya still favor hiding that face of yours! Is the lass still with ya? And is it true I hear ya've been going by a new name these days helping out people wherever you go?" Jerry put a hand to his chin in thought. "Noctur… the Loctur Boctor?" He asked.

Naofumi sighed. However, he remembered that this man had, in fact, helped out Raphtalia when she'd been in a tough spot before, so he forced himself to smile. "Nocturnal Doctor. Yes, Raphtalia's out hunting right now. And yes, I'm helping out people as a traveling night merchant."

"Splendid!" Jerry yelled happily.

"So, you mentioned a Blacksmith's Guild-" Naofumi tried to ask.

"Hey, Jerry, I'd like help dividing up the accessories for our shops before I close tonight." The other blacksmith said in a calm, yet friendly tone. He was over where Hickwaal had set the crates on the ground and was pulling accessories out to examine them.

"Coming Andrew!" Jerry rolled his eyes. "Geeze. The next generation of blacksmiths has tunnel vision I swear."

"Hmmm, true. But they are the future of our guilds." Hickwaal said happily.

"True that. And he's such a cheerful fellow too. I'm actually glad Erhard gave him the okay to join." Jerry said in his weird accent as he went to help out his fellow blacksmith.

'_Wait, what the hell does Erhard have to do with this?!'_ Naofumi thought in disbelief.

"Speaking of the next generation, I have a proposition for you Nocturnal Doctor."

Naofumi boxed away his thoughts for another time. "What is it?" Naofumi asked.

"Would you still be interested in learning how to craft and enchant accessories?" He asked.

...

Naofumi was floored by that statement. "What?" He asked. "Why?"

"Think of it as a token of my appreciation for saving me and my merchandise." The merchant said. "Plus, I find you rather intriguing, even if you hide your identity from other people. I have a feeling you'd make a fine addition to the Merchant's Guild."

Naofumi thought on it. "I don't know if I'd want to join, Raphtalia does all the selling…" His lips twitched, wanting to form a smile. Maybe one day, after he wasn't a runaway criminal hiding under a disguise. "How long would it take for you to teach me?"

"I can teach you tonight if you aren't planning on leaving immediately. I'm sure with your expertise it wouldn't take more than a few hours."

Naofumi thought on it some more… "Okay, give me some time to compound some medicines first and then we can start."

"Take all the time you need Nocturnal Doctor. I need time to make sure a message is sent to kick a certain associate out of my Guild." Hickwaal said as he walked away towards the inn.

_'... Huh… I guess this wasn't a wasted trip after all.'_ Naofumi thought to himself.

Naofumi climbed into the back of the wagon and immediately got to work on compounding various medicines with his tools. He wanted to get this done as quick as possible so he could get to learning. _'I guess I'll ask Jerry or that other Blacksmith another time. I didn't know there was a Blacksmith's Guild too. And what the hell does Erhard have to do with it?'_

Filo poked her head into the back of the wagon. "Daddy, are we staying the night here?" She asked.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to cook you dinner tonight Filo," Naofumi answered. Being focused on his task and his thoughts. "I'm going to be very busy."

Filo looked down at hearing that. Even though she'd tried harder to be obedient today so that she wouldn't have dinner from Daddy taken away, it had still happened. Naofumi paused in his compounding. The same thought had come into his mind. Filo really had been far more obedient today than normal. "You were a good girl today though. So I'll make it up to you with a huge breakfast tomorrow morning." Naofumi then said.

Stars appeared in Filo's eyes. "Yay!" She squealed happily.

"Not too loud!" Naofumi warned since Filo was still in her Filolial form. He then grimaced when he thought about earlier and the fact that Raphtalia still hadn't reappeared. "Also, Filo, I want to make sure you understand something."

Filo blinked her eyes in curiosity. "I hope you know I was joking about what I said about eating those bandits. Eating other people is a very bad thing to do."

"But… don't I eat other monsters all the time?" Filo asked curiously.

Naofumi's grimace deepened. "Yes, but most monsters aren't like people Filo." _'Damn, how do I explain this to a monster chicken child that can turn into a person?'_ He thought. "You see, um, most monsters are evil, but not in the way that people can be evil… and because of that…"

Filo's eyes brightened. "Wait, I get it." She suddenly said. "I'm not allowed to eat people because eating people is bad. But eating monsters is good!"

Naofumi blinked his eyes in surprise. It was a very simple explanation, but surprisingly, it worked. He was surprised Filo had come to that conclusion all on her own. "So you'll make sure not to eat anyone no matter what?" Naofumi questioned to make sure.

"Yep. I promise not to eat another person daddy!" She said happily. "Only monsters!"

Naofumi's grimace was slowly turning into a relieved smile. "Alright, go transform Filo. You and Raphtalia are operating the stand tonight."

"Got it." Filo pulled her head out of the wagon's front flap and ran off past several startled people to the stables.

'_Finally.'_ Naofumi thought. He was all alone to compound by himself. _'I never thought I'd have to explain that to Filo…'_

...

"So, are we staying the night here Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked.

Naofumi looked up in surprise. He didn't see her anywhere in the wagon. He almost thought he was imagining it when Raphtalia's form appeared sitting on the opposite bench. "You never answered our daughter's question."

'_Right. She can turn invisible.'_ He thought. She must have slipped in the wagon sometime while he was distracted. "Not the whole night." He said as he got back to compounding. "Just however long it takes for this merchant to teach me how to craft and enchant accessories."

Raphtalia watched him work for a moment in silence…

"And… I'm sorry for being out of line for how I dealt with the bandits earlier." He added honestly. Thinking she was still mad with him about that. "I just didn't want them to be added to our list of problems to deal with. I went with the first thing that came to mind."

"... I knew you weren't really planning on feeding them to Filo Naofumi." Raphtalia said. "What I didn't approve of was you using Filo as a means to threaten them."

".. well, I mean, she isn't a normal girl-" Naofumi tried to say, but then he wised up, and he realized what he'd been about to say wouldn't help him out. "But you're right. That was out of line. I'm sorry."

…

"Will you promise me you won't use Filo to threaten people again in the future?" Raphtalia asked.

Naofumi sighed. "Yes."

…

Raphtalia gave him a nod, but then happily hugged him. "Good. And thank you for teaching Filo that eating others is wrong."

"No problem," Naofumi said, feeling a blush go to his cheeks.

After a little bit, Raphtalia finally left to find Filo, and Naofumi went back to compounding medicines from the last of his herb storage. There wouldn't be as much to sell tonight, but at least some of the people here would get the medicine they needed. Plus, Raphtalia had already forgiven him.

He started to smile again.

_'Maybe we'll stay the night just this once.'_

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Sorry if this chapter, especially the last part here, wasn't as good as the others. I spent the last couple of weeks writing this out because I remembered that Naofumi needed to learn magic and learn about accessories. And I kind of suffered from some major writer's block over the last week thinking about how to go about this. Fortunately, I recovered some over the weekend and was able to finally finish this. Unfortunately, that meant I still wasn't able to finish Motoyasu's scene. But now that I think about it, I'm okay with it because it'd fit much more nicely into the next chapter. You'll find out why about that next week.**

**As always, let me know what your thoughts are. Favorites and Follows are nice too.**

**Also, in case anyone was disappointed about Raphtalia easily forgiving Naofumi, we can consider the omake below canon. Even I don't think Naofumi wouldn't get off the hook for a stunt like that so easily. XD**

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_Hero Clips!_

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**The Nutcracker**

* * *

"Hi everybody!" Raphtalia yelled excitedly. Behind her was a background for a forest. "Today, I'll be showing you how to defend yourself against evil men!"

"Um, Raphtalia, who are you talking to-" Naofumi tried to ask confusedly where he stood nearby.

"First off, you don't allow them the chance to hurt you by aiming for their weak points!" She said, turning towards Naofumi and taking a stance.

"Wait, Raphtalia- Ack!"

Raphtalia jammed her fist up into Naofumi's chest, knocking the air from his lungs. Even with his high defense stat, Raphtalia's slave boosted attack stat hurt a lot! "One move you can choose is to knock the air out of them. Making it that much easier to topple them over and run away!" Raphtalia said excitedly as she then gave Naofumi a slight shove that sent his coughing form tumbling to the ground.

_'What the hell?'_ He thought as he struggled to stand back up. "Ugh, Raphtalia, what was that for- Agh!"

"Another move you can do if you have strength and agility is the arm lock!" Raphtalia said as she appeared behind Naofumi. Twisting his left arm behind him tightly. "Remember, the more you can twist their elbow joint, the more you'll be able to hurt your adversary!"

Naofumi's face contorted in pain. "Please, if you're still mad about me using Filo to threaten the bandits, I'm sorry-" Naofumi tried to say when Raphtalia released him and turned him around.

"And last but not least, we have a move my favorite idiot in the world taught me! The always reliable, never failing Nut Cracker!"

**KAPOW!**

Naofumi's facial expression was priceless when Raphtalia delivered the mother of all kicks to his cajones. He fell to the ground and curled up into the fetal position. Both his hands cupping his groin area. He was in so much pain, he couldn't even speak. '_Why… just why?'_

Raphtalia faced the screen again with a wide smile on her face. "Make sure you put as much power into that kick as you can! That way you can be sure the evil idiotic man won't be able to use your own daughter to threaten other people ever again!" She finished up with a wide smile on her face.

"Yay, great job Mommy!" Filo cheered Raphtalia as she jumped into Raphtalia's waiting arms. The two of them spun and laughed together while Naofumi stayed in his position on the ground.

"O… Ow…" Naofumi groaned. '_I knew I shouldn't have told her about that weak spot.'_ He thought to himself. He also shouldn't have set her crest so that it wouldn't act up if she tried to harm him.

"Do you think Daddy will be okay Mommy?" Filo asked Raphtalia curiously.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." She glared down at Naofumi. "As long as he remembers not to use you as a means of threatening others sweetie." Raphtalia said in a deadpan, before smiling for Filo again.

'_Yeah, I'm definitely not pulling that card again anytime soon.'_ Naofumi thought as he continued to lay on the ground. Wishing he could pass out so he would no longer feel any pain. His defense stat was high, but even it couldn't protect him from Raphtalia's (and soon to be Filo's) infamous nutcracker move.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen **


	20. 20: Fantasy Game Gone Wrong

**It's finals week. If I don't post next Monday, it's likely because my tests killed me. :(**

**You know this turned out to be a surprisingly long chapter. And I didn't include any scenes with Naofumi and his family. I wanted to show what else was happening in the world with the other heroes. But the chapter became so long that I had to divide it in two again. On the bright side, I finally figured out Motoyasu's scene! So I hope those of you who've been waiting to see our lovable idiot in action are happy! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _29 more Favorites, 34 more Followers (Total: 641 Favorites, 752 Followers)_

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**Updated:**_ December 9th, 2019 1:25 P.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty: **_Fantasy Game Gone Wrong_

* * *

_Two days ago (38 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

A group of men sat around a bar table in a private room at Lute Village's inn. They ranged from men in their early 60's to young men who couldn't shave yet. Some looked like farmers and tradesmen, others looked like merchants. There were a few members of the town guard. All of them had serious expressions on their faces. Including the innkeeper, who stood watching at the door to make sure none of the Capital Knights nor the Princess and the Spear Hero's other party members getting drunk in the dining room wandered in on what was being finalized.

"It's decided then?"

"We can't live under these taxes."

"If any more people move out, our village will die."

"If we don't do anything, we'll die anyway."

"The soldiers the princess brought are extorting those of us who remain for what we have left."

"And our real Lord hasn't made it back from the Capital yet."

...

The discussion stopped. Everyone around the table turned to look at Albert. The former town guard Captain, and their de facto leader. While some that could had paid the 50 Silver toll so they could leave for other villages, saying "Monsters would be better than this," he had stayed to help out those who had been left behind. He had done the best he could to use his authority to keep the Capital Soldiers from doing illegal things in their town.

However, Myne had stripped him of his authority that day, claiming he had overstepped his bounds too many times. Now the soldiers were free to do whatever they pleased, and their new Lord was doing nothing to stem their greed. The Princess had finally dropped the straw needed to break the camel's back. He nodded his head to them. "The Princess and the Spear Hero have done nothing but hurt our village since their arrival."

Murmurs of agreement came from around the table. Their faces hardening at the truth of Albert's words. The enormous toll had kept people from leaving the village or visiting. No woodworkers or stone workers could go out to get the materials needed for rebuilding. What little food that had survived the wave was starting to run out without supplies being able to come in. No one was able to report the knights for their unlawful behavior. Worst of all, the inn had run out of its last supply of wine and beer. Courtesy of the Princess purchasing it for the Knights (mainly for herself, but she wanted to buy all of it so it wasn't wasted on the town's 'peasant' folk) for their diligence in (with sarcasm) 'bringing Lute back to life.' The inn's supplies of alcohol had been their only refuge from what was happening to their village. And now, it had been taken away, and they couldn't try to hide from the truth anymore.

The toll wasn't helping them. It was slowly killing them. And they'd realized the Princess wanted it to happen.

They had all reached a decision. Even though they'd be labeled enemies of the state after this no matter how it panned out, it didn't matter to them. They had families that were suffering, and unless they did something, this village would likely become their tomb.

"It's time to take matters into our own hands. The Order of the Spear Breakers will no longer tolerate such injustice to our town." Albert said with finality. "What we do now is for the good of our village."

The group silently got up. "Let's give them a message they'll never forget." The young man who was formerly a strong advocate for the Church muttered. The villagers drew their various weapons from shortswords to pitchforks. Some who were formerly adventurers donned armor they had left by their chairs. Albert put on his leather/steel uniform, which had formally symbolized his calling as the Captain of Lute Village's Militia. Not all of the villagers in this room had been trained to use weapons, but desperation drove them to fight for their homes and loved ones. They were determined to liberate them or die trying.

Finally, as one, they moved out into the dining room.

The drunk knights and Motoyasu's party continued to drink and be merry... Up until the first knight was hit in the back of the head by a sword hilt.

"For Lute!"

* * *

The sound of raindrops hitting against the windowpane echoed through the dark room of the Lord's study. On the sides were bookcases full of different books. Ranging from past reports/censuses on the village's progress to journals previous Lords had kept. The floor was carpeted. Several desks were placed haphazardly near the bookcases. The main desk was in the back of the room, in front of the window. Sitting at the desk, looking bored out of his mind in the candlelight, was the new Lord, Motoyasu.

"Urgh. I don't understand this crap." Motoyasu complained to himself.

He threw another document full of what looked like scribbles away from him and the desk he was sitting at. Even with the help of a spell the court magician had made for the Cardinal Heroes, he couldn't read it. The only light in the room was the candle burning in a corner. "I can't read this world's language! Why does Myne think it's a good idea for me to stay here! Hell, I don't know how to run this village!"

This world was supposed to be his favorite game. Where he was supposed to have fun all the time and hit on many fair maidens. Yet he wasn't having fun at all. He was bored out of his mind trying to learn how to run a small country village of all things!

Myne and the rest of his girls told him he was doing a great job. He believed he was doing a great job. But he didn't even know what the hell he was supposed to do as Lord! It seemed like all he ever did was stay in this house. Getting reports from the knights or from his party members about how the village was doing. Rarely was he able to go out because of how much he was supposed to 'learn.'

_'Ugh, to hell with learning about this crap!'_ He could care less about the reports. He wanted to be out monster hunting, showing off his strength to his girls like the good old days. Getting all leveled up for the next wave and all that wonderful stuff. Hell, he'd even prefer being tasked with hunting down Naofumi then doing this.

He grumbled to himself. "I thought being Lord would be more exciting…" He'd never thought a game could get so boring before with its storyline details.

…

He briefly debated inside his mind about the possibility of sneaking out and slaying some monster in a nearby dungeon. But where was the fun in that if his party didn't sneak out with him? He let out a bored sigh and hung his head. "I just wish that something exciting would happen-"

The door of his study slammed open. "My Lord!" A heavily breathing knight burst in. "Trouble! There's trouble outside! We need your help! We need-" He started to say rapidly in a genuinely scared tone.

"Whoa, slow down," Motoyasu said impatiently as he stood up. It sounded like something exciting was happening, but he couldn't understand the damn NPC!

The knight took a couple of seconds to breathe. "A fight broke out at the inn! The people of the town are in revolt!" The Knight said, comprehensively enough that Motoyasu got it.

'_Wait, the townspeople are revolting?! But I thought Myne told me-'_ He thought in surprise.

"Please, my Lord! Your party is already outside helping! We need your help-" The knight was continuing.

Motoyasu was already rushing past the knight. "What?! My girls are having to fight without me!?" He yelled as he ran out the door. "I have to help them!" He left the heavily breathing knight behind.

"But sir, the fight, it's getting out of hand-" The knight tried to warn Motoyasu. But Motoyasu had already run down the stairs and bursting through the front door. He ran outside, thinking he was going to run straight for the inn. However, right after running out the door into the village square, he stopped in surprise.

He'd been told the fight had started at the inn. However, the fight had now leaked out all over the village square. He saw knights half-dressed in their armor, those who hadn't been partying at the inn since they chose to sleep instead, who had been woken up by the sound of fighting and revolt and were fighting alongside their fully dressed yet drunk comrades. But they were being beaten by the villagers, and badly.

"Forward Spear Breakers! Make these blasted bastards never want to visit our village again!" One of the former town guards yelled to the villagers fighting with him against a group of four knights. Three of them were half-dressed, and the armored knight was clearly drunk. The other three could have managed by themselves thanks to the villager's inexperience with their weapons if it wasn't for the drunk knight that kept on getting in the way of their strikes. Similar situations were happening all around.

Motoyasu quickly recovered his wits. '_This is bad.'_ He'd never had a game scenario like this before, but he had to act quick. Otherwise, he wouldn't have a village to be Lord over anymore. He wasn't good with numbers, but it looked like dozens of villagers were fighting in the square against all four dozen knights he and Myne had brought with them. He had to help, but first, he had to make sure his girls were safe.

"**Fast Gust!**" On one end, he saw two of his girls cast wind magic. Sending a whole group of revolting villagers flying back into the walls of buildings. They looked to be doing well with their entourage of knights backing them up, but they looked a little tipsy as well from drinking. He was about to go over to help when he heard a familiar yell.

"**Fast Fireball!**"

Motoyasu turned to the side in time to see Myne cast a magic fireball at a boy who didn't look over 15. There were two other villagers around where the boy had been. But both of them were on the ground covered in burn marks. The boy's eyes widened, and he dropped his sword as he covered his head in fear.

However, the fireball never hit him. Instead, it slammed into the metal shield Albert wielded on one arm. "Get those two to safety!" Albert ordered the boy as several of his town guards appeared around Albert. The boy quickly nodded in fear and started dragging one of the two men away.

"Stop them! Arrest the traitors!" Myne ordered several of her knights. All the knights around her were in full armor, but they appeared drunker than the rest of their fellows. Those she shouted her orders to raise their swords and shields and charged haphazardly at Albert and his group. Bellowing in rage as they did so.

Albert didn't even have to move. He'd trained his guards well during his time as Captain, and most of them had had to fight for their lives during the wave. Both in the village, and near the coal mines when they had to protect the rest of the villagers from the wave monsters. They weren't afraid of a few drunk men in armor.

With ease, the guards used their swords and/or lances, tripping up the knights who charged at them. Before hitting them hard over the head to make sure they didn't get back up anytime soon. Myne stepped back in surprise at half of her force being wiped clean.

"Forward!" Albert ordered his group of trained men around him. The former town guards brought their swords up and charged the drunk Princess and the rest of her entourage of drunk knights.

"Myne!"

Motoyasu finally charged past her drunk knights and took on the group of six town guards.

Motoyasu hadn't trained with his weapon for as long as these guards had, but he was a far higher level than they were. He'd killed monsters bigger than them. And he had skills he could use as the Spear Hero! "**Lightning, Spear!**"

Motoyasu sent an arc of electricity at the group, and three of the guards jumped to the sides to dodge the attack. The three other guards were too late to react, however, and got hit by a current of electricity that sent them down to the ground. Shaking, unable to move, but still alive.

Motoyasu took on an offensive stance as the other three guards got close enough to swing at him. "**Gale Force Thrust!**" He thrust his spear forward, and a burst of wind came out, sending two of the guards tumbling backward across the ground. It was another mana/SP skill he had learned like One Hundred Fiery Spears.

The last one slid under the attack and tried to swing at Motoyasu from behind, but Motoyasu caught it on the haft of his spear. Then in one motion, he pushed the guard off balance, and hit him over the head with his spear, bringing the guard down. He almost thought it was over now that Myne was safe-

"Hah!"

Motoyasu turned just in time to block Albert's sword strike to his head with his spear. Motoyasu growled and moved to shove the former Captain away like he had the guard, but Albert immediately jumped back as Motoyasu tried. Not having expected it, Motoyasu stumbled forward, and barely blocked the next strike that came when Albert jumped back into his space again and swung his broadsword at him.

Motoyasu found himself locked in a duel with the former town guard Captain. _'Holy hell. This guy isn't giving me time to attack him.'_ Motoyasu thought in frustration. Despite Albert's relatively large size, he was quicker on his feet than Motoyasu had expected. He didn't use his strength so much as he used his agileness and dexterity.

Motoyasu tried, again and again, to get the man back from him so he could use one of his spear skills, but he kept on getting in close no matter what Motoyasu tried to do. Forcing Motoyasu to stay on the defensive. The rare times Motoyasu did get an attack (mainly by swinging his spear like a bat), Albert would use his shield to protect him before thrusting with his sword.

"Why, why are you doing this?!" Motoyasu yelled in frustration when their weapons were locked.

"Doing what?" Albert calmly asked.

"It's obvious you're the leader of this revolt!" Motoyasu said angrily. The weapon lock ended and he jumped far back, raising his spear as he did so. "**Meteor Thrust!**"

A ball of blue-colored mana burst from his spear at Albert as Motoyasu landed on the ground. The large man, however, slid right underneath the skill and immediately struck at Motoyasu's side. Forcing him back onto the defensive.

'_Damn it!'_ Motoyasu thought. Game knowledge told him the strongest man was generally the leader of anything. And this guy wasn't just strong despite not being a hero, but he was also skilled. "Why did you and the other townspeople suddenly decide to rebel?!"

"Because you and the Princess have done nothing but hurt our town since you got here," Albert said lowly. Nearby, the knights and the Princess were locked in battle with other angry villagers. "And we want you and the rest of your knights out."

"What have I done to hurt your town-" Motoyasu tried to ask. What this man had said made no sense. Why was he the one at fault for what was likely their problem-

"You charged a toll that no one could pay." Albert cut him off as he swung. Motoyasu blocked the strike. "Those with jobs outside of the village can't afford to work them. Merchants and tradesmen have avoided our town since they can't pay a gold coin to enter and leave a village," Albert continued as he calmly struck at Motoyasu again and again. "Food is starting to run out, and none is being brought in. The toll is keeping everyone locked in here, allowing your knights to do whatever they please without fear of being punished. The Princess said the toll would be used to help rebuild the village. But none of that money has gone to rebuilding. It has instead lined her pockets."

Motoyasu had been a little surprised at what Albert had been saying. At the accusation to Myne though, he immediately started to defend her 'good' name. "No, Myne would never do such a thing!-" However, in doing that, he let down his guard.

**Whack!**

The flat of Albert's sword struck Motoyasu across the face. He stumbled back to the side, holding the side of his sore jaw. Then Motoyasu received a hard kick to the chest, sending him flying back through the air into an empty crate that had been left on the side of the street, breaking it into many pieces. He struggled with trying to get back up.

"She has. And so much more. And you have done nothing to restrain your party member Cardinal Hero. Actually, I wouldn't call someone like you a Hero." Albert said as he calmly approached, holding his weapon to the side. "You didn't protect our village during the Wave of Catastrophe. You didn't help to clean up your mess after the wave was over. You haven't even done your job as Lord. You've done nothing heroic. All you've done is hurt us since you got here."

Motoyasu stared up in shock at what this NPC was telling him. He wasn't… being a hero? He was… hurting the NPC's here... _'No… I wasn't trying to hurt them. I, I was only doing what Myne said would best help others-'_

Albert shook his head, as if in disappointment. "You may hold the Spear of Legend, but you aren't a hero to us. If you want to make us happy, then take your Party and your knights, and leave our town."

Motoyasu was so stunned, he didn't react to what happened next. Because in the background of all that, Myne had noticed the Captain's back was turned and had been chanting under her breath.

"As Source of thy power and as the next Queen, I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature, and blast my target with a raging inferno!"

"Captain, look out!"

Albert turned, but the Princess had already finished chanting. "**Zweite Fire Blast!**"

Albert's eyes widened in surprise at the fire spell that came bursting from the Princess at him. The light from it lit up his light blue irises. He put his shield over him, hoping it would somehow help him to survive the oncoming blast. But as he did so, he didn't notice the man who jumped in the way of the oncoming spell. The man who would save his life.

**Boom!**

A large explosion lit up and shook the town square, stopping the fighting all around.

Rain fell like a drizzle from the sky. The dead silence that followed was palpable as everyone stared at the dust cloud that had formed from the explosion in surprise… wondering what they had just missed...

...

The dust cleared and Albert coughed where he laid on the ground. The shockwave had sent him flying into the wall of a building. His back ribs felt sore, but not broken. He blinked his eyes to clear them of the bright flash that had accompanied the explosion. _'How am I still alive?'_ He thought.

His eyes finally cleared enough that he saw where the spell had exploded. His heart stopped in his chest. _'No.'_ He got up, despite his muscles protesting the movement. _'No!'_ He started to run forward. Towards the charred body lying sprawled on the ground. _'No no no no no no!'_ "Will!" He shouted.

Albert got to the guard at the same time as several of his fellow guards. Two of them got on either side, helping to roll the guard named Will over while another worked to pry off his helmet. When it came off, they found they were already too late. Will's strangely unmarred face stared glassily up at the sky. His last act had been to sacrifice his life so his Captain, and likely the Spear Hero would live. "Oh… Will…" Albert and the rest of the town guards hung their heads at the loss of their comrade.

…

"Why are you all just standing there!"

Motoyasu groaned and blearily opened his eyes. He was sprawled out on the ground. He couldn't remember how he'd gotten there. He couldn't remember much of anything past what the large man had said to him… however, he was becoming more coherent when Myne started yelling orders to all the knights in the square. "I order you to arrest all these peasants!"

Motoyasu shakily stood back up, leaning on his spear for support. _'No. Please stop.'_ He thought. He could see people peeking out of their windows now. Mothers with children, fair young maidens who weren't wooing at his presence, but instead looked afraid of him. He couldn't take it. He had to say something. "Myne-"

"I believe that's enough."

Everyone in the square turned at the sound of the authoritative voice. Walking into the village square, with several squads of knights made up of young men and women from Lute Village, was none other than the Former Lord himself. Unlike before when he'd left despondent, he reentered his village with authority and purpose.

"What is this?" Myne asked haughtily.

"Second Princess. I believe it's about time you and your little entourage left our fair village." The former Lord said calmly.

...

Myne giggled into her hand. "Are you trying to order royalty around, because if you are, then that means I can accuse you of treason and-" Myne started to say like the snot-nosed spoiled bitch she was.

The former Lord, in reality, the real Lord of Lute, unrolled a royal decree he'd had hidden in his left sleeve till she spoke. Myne's mouth stopped working not only because she recognized that it was a royal decree, but the royal signature of her Father was at the bottom of it. "What is the meaning of this-" She tried to ask.

"I went to the Capital and got an audience with the King." The newly reinstated Lord of Lute Village said. Though he was calm, there was an edge of mischief and victory in his tone. "It appears King Aultcray didn't take kindly to his favorite daughter overtaxing the latest victims of a Wave of Catastrophe. He said if word got out, it could tarnish the royal name or something like that. So he called me back to my position as Lord of Lute Village and overruled your decree."

Myne scowled deeply. Her face looked as red as her hair. Her fists clenched at her sides. "You might be the Lord again! But I'm royalty! You can't order me-"

"Actually, I can." For once, the Lord finally smiled in the presence of the demon bitch. He pointed to a line written near the bottom of the decree the King had signed. "As Lord, I'll have the right to order whoever I deem unworthy to leave my lands. Royalty being no exception." He said, a note of victory in his tone.

Myne looked speechless. And at the same time she looked very angry. "Also, since the toll still stands, you and every knight here will have to pay it on your way out. I'll obviously be getting rid of the toll after you leave, but I don't think you or your knights will have a problem paying such a ridiculously high toll with the deep pockets you have." The Lord said calmly as if to rub salt in the wound. Myne opened her mouth to angrily retort. "You said it applied to everyone, did you not?" The Lord cut her off before she could speak. "Do you want word to get out that royalty is willing to break its own laws, and make your Father even more mad at you?"

"... But, but-" Myne tried to find something to say. She wasn't getting her way! Had this crooked old man even paid for himself and all these knights to enter-?!

"Myne, I'm tired." Myne looked at Motoyasu as be approached. For once, his trademark smile was gone. He looked depressed. It was like Myne saw her last chance of being able to get her way closing in front of her. If her Cardinal Hero and his reputation couldn't back her up, then...

"Let's go."

…

She looked angrily at the Lord. This definitely wasn't what was supposed to happen! She'd only made Motoyasu the Lord here so no one could get in her way of leeching this town of every last coin it had! It hadn't been so he'd have experience with ruling a place so it'd look better when they became the next Queen and King. It was only to fulfill her selfish twisted desires right now in the present. And now, she wanted more than anything to throw a tantrum. "You might have won this round!" She took 50 Silvers out of her Inventory and threw them at the feet of the Lord. It was barely pocket change all things considered. "But when I get back to the Capital, I will send more knights to gather these traitors and have them hanged for attacking one of the Cardinal Heroes and the Royal Princess! I can promise you that!" She spat out spitefully.

"And as Lord, I promise I will deal with these men. For now, I order you to get out of my village." The Lord said calmly, glaring at the Princess with disdain. She returned his glare, but he didn't back down.

...

Myne huffed but turned on her heel to leave. Motoyasu and the rest of his party similarly dropped 50 Silvers at the Lord's feet and followed after Myne. The rest of the knights followed suit. Each doing the same. Some looked spiteful, others looked angry, but a few looked sad and regretful as well. A couple of them threw down a few extra silvers while looking at their friends the Lord had brought with him from the Capital... as if doing so would act as an apology for everything they had done to their village. The Lord, the knights he'd brought with him, and everyone else said nothing and watched as it happened one by one. Until, finally, the last of the knights were walking towards the gates of the village.

Once they'd left, the Lord sighed and looked to Albert. Those who had been wounded were being tended to. Will's family was already around his body, weeping tears of sorrow for his death. Several other similar situations were happening around the square. They had won, but not without casualties.

"You couldn't have waited one more hour for me to arrive, my old friend?" The Lord asked.

Albert looked at where a family sat weeping for their son. It had been the same young man who'd advocated to his friends that the Shield Hero wasn't a devil. He sighed. "We couldn't wait for help. We were suffering more and more every day… my Lord, our village was dying-"

"And now every man here is considered to be a traitor of Melromarc." The Lord said, cutting off Albert. "And despite what his daughter did, I know the King well enough to know he won't forgive an attack on his daughter. He'll want you all turned in and executed for it. Our village may as well be dead. I'm sorry friend, but there's nothing I can do."

Albert sighed. "I know."

...

"There's nothing I can do." The Lord repeated, before turning away. "Except turn away and pretend I didn't see all of Melromarc's traitors escape my town with some of the funds from the toll."

…

Albert looked at the Lord in surprise, then at the knights. None of the knights were making a move to apprehend anyone. Some were going as far as looking away and pretending that none of them existed. Tears came into Albert's eyes as he realized what the Lord was doing. "Do you promise to take care of the rest of the villagers we'll be leaving behind?"

"I see and hear nothing." The Lord said as if he was talking to himself.

Before Albert could speak, his son approached him. Though smaller in size, Ake stood proudly in his full knight armor and smiled up at his father. The young lad looked better, more confident than he had before. "Don't worry, Dad, me and my friends are staying to make sure the rest of the village is protected from monsters. We'll make sure that no monster will be able to threaten our town."

...

More tears appeared in Albert's eyes, and he gave his son a proud hug. "Thank you." He whispered proudly. He then gave a small respectful bow to the Lord and gathered some of the silver coins on the ground into a pouch. Realizing that, for now, this would be their only source of money that'd help them to escape to another part of the country. He still made sure, however, not to take too much, since the rest would be used to help out those staying behind. Once finished, he turned to the others with a calm look on his face. "You heard him. Gather what you need and say your goodbyes. We'll leave after we've given Will and the others proper funerals."

The group that had gathered around him nodded numbly. As if they were coming to the realization of what was going to happen now. Without another word, they left to spread the word to everyone else who had to leave. Albert walked over to Will's family, giving them what comfort he could.

"Ake. Get a headcount of the villagers that'll remain." The Lord said calmly to the town guard Captain's son. "I need to know who is left in our village before I can proceed to fix all the damage the Princess has caused to everyone."

"Yes, my Lord," Ake replied respectfully, before rushing off to the other Lute Knights to relay the orders.

The Lord looked at his home. Myne's blast had scorched part of the side black. He was glad that it was raining. If it hadn't been, her fire magic could have caused more severe damage. _'If I had only gotten an audience with the King sooner…'_ He sighed to himself. He was already guessing in his mind that the village would be half the size it was before, and with the new damage that had been caused by the fighting, and despite the knights he'd been allowed to bring with him to restore order to his lands…

His original optimistic view of the village being rebuilt in a week had gone out the window. Not only that, but many of his closest friends and allies in the world were going to be on the run. Having started a rebel faction against one of the Cardinal Heroes and one of the strongest kingdoms in the world.

_'Albert. My old friend. I wish you luck in your journey, and hope that one day, you'll be able to return to your home safe and sound.'_ The Lord thought, before he went about to start fixing his village, again.

* * *

Motoyasu rode on his pet dragon in the middle of the entourage of half drunk and half discouraged knights. Several of them were being carried in stretchers, having wounds that kept them from walking. Myne was riding in her carriage with the rest of his girls in front of him. But for once, he wasn't thinking about them. He was looking down despondently at his Spear.

_"You didn't protect our village during the Wave of Catastrophe. You didn't help to clean up your mess after the wave was over. You haven't even done your job as Lord. You've done nothing heroic. All you've done is hurt us since you got here."_

_'Was I really not doing my job... am I really not acting like a hero for these people?'_ Motoyasu thought sadly to himself.

Myne had told him he was doing a great job before. His party members told him he was doing a great job before. The King and every noble in the kingdom had told him he was doing a great job before. Even the Pope had had a private audience with him once to tell him how great he was doing… and yet, he couldn't shake the words this NPC Captain, who had trounced him in combat, had said to him. He couldn't shake the scene of all those villagers fighting against what they felt was tyranny.

Worst of all, he couldn't get rid of the image of the charred man lying on the ground. The NPC that Myne had so heartlessly killed. Had that been heroic? Had that stopped the fighting? Had it solved the problem? No. It was because of that old man coming in and kicking Myne, himself, his party, and all the knights out, that the fighting had stopped. And he hadn't done a damn thing.

Motoyasu held his head in his hands. For once, he didn't know what to do anymore. If his closest friends, who he trusted with all his heart, were leading him to do wrong… _'But they aren't leading me wrong! Myne has always been nice and friendly and… and…'_

He started to fall asleep in his saddle. His mind not wanting to deal with the paradox he was dealing with, nor the abundance of negative emotions he was feeling. He still saw this all as a game. It wasn't supposed to be real! Yet he was so tired. He was so drained… and because of this, he didn't see the notification that briefly appeared in the bottom right corner of his screen before disappearing.

**Requirements Met: Cursed Series Unlocked**

* * *

_In another part of Melromarc_

It was supposed to be so simple.

It was supposed to be so easy.

Itsuki looked up at the nobleman's house. He took in a deep breath, doing his best to calm his nerves while hiding in the tall grass. '_Alright. It's almost time.'_ With there being a bit of time before he was needed, he thought about the past few days.

Two days ago, he had arrived at Van's estate. There, he'd been warmly received by the NPC noble, who had been much more cheerful than Itsuki had seen from any other noble so far. It was like Van wasn't programmed to be fake and haughty but actually looked and acted authentically. Whatever the case, he could tell Van didn't see Itsuki as someone to boost his popularity or meet some political agenda. He was just happy to have his estate graced with visitors, especially one of the Four Cardinal Heroes.

After exchanging pleasantries and giving his party members room in Van's estate, he and Van had sat down to talk. Itsuki had explained what had happened in the Capital, and how he had decided that he wanted to help free demi-humans that were being abused by other nobles. Ending with how he'd been told that Van could help him to achieve that.

Van Reichnott had agreed to help him. Even going as far as writing a list of names of various nobles along with the bad things each one was known to do to their slaves. Itsuki couldn't read this list, obviously, so Rachel was the one currently holding on to it.

Van had also offered up areas of his land where Itsuki's lower-leveled party members could take care of monsters. So, not only did they get the chance to continue leveling up with the help of some local demi-human adventurers, but they also got paid for getting rid of the monsters that tried to cause problems in Van's area of authority.

Now: Aksel, Crystal, and Marx were back at Van's estate hunting monsters. While Itsuki, Rachel, and Karn were dealing with the first noble on the list. A noble in his 60's whose name he hadn't bothered to learn. Van's notes said the noble starved his slaves. There wasn't anything serious like whipping or rape as far as Van knew. All he had known was that this noble's slaves were well known for being malnourished and forced to work until they dropped from exhaustion. Itsuki figured this job could be accomplished with only him, Karn, and Rachel. So he'd left the three new party members back at Van's so they could grind and increase their level. Something he could tell they were still doing now since every now and then he got a little experience notification next to his head.

'_Any moment, Karn and Rachel will signal me…'_

The two had snuck into the manor in the dead of night. Not that it wouldn't have been easy to do already. Given that in the day they had spent scouting the place, they'd only found two guards out front. Both of whom had appeared to be nodding off almost all day as if they were bored. The small manor was also a fair distance away from the town and its guards. It would give them valuable experience, however, in dealing with future more protected nobles.

Rachel and Karn's jobs were simple. Locate the noble, and locate where he kept his enslaved demi-humans. Karn would make sure the noble remained asleep while Itsuki would go in, free the demi-humans, and get them all out without anyone realizing the Bow Hero had been the one that saved the slaves.

Simple. Easy. Flawless. No room for error.

…

After a moment, Itsuki saw a small purple-colored torch move past one of the bottom floor windows. His sharp eyes caught sight of Rachel, the black-haired mage, holding the torch. '_Rachel's found the demi-humans. But Karn hasn't given his signal yet…'_

…

…

He waited a few minutes, but still saw no sign of Karn.

Itsuki stood up. He had waited long enough already. His main goal was to free the demi-humans. He could knock out the noble if he woke up and found out what Itsuki was doing.

He ran quickly across the short distance between the long grass and the manor, keeping a hand on his hood to keep it from flying back. The lazy guards snoozing away at the doors didn't hear his silent approach. He quickly hid under the windowsill and took a moment to look around, making sure he hadn't been spotted before he tapped his fist lightly against the window. Rachel pulled open the window for Itsuki, allowing him to quickly climb into the manor itself. He set foot on the carpet. He noted the layer of dust in the hallway they were in.

"Did Karn also give his signal?" Rachel calmly asked.

Itsuki shook his head. "Not yet. But I doubt an old man will cause us much trouble. For now, let's free the slaves." Itsuki said.

Rachel gave a slight nod and led the way down the hallways of the manor. It wasn't luxuriously decorated as Itsuki had assumed from his previous visits to other nobles. And again, he saw more dust as he went along. '_Why does his place look like a dump?'_ Itsuki wondered in his mind.

Then again, this was also a lesser noble, one who could barely afford the ten slaves he already owned. That didn't excuse him from mistreating people, but maybe there was a reason he had to work them so hard with little food. Itsuki shook his head to clear it of the thought. '_He's still abusing people. He doesn't deserve to keep these slaves with him.'_

Eventually, they came into one last hallway and approached a wooden door. "I'm guessing they're behind here," Itsuki said.

Rachel nodded. "The door's already unlocked. I'll stay up here and keep watch while you make sure they're ready." She said as she leaned back against the wall. There were no guards or servants in the house at night as far as they knew. But Karn hadn't reported about locating the noble. That meant the noble was likely not in bed at this late hour. They couldn't take any chances.

Itsuki nodded, and opened the door and walked in. Behind the door was a stairway that led down into a basement. When he reached the steps at the bottom, he had been wondering why he could see no sign of a guard posted anywhere to keep the slaves from escaping. After walking in, he saw why. The sight made him gasp slightly in surprise.

The slaves were handcuffed medieval style to the walls. Sitting on stone benches, their hands raised above them in the air. Trapped by cuffs to the walls in their uncomfortable positions, and dressed in rags. They looked weak and malnourished. The floor was dirty, it smelled of feces and urine, and the basement was dark besides a torch burning on a wall. It was like a sight fresh out of a medieval prison cell he'd seen in a book back home. Only, it was real, and not in a picture book. '_Holy hell…'_

None of them stirred at first when Itsuki came in, but as Itsuki approached one that looked like an adult woman, she wearily blinked her eyes to look up at him. Those brown eyes of hers were defeated, crushed by the strain of years of hard labor and mistreatment.

Itsuki worked quickly, freeing her hands from the cuffs holding her hands above her head. She looked down at her free hands, tired, and confused at what was going on. The other slaves began to stir as well, hearing the sound of their fellow slaves being freed.

"Don't worry. I'm getting you all out of here." Itsuki said calmly. He moved from one NPC to the next, uncuffing them from the walls. It was a variety of demi-humans. Some had dog ears/tails, and others had Tanuki features. One had fox ears and a fox tail. Itsuki strangely noted that they were all girls. Three adults, and six children. There wasn't one guy with them.

He finished freeing the last one and opened his inventory. He took out several potion bottles Van had given him. "Be careful with these. I'm told they're hard to make, but pouring them on your slave crests should be enough to sever your contracts." He said as he handed them out to the slaves. They looked confused, and some were starting to murmur with each other in low voices. But one of them opened her shirt and poured some of the vial on the slave ink. With a hiss, it started to disappear off her skin. Excitedly, in low whispers, she showed the others how the slave crest had disappeared, and they started to do the same.

Itsuki did a quick headcount while the slaves eliminated their contracts. "Wait. Aren't there supposed to be ten of you?" He asked. He had only counted nine.

The murmuring stopped, and the oldest one, a woman with fox-like ears and a tail, along with work lines on her face and arms from years of hard labor, looked up at him. They all looked surprised that he had spoken in their mother languages. Was this stranger freeing them, normal? "Well?" Itsuki asked impatiently.

"She… Lily… my daughter..." She tried to speak. It didn't look like she was used to speaking with how scratchy her voice was.

"Sir Itsuki!" Rachel suddenly yelled from up above, startling some of the slaves in the room. "I hear yelling in the manor! It's Karn! Something has gone wrong!" She said. The normally calm and reserved mage sounded worried.

Not all of the slaves had understood what Rachel had said since Rachel didn't come with an auto-translator like Itsuki's bow. But the few that did started to whisper worriedly to the rest. "He… our master… took her…" The fox lady coughed into her arm, almost dropping the vial she'd been given. "He's... beating her right now for-"

Itsuki cursed under his breath and ran up the stairs before she could finish. Leaving the confused and fearful demi-humans behind. Just his luck. Their simple plan was turning out not to be as simple as he had thought. It turned out the noble not only starved and overworked his slaves, but he also beat them. "Stay here and protect them! I'll go find Karn!" Itsuki ordered Rachel as he ran past her into the manor. "And keep an eye out! One of the slaves is missing!"

"Wait, Sir Itsuki-" But he was already around a corner and gone by the time Rachel started to yell.

He didn't know his way around very well, but now that he was out of the basement he could hear the yells. It sounded like they were coming from the floor above him. Itsuki came across a staircase and booked it up to the second floor of the house. The yelling sounded much clearer now. He could recognize Karn's voice and a different voice. But both were still muffled enough that he couldn't pick up what they were saying.

Itsuki unstrapped his bow from his back as he approached the source of the noise. It was coming from right behind a set of closed doors. Running forward determinedly, he kicked open the doors and charged in.

The scene he ran into stopped him.

He was in a large office space. Karn stood next to another set of open doors. Behind him was what looked like a bathroom. He held his sword out in front of him. Right in front of Itsuki was the old noble. He'd looked to have been trying to back towards that doorway when Itsuki came in. The old noble immediately backed away in surprise. But what stopped Itsuki wasn't that the noble was only dressed in shoddy night robes, or that Karn had his sword pulled out and pointed at the noble, but that the noble was holding a knife to the neck of a crying little girl. One that had fox-like ears on her head. The missing demi-human daughter, Lily.

"What's going on?!" The hooded Itsuki demanded.

"I found the noble," Karn said lowly. "He wasn't in his room. But I snuck through the bathroom and found him beating the girl in here. I was going to pull back to find you, but he spotted me, and has been threatening to kill her if I didn't go."

"I said stay back! I'm not afraid to hurt this filth!" The noble threatened, digging the knife just a little into the girl's neck. A line of red came from under it. The girl whimpered at the pain that came from the sharp blade.

Itsuki held up his bow, and an arrow appeared on it. The nobleman's eyes paled at that. "Wait, that bow-" He tried to say.

"If you hurt that girl, I will have no problem ending your life here and now," Itsuki said, forcing himself to stay calm. His intention in coming here hadn't been to kill the noble. But this old man was threatening to kill an NPC right now. In this storyline quest, he figured that would be a big no-no. He could not allow that to happen.

He aimed the arrow so that it would enter the man's arm. The one that was restraining the girl. He didn't dare release it yet out of worry that the noble would accidentally kill the girl. "Release her. Now."

The old noble growled. "So it's true. I thought it was only a mere rumor. But it turns out the Bow Hero did decide to turn his back against the humans back in the Capital!" He angrily said. The girl whimpered in his grasp, wanting with everything she had to get away from this vile man. "I can't believe you'd turn your back on us like this! After everything we've ever done for you!"

Itsuki looked floored by the man's statement. Here he was, cornered in his own office, yet this NPC was acting as if he, the Bow Hero, owed him everything. That wasn't normal. "If you value your life, then you'll let her go-"

"You know," The noble interrupted. It seemed that seeing one of his own Gods fall from grace had broken something in him. "My whole life, I've done all I can to try and please the Gods. I thought in enslaving as many of these abominations as I could afford, that I'd be able to fulfill his will. That by working them like pack mules and feeding them feed worthy for cattle, I'd be able to please the multitudes of heaven." A creepy smile came onto the old noble's face. "But it turns out, I've been wrong the whole time."

"You're not going anywhere. Free her now, and I'll show mercy on you." Itsuki again forced out calmly. _'What's wrong with this NPC? Did I do something wrong, did I-'_

The noble laughed. The demi-girl whimpered. "I'm already a dead man Sir Bow Hero! Or Fake Hero as I should call you! My doctor has given me weeks to live at best. A few days at worst!" When Itsuki made eye contact, he saw the look in the man's eyes. And suddenly, it was like he wasn't looking at another NPC.

* * *

_"Come on Icksuki?! What's the matter? Too afraid to fight back?!"_

_A child version of Itsuki was pushed back onto the gravel ground. He covered his head with his hands and began to whimper as the three bullies appeared overhead. "Please, Shamuin, I don't want to fight-"_

_"Well too bad!" The bully named Shamuin cut him off with a yell. Itsuki whimpered louder as the two other bullies lifted him up by his armpits, forcing him to be face to face with Shamuin. "You think just because you're so smart that you can look down on me!"_

_Itsuki looked fearfully into his eyes. Eyes that showed hatred and a little bit of insanity. "It's time for your lesson Icksuki! Your lesson on how worthless you are!"_ _He said before he delivered another hard punch to the young Itsuki's face._

* * *

Itsuki put a hand to his head, trying to force the repressed memories back so he could return to the present. _'No! I'm in a game now! I already died back in my world! Those memories don't matter to me now. This is only a game! I'm only trying to save a demi-human girl! I've moved past all that now!-'_ He tried to think to clear out the bad memories. It was too bad he was too focused on his thoughts. Otherwise, he could have prevented what happened next.

"I'm already as good as dead. And if I'm going to die at the hands of a traitor, I'm going to die having pleased the real Gods and not the fake one in front of me!"

Karn's eyes widened in shock. "No, stop-"

The noble's knife slashed through the girl's throat. Seamlessly, effortlessly. Red blood sprayed out onto the floor. She didn't have the chance to gasp as her windpipe was cut.

Itsuki froze up. The arrow disappeared from his bow.

Karn stood stock still.

The girl dropped to her knees first. Her hands inching up to the gash in her throat. A look of wordless shock on her face. Then she fell sideways down onto the ground. Unable to speak as she choked on her own blood. Time resumed for everyone in the room.

The noble started to laugh gleefully. Watching the little demi-girl thrashing on the ground in front of him. Karn and Itsuki stood still a moment more. Karn watching with an appalled look. Itsuki watching with a look of horror.

* * *

_"No! No!"_

_The young version of Itsuki stared in horror at his ten-year-old friend. Lying in a growing pool of blood. The knife she had used to slit her own throat laid on the ground nearby. Somewhere in the background, a group of girls that had bullied her to this point were laughing to themselves. "The poor thing." "Guess she couldn't handle the truth." "That's what she gets for being such a freak." They all said mockingly in low voices to each other._

"_Jaylee! Jaylee! Please, wake up!" The child Itsuki cried as he tried shaking her body. As if it would somehow bring her back to the land of the living._

_His friend since preschool, one of the only ones who'd stood up for him in the face of the bullies, didn't move. Her light green eyes stared glassily up at the ceiling. "No! Jaylee! Please wake up!" The child Itsuki cried. Whilst the bullies continued to laugh at his sorrow._

* * *

In the real world, the noble continued to laugh. "Yes, finally! A worthy act that will appease my Gods!" The old noble exclaimed triumphantly. Itsuki was still staring at the girl, shock written on his face. "Now when I die, I shall be welcomed into the hosts of heaven! I shall be graced with thrones and dominions untold! I shall be considered greater than the greatest saints-"

The nobleman was cut off, literally, by a fist that slammed into his face with the force of a sledgehammer. Itsuki was no longer frozen. And his face was a portrait of rage. "YOU BASTARDDDDDDDDDDDD!"

The nobleman fell back onto the floor and tried to stand back up, but in his rage, Itsuki jumped onto the noble and continued to punch his face again and again. The nobleman, first caught off guard, started laughing crazily under the assault, causing Itsuki to ignore all else. He punched harder. He punched faster. The laughter filled his mind with memories. Only it was reversed. He was not the one on the ground, curling into a ball to protect himself from the laughing kids above that were kicking him around. Instead, he was the one on top, punching the hell out of this, this… **monster!**

He didn't know at what point the laughing stopped. He didn't know why the noble's face was replaced one by one with the face of those from back home. The faces of those bullies who had called him weak. Stupid. A worthless nobody that should have never been born... Who had belittled him almost to the point of committing suicide like his childhood friend. One of the only people that had ever been there for him.

He did not know how long the moment that felt like an eternity lasted.

All he knew was that Karn was suddenly pulling him back off the noble, and blood was dripping from his hands. Blood that wasn't his. "Sir Itsuki! Sir Itsuki! He's dead already! Please stop this madness!"

Itsuki gasped in surprise. The rage cleared, and he looked down at his hands, covered in the old noble's blood. Down below, the noble's face was a mess. Somehow, using only his fists, he had broken the man's skull in multiple spots. Along with most of his rib cage and sternum area. The old man was definitely dead. Karn was staring at him in shock. He had never seen anything like this before. He had never seen such hate on Itsuki's face before.

Itsuki quickly looked behind him. The little girl was lying in a growing pool of blood. She was still weakly convulsing, but she did not have long The hate drained from his face, replaced with another emotion. Fear.

"No, no!" Itsuki quickly pushed the worried Karn away and hustled over to the little girl. He got down on his knees in the pool of blood and lifted her small frail body up to examine the wound on her neck... his heart constricted in his chest. '_No... '_ He tried to cover it with his hand. Tried to find something, anything on him that could staunch the bleeding. But deep down he knew it had done nothing. The cut was too deep. Not only had it cut through the major artery, but it had cut through her windpipe. Even if he stopped the bleeding miraculously, she would not be able to breathe. She was going to die. Die at the hands of a bully. Like his friend had. Like he almost had. And there was nothing he could do to help her out.

_'No, please…'_ He choked back sobs. It was not just a storyline quest now. This NPC was still alive, but even now, he couldn't save her, just like he couldn't save his friend from the bullies...

…

Itsuki felt a weak hand press itself against his cheek. He looked up in surprise from the cut to the girl, Lily's face. Though she was dying, she was smiling. Unable to speak because of her throat being slashed, she allowed her face to speak for her. More specifically, her eyes, which were filled with emotion.

Itsuki was stunned by the brief display. The girl had finally realized she was being freed from this painful existence. No longer would she have to watch her mother work until she dropped. No longer would she have to cry for her missing dad at night. No longer would she be pulled aside for the slightest infraction to be beaten by her master. No longer would her friends fear that they had to sleep and never wake up again.

She was free. Free from this horrible master, this terrible bully. Free from the terrors of this world. And Itsuki was stunned at how real it looked.

...

Her eyes looked past Itsuki, and then the hand that had been pressed to his face dropped back down to the floor. The pain faded. Her father's arms were already wrapping around her, welcoming her home. She died, a smile still on her face…

…

"No… … … … NO!" Itsuki yelled in despair as he shook her, but the girl did not move. The look of realness, for a moment, had reminded him of his world. Yet he was supposed to be in his favorite game. But yet, it had done something so terrible.

"Sir, sir Itsuki-" Karn tried to say.

Itsuki lost it and cradled the girl's body to himself. Sobs wracked his frame. His mind was a blank. The stench of blood like iron was everywhere. Just like that day years ago. Karn yelling for his attention faded to the background.

The noise of the doors opening did not matter. The sounds and outbursts behind him did not matter.

For this moment, Itsuki could not view this world as his favorite game. No, it was like a game that brought nightmares to life.

It was like reality. A reality as harsh as his world. Only unlike reality, he could not escape this game. There was no logout option. No save point. It was still there, in the background, taunting him as it had in his childhood. That, even as a hero, those bullies were still right. He was weak. He was useless. He could not even save a weak, innocent, little NPC girl who had suffered the same fate as his childhood friend. He was worthless, and he hated himself for it.

Itsuki curled his head up to face the ceiling.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

**Requirements Met: Cursed Series Unlocked**

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**Author's Notes:**

**Alright, this was a pretty heavy chapter. I originally had different plans, but in talking it over with some great people, I changed up a couple of things. I wanted to call the group "The Blades of the Shield" as a reader suggested. But if I did that, I found out the Church would likely go all Inquisition on them. I also wanted Itsuki to realize this wasn't a game. But, like Motoyasu, I realized he's also pretty heavy into the mindset that this is a fantasy world. If the two of them ever want to awaken to reality, they have to be confronted with something that truly shakes their core values. And while these two hit close to home, it's not quite close enough. However, as I hinted at, these two have now unlocked a set of Curse Series. I think that'll help with making things more interesting.**

**Now, with that out of the way, here's a hero clip to help you all feel somewhat better. I think we'd all like to see something like this since Bitch used this bull crap excuse so much throughout the anime/Manga/LN's. :)**

* * *

_Hero Clips_

* * *

**By Royal Decree**

* * *

Myne scowled deeply. Her face looked as red as her hair. "But, but you can't! I'm the Royal Princess! I'm the one who's supposed to be in charge!"

"Actually, I'm the one in charge now. And this signed decree proves it." The Lord said brightly. The scene was set in the square, with all the knights and villagers on both sides watching the spectacle.

The Lord flipped the decree over, showing more writing on the back of it. "Eh-hem." He cleared his throat. "By royal decree, I, the Lord of Lute Village, am bestowed the right to rename anyone who stays in my land whatever I desire." He looked up at Myne and squinted as if he was looking at her closely. "I shall call thee, Demon Witch."

Myne's eyes widened drastically. "What-" She yelled.

"Yes, that fits nicely. By royal decree," The Lord continued. "I have the right to order anyone to do whatever I want, no matter how ridiculous it seems." He yawned as if he was bored. "Would thou be-est so kind as to entertain this old man with a tap dance, Demon Witch?"

"That is not my name! I am the Royal Princess! I will not do any such thing-" She tried to say.

Several of the knight mages the Lord had brought with him started casting jets of electricity from their hands at the ground around Myne's feet. She eeped as she started doing a tap dance, avoiding the arcs of lightning shot at her feet. "Stop that!" She yelled in fright.

"Yes, that's more like it." The Lord said, smiling widely as he watched.

Myne seethed as she was forced to be humiliated in front of everyone. "When I get my hands on you, I'm going to make you wish you were never born-!" She was yelling.

"By royal decree." The Lord continued.

_'Wait, there's more!?'_ Myne thought hysterically to herself. What had papa been thinking when he signed that royal decree!? "Sir Motoyasu! Sir Motoyasu!" Myne yelled for help.

"You know, I don't know why." Motoyasu was sitting on a barrel nearby. Talking with Ren and Itsuki. "But something is telling me I shouldn't be trusting Myne so much these days."

"Or maybe that you shouldn't be trusting her at all." Itsuki strongly suggested.

"Nah, I don't think that's it," Motoyasu said to himself as he continued to think the complex problem over. "I mean, I'm supposed to trust my friends, right? But she keeps on leading me into bad situations again and again. But, she's still my friend, so I have to trust her, right?" He repeated himself.

Itsuki groaned to himself at how thick-skulled Motoyasu was being.

"I'm just here waiting for my chapter to come out," Ren said boredly.

"Wait, but I'm a Princess! I can't do that-"

"It says right here, by Royal Decree, I can tell anyone to jump off a cliff, and they have to do it." The Lord replied smugly.

"That's too specific for a royal decree though-" Myne started to say angrily.

"Escort Demon Witch to the cliff please." The Lord said boredly. "And make sure to throw her off the highest one Albert."

"No, get away from me! Sir Motoyasu! Helppppp!" Myne yelled.

* * *

**XD  
**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	21. 21: This Isn't A Game

**Sorry, this came out later today than normal. I actually have a good reason for that (outside of flying to the East Coast Saturday) but I won't share it right now. I'd rather see if the reason pops up again after I update or not. Anyways, you've all been waiting for it, so please, enjoy the chapter!**

**Also, thanks to Pretty Lazy for giving me permission to take a small part of his work to use in this chapter. Keep up the great work man! The song I'm currently writing is because of you giving me access to what you wrote!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:**_ 36 more Favorites, 30 more Followers (Total: 677 Favorites, 782 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:**_ December 17th, 2019 1:16 A.M. (EST)_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One:** _This Isn't A Game_

* * *

_The Present (35 Days before the next wave of Catastrophe)_

"Ma'am Altara. I hope your trip out here was safe."

"There were only a few balloons attacked me on my way here. Nothing that I couldn't handle by myself." Altara the nun said dismissively as she dismounted her horse. "Now, explain to me why I was called out here."

She was currently outside of the nearby village.

"Right. We found these demihumans scouring Bellona Village for the Shield Hero a few days ago." The church agent informed her as the two of them walked up to a nearby tree. Tied to it were three dark hooded figures. A pair of church knights stood on either side of them, weapons out and at the ready, in case their captives somehow managed to escape their bonds. "One of their accomplices ran off, and we had a lot of trouble capturing these three. They proved to be experts at hand to hand combat and holed themselves up in a shop after killing two of our Knights in town. We had to keep them inside for a couple of days before we got a mage who knew smoke magic to the area. He smoked them out, and then we were able to capture them. However, we can't get any information out of them."

"... And why do you believe these three are so important?" Altara asked boredly.

"We believe they might have been hiding the Shield Demon in the general area." The Church Agent said.

The two of them stopped before the hooded figures. Two of them were still knocked out. The middle one raised his head and growled at the two of them. Altara proceeded to calmly pull back the hood, revealing the furry face of a tiger demi-human. "A Hakuko." She said curiously. As if she were inspecting a curious specimen.

His fangs bared, and the hair around his neck bristled. "A nun of the Three Heroes Church. How blasphemous." He growled out calmly, before spitting at Altara's feet.

Altara continued to look calmly look down at the restrained demi-human. Her eyes calculative, and her tone controlled. "Are you sure this one managed to kill two of our Knights?" She asked the Church Agent. "It doesn't look like it could kill anything that wasn't already dead."

"Rowr!" The demi-human roared and tried to burst free from his bands. The thick rope, however, held him in check. "You damn human! I'll slice you in pieces for this dishonor against the Grand Council's Elite Guard!" He yelled gutturally.

"Hmmm… It appears we've captured some 'important' demi-humans here." Altara said, adding a tone of mocking to her voice. "Of the Grand Council's Elite Guard you say? Tell me. Why would the 'great' Siltveltian Council be sticking their paws around Melromarc?"

The tiger demi-human stopped struggling, but he didn't stop glaring at the nun. "Because we heard of Melromarc's barbarity in their treatment of our God." He growled lowly.

Altara raised an eyebrow as if she was confused. "What God have we been mistreating? I can't remember mistreating any Gods lately."

"Don't pretend you don't know!" The demi-human yelled angrily. "Ever since he was summoned you've done nothing but try to kill the blessed Shield Hero! One of the great Cardinal-

Altara laughed, cutting the demi-human off. She continued for a few seconds, honestly looking a little crazy as she did so. "Oh, of course, such a silly thing for something so important to slip my mind. Getting old does that to you sometimes." The middle-aged nun said mockingly to the demi-human. "I almost forgot you animals looked to the Shield as your God."

Her laughter stopped. The crazed look in her eyes didn't disappear though. "The blessed Shield?" She added. "Don't make me sick. The Shield is nothing but a devil; going throughout the land to usurp the hearts of our people. To turn those of the righteous to the paths of wickedness." She said, venom and malice dripping from her voice. "The Shield chose to you over us humans. Even now the Shield Demon goes about with one of those abominations, twisting other humans to the combination of his sinful, dark and carnal desires. That devil is not worthy of the title of Cardinal Hero. He is no hero. And he is no God."

"ROWRRR!" The demi-human roared and tried again to break his bindings at hearing such blasphemous words. One of the ropes started to fray, and the two knights immediately moved into a position to skewer him if need be. But his strugglings to break free didn't break the rope. "YOU INSOLENT SWINE!" He roared in anger. "As soon as we find our Savior, we will rain vengeance upon your heads for everything this country has ever done to us demi-humans! We will repay every drop of your hatred and blasphemy IN YOUR BLOOD!"

…

Altara smirked. "You mean, you haven't found your Savior Shield Hero?" She asked for confirmation.

The church agent next to her appeared stunned. They'd been working off the assumption that the Shield Hero was hiding somewhere with the help of these demi-humans. But now, it turned out that not even the demi-humans had known where they were hiding.

The angry demi-human continued to growl. "We did find him! But now we'll never catch up to him! He fled to the East after your Knights first tried to capture us, and now he'll be too far away for us to track him down and take him with us to Siltvelt-" The demi-human's eyes widened as he realized the slip of tongue he'd just had. He'd been so frustrated with having found the Shield Hero, only to have these fools get in the way that he couldn't complete his mission. But now, he had just told the enemy all they'd needed to know... because a nun had riled him up.

Altara continued to smirk. "So you weren't trying to hide him. You only knew that the Shield Demon fled East from here. Most likely he's going through the mountain range to escape to another part of Melromarc. That'll definitely help with tracking him down." Altara's smirk turned into an evil smile as she looked down on the shocked demi-human. "You religious zealots are too easy to rile up. Loosening your tongues as soon as your 'God' is blasphemed against." She made to turn, but then stopped to look back down at the Hakuko's shocked face. "I should thank you. You made our job of catching up to the Shield Demon that much easier." Altara turned away at last and began to walk away.

_'No… NO!'_ The Hakuko thought.

"**ROWWWRRRRRR!" Snap!**

With a loud roar and a loud snap, the tiger demi-human burst from his bonds. The two knights immediately moved to stab him through, but in a surprising burst of speed and strength, he grabbed the blades with his claws, ripping them away from the hands of the knights. "I WON'T LET YOU!" Using the tree as a brace, he leaped forward through the air. Claws and fangs bared to kill the 'defenseless' nun. The other knights in the area were too far away, and the two closest were unarmed. The Church Agent was still recovering from his shock at seeing a demi-human break out of such strong restraints.

"My lady-" The church agent started to say in surprise.

Altara turned so quickly and reached forward in front of her, it was almost invisible to the eye. "Holy Light Sword!"

"ROWRR- Kuh!" The lion demi-human gasped in surprise as he felt something pierce his body, killing his growl and his forward momentum. _'What…' _He looked down in shock.

A sword of pure light, grasped in the left hand of the nun, had stabbed him below his rib cage. _'But… how…' _Blood spurted from his mouth, and then he fell backward onto the ground. Gasping for breath as he felt one of his damaged lungs filling with blood. The knights who'd had their swords ripped from their grasp looked amazed. The other knights who'd watched in shock were also amazed.

"Lady Altara... that was marvelous. How did you react so-" The church agent started to say in awe.

"Send word to all the knights and church shadow squads in the East. There are only a few paths the Shield Demon can take through the mountains. Scour them, locate him at once, and finish him." Altara said with finality to the church agent, cutting him off. "We cannot allow him to get away from us again."

"Yes... yes, I'll send word at once!" The church agent said quickly before he darted off.

"Nurgh… no…" The Hakuko demi-human gasped weakly on the ground.

"As for you." Altara lifted the head of the weak-eyed demi-human so he could look directly at her evil-looking face. "You aren't the first demi-humans tracking the Shield Demon that I've killed. And I doubt you'll be the last." She spoke, her voice laced with venom and an undying hatred of these beasts below her. "You can make all the erroneous claims you want, you can throw your worldly rank around to make yourself feel important, but none of it will save you from the truth. You are nothing but a vile pestilence to our world that needs to be purged. And as an instrument to God, blessed with his holy light magic, I will do just that."

The demi-human coughed up more blood and spat it in her face. However, she laughed at the pitiful action. "I've decided. I'll kill your comrades in front of you, and save you for last. That way you'll learn what true suffering is like." Her evil smile returned. "It's been too long since my magic sword last tasted demi-human blood... Only a day or two, actually."

She dropped the Hakuko demi-human to the ground, and slowly started to approach the two that were still knocked out on the ground. The demi-human rolled over and reached out weakly for his comrades. "No, Po, Han…"

**Slash! Slash!**

He could do nothing but watch as both his comrades and lifelong friends were beheaded right in front of him. As effortlessly as a knife cutting through butter. _'No… please Gods, no…'_

Altara laughed gleefully as she watched blood soak the ground from each of her kills. "Yes! Yes! Be purged from this world you vile creatures of the Devil! Return to the pits of hell where thou camest!"

'_What kind of monster is this?'_ The demi-human thought in fear, before coughing up more blood from his damaged lung. He wasn't looking so good.

Altara looked back at the fatally wounded demi-human lying on the ground at the sound of him coughing, and then shrugged to herself. "Let us go now. I am eager to finally rid the world of the Devil of the Shield."

"But, ma'am, shouldn't we dispose of-" One of the two Knights tried to ask.

"Leave him here. He'll die from his wound anyways." Altara said. "It'll give him plenty of time to suffer for being the abomination he is." She turned away and walked to her horse.

The Knight looked to Altara, then the demi-human, as if unsure. Then he finally nodded to himself. "As you command Lady Altara." The Knight said curtly.

Altara mounted her horse and turned to face the squads of knights. They had wasted enough time here. "It's time we found the Shield Demon and eliminated him once and for all!"

The knights cheered loudly in response. Altara faced her horse towards the Eastern mountains and kicked it into a gallop. "Yah! Yah!" The rest of the Church Knights followed after her on their horses... yelling as they gradually disappeared into the woods.

Their comrade who had evaded capture watched from his perch in the trees in shock. She had thought it was only a rumor that the Church had been capturing and killing their search parties for the Shield Hero. But to see it with her own eyes… and with members of the Grand Council's Elite Guard... '_I have to report this to the Grand Council immediately! Melromarc has gone too far!'_ She thought angrily.

The demi-human turned around on the tree and leaped lightly from one tree to the next. Gradually disappearing from the scene.

...

The wounded demi-human's eyes opened again, and he weakly reached out in the direction Altara had gone. '_No… I can't… let her… capture… my God...'_

His hand tiredly dropped back to the ground. '_I… am dying… all alone... in this Gods forsaken country… having failed the Grand Council... in finding... and rescuing… our Savior... the Shield Hero…'_

In his dying moments, the Hakuko first remembered a few days ago, seeing the hooded Shield Hero in person for the first time at Bellona Village. Ever since the time he had been a child, he had wished that he could meet the Shield Hero. He had worked hard his whole life just so he could be in a position that would allow him to meet the Shield Hero should he finally be summoned one day. Yet Melromarc had rejected all representatives from all nations from meeting with the Shield Hero and the other Cardinal Heroes after summoning them. Then, a week after they had been summoned, the other nations were finally allowed to send representatives to meet with the Cardinal Heroes... All except for the demihuman nations who wanted to meet the Shield.

He'd been forced with his friends to sneak in undercover, under orders from the Grand Council, to verify where the Shield was, to learn if he was being treated fairly, and if not, to retrieve him and bring him to safety… and for the last month, they and others had worked so hard after finding out about the Shield's mistreatment by Melromarc, yet had had no luck in finding him...

He had been so happy to have found him. To see him at last with his own two eyes… to find that he was okay... and that he had a demi-human fighting at his side... Yet, despite that, his two friends had argued with each other, saying they had to separate him from the demi-human. All because she was a Tanuki. One of the races looked down upon by the Grand Council.

He remembered the Tanukis next. Mostly from memories of his Father telling him about the war. He could have cared less about the opinions of his friends, or even the Grand Council about the Tanukis. He remembered times where his Father talked about having fought side by side with them during the last war when their illusion magic had been key to saving many lives and ending battles before casualties piled too high. He knew too well how it wasn't their fault that they chose not to cut off their alliance with Melromarc after the kingdom started warring fiercely against the Hakukos over a tragic betrayal. He knew how they'd feared the cause of the long drawn out war being blamed on them by Siltvelt. His father had told him so, and he'd trusted his father, even if the war had killed him…

A weary smile came onto his face. His mind jumped back to the Shield Hero. When he'd first noticed his hooded figure walking by his group.

* * *

_The hooded Hakuko walked out of the pub on to the street with his two friends. They'd just finished another round of eavesdropping on other diners whilst hiding their identities from the waiters. They were discussing with themselves about meeting up with their other friend when something caught the Hakuko's eye._

_Two hooded figures walked by him and his friends. One of them shyly put an arm around the other and leaned into him. "And... thank you for saying I'm beautiful Naofumi."_

_The Hakuko gasped to himself. 'Naofumi… could it be…' They only knew his name and what he looked like from a wanted poster. He didn't know how tall he was, or if he'd look regal or not, but hearing the name alone drew his complete attention. Hope filling him at the possibility..._

_Naofumi smiled and put an arm over her shoulders. The action caused her to turn her head to look at him. The Hakuko saw the sincerity and love in her eyes. And he recognized the Tanuki ears hiding under her hood on top of her head. He turned his head to look down at her, and he saw the face of his God, smiling for this girl._

_"No problem." He replied. The two continued to walk on._

_..._

_"Though I still don't approve of what you did to that poor shopkeeper." She added._

_"Way to ruin the moment." He said dryly._

_"You're welcome." She responded happily._

_"Hey, Dou-Lon." The Hakuko turned to face his two friends. They were looking at him curiously. "Is something wrong? You were staring off-"_

_"I found him," Dou-Lon said, almost in disbelief._

_"Found who?" Po asked curiously._

_"I found him, I found the Shield Hero… and he has a Tanuki demi-human helping him…" He smiled happily. 'Our Savior is not alone.' "Come on! Let's go help him!" He said excitedly to his friends as he turned to excitedly follow._

_Han grabbed him by the wrist. "Wait, our God has a Tanuki with him?" He asked skeptically._

_"Yeah, is something wrong?-" He tried to ask._

* * *

The Hakuko's smile became pained. He knew what had happened next. '_If things had only worked out better. If I'd only kept my mouth shut about discovering the demihuman in love with the Shield Hero was a Tanuki. Maybe my friends wouldn't have suggested waiting to corner him. Maybe the Shield wouldn't have had to flee from the village when the Church Knights appeared. Maybe… maybe... my friends and I would be alive, and I wouldn't have betrayed the Shield...'_

"I'm sorry, Shield Hero… I'm not... worthy to… see your face... ever... again… … …"

His eyes started to close. Giving up on the life he'd held dear. Dimly, he registered some faint outline hobbling towards him from the forest. Whatever it was, unknown.

But then his eyelids shut, and blood loss finally made him pass out.

Dou-Lon, the grandnephew of Tai-Lon, thought no more.

* * *

_The Mountains outside Dragon Village_

_The Day Before (36 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"**Thunder Bolt Slash!**"

Ren swept his sword forward, releasing a slash of lightning magic at the dark purple scaled dragon that flew overhead. It hit along its bottom wing, and it roared in pain from the hit as it soared away before swooping back in again for another strike.

Ren was quick to run, jumping out of the way of a cloud of poison gas that the dragon released from its mouth. The area of rocks behind him melted under the acidity of the gas. For once, Ren was grinning widely. _'We're close. It won't be able to stay flying for much longer with wounds like that.'_ He thought to himself as he looked up at the enraged flying red-eyed dragon. It had several wounds on its belly, legs, and wings. Dripping fat drops of blood down onto the ground.

It had taken Ren and his party about eight days to travel to Dragon Village. Grinding monsters all along the way there. The next morning, the guild representative had been waiting outside their inn like a quest marker to point the way for Ren's party to find the dragon. Now with Ren at level 53 and the rest of his party nearing 40, they were taking on the level 55 dragon emperor.

The dragon dived in, wanting to bash Ren away with its tail. But then Bakta, the unmoving tank of his party, switched with Ren. He took the hit with his shield, the enchantments on his armor helping him to stay in place as he stabbed his spear up into a chink in the dragon's tail armor. The dragon quickly flew back up into the air, wanting to escape further damage.

"And hit our target with a buffeting wind! **Zweite Gust!**"

**Boom! Boom!**

Two wind spells from the two mages of the party, Tersia, and Farrie, hit the dragon on one of its wings, causing it to roar in surprise. It hadn't expected the hits, and the force of the spells caused the dragon to go off-kilter in the air.

"Now, Sir Ren!" The last member, a sword wielder named Welt, said from where he stood ready to guard the two mage girls.

Ren nodded in thanks to his party, before kneeling on the ground. They had bought him enough time to drink an SP replenishing potion. Now he could use the skills he needed to win.

"**One Hundred Swords**!" Around him, many blue swords came out of the ground and flew up at the dragon. Most bounced off its remaining scales, but several cut into its wings and dug into wounds already created before.

The dragon roared in pain, but it managed to right itself and sent another blast of poison gas at Ren. "Sir Ren!" One of the mages, Tersia, yelled in worry.

Ren's sword changed, making it look like he was holding a long jagged piece of glass. "**Reflect Slash!**" He slashed forward right as the burst of poison gas was about to hit him, and as if being shot from a cannon, the gas reflected away from Ren back into the flying dragon's face.

Reflect Slash had a long cooldown timer. But it worked wonders in a fight like this. Taking the opponent's move and reflecting it back with his own attack power added to the blast.

Caught off guard, the dragon roared in pain at its own poison hurting its eyes. Even with its high poison resistance, it could hardly see through its own burning gas. It flew around effectively blinded by its own attack.

Ren took advantage, and ran towards the dragon with his sword held high. It changed to a sword that glowed like a meteor falling through the sky. "You have breathed your last!" He jumped onto a boulder and jumped up high into the air. Higher than any normal adventurer could hope to accomplish. His sword glowed blue as he activated the skill. "**Meteor Slash!**" Ren yelled as he slashed into the dragon's gut.

The sword released a blue slash of MP powered energy. For a second, the dragon and Ren were motionless in the air, then a shockwave came out from the point of contact as the cut, instead of just slicing partway into the skin, cut fully through it, and into the gut of the dragon.

The dragon roared in agony, and Ren pushed off the dragon's underbelly with his feet. He landed further away from where he'd launched off the ground gracefully, right as the dragon smashed into the ground behind him in a heap of limbs and entangled wings.

It did not rise again. And like that, the battle was done.

"Glad that's over," Ren said calmly as he sheathed his sword on his back.

"Sir Ren! That was amazing!"

All at once, his party members who had been playing support surrounded him. "I've never seen anything like it before!" Farrie said excitedly.

"You managed to reflect its own attack back at it," Welt said in amazement. He had not realized Ren had unlocked a sword like that. "The powers of the Cardinal Heroes really are endless."

"If we keep this up, we'll overcome the waves for sure!" Bakta said happily. His expensive enchanted chainmail armor he had been given from his noble parents had really come in handy for this battle. Without the added resistance the armor gave him to physical attacks, he knew even with his heavy shield the dragon's tail would have sent him flying. Though it would have been useless against the dragon's poison attacks.

Ren calmly looked them over. He honestly was not used to fighting alongside his party members. He usually let them grind for levels while he dealt with the more serious monsters. Except for occasions like this where he knew he would need support. And honestly, their support had really made all the difference here in this battle.

"You all did well." Ren complimented calmly. "Are any of you hurt?" Ren asked in the middle of their praising him.

The party stopped talking and looked at each other. "No, it seemed like the dragon was focused on you for the most part," Bakta replied.

"We barely affected it really," Tersia said. "I was surprised by combining my strength with Farrie's that our wind magic did anything at all." She added sadly.

The party members looked to the mage. "I didn't really do anything," Welt said softly. "I just made sure that Tersia and Farrie weren't targeted while they charged up their spells."

The four bowed their heads in shame. It was times like this they wished they could be more useful. That they were not so low leveled as to barely be able to keep up with Ren in one of his major fights.

Ren would have said something more to them to help lift them out of their funk. The last thing his party needed was lower morale after their victory. He might have run the party more as a guild leader than as a friend, but he did care somewhat for these NPC's under him. However, he looked back at the dragon. '_Why haven't we gotten the experience notification from killing it yet?'_ He thought confusedly.

After a couple of seconds, he saw its chest rise and fall. Its eyes blearily opened again, but it still did not get back up. Ren's last slash had not only destroyed its gut but had almost completely severed it's back two legs. A pool of blood was forming under its belly. It's breathing continued to be labored. Even if it was not dead now, it would be dead within moments. Yet, despite its oncoming death, the dragon glared spitefully at him.

_'It'll bleed out soon. Not like I should care about how it dies. It attacked us first when we arrived here.'_ Ren thought. All monsters attacked first, and this dragon had been no different. He turned to prepare to instruct his party on how they would harvest materials from the dragon.

"Dad! Dad!" Ren and the party turned at the sound of a young girlish voice piercing the air. A small person, a girl, was running down the hill into the crater towards the dragon. She was dressed in country clothes, her light brown hair neat and well-groomed down to her neck, with a braid going behind one of the dog-like ears on top of her head. She also had a thick dog's tail trailing behind her.

Rem recognized the girl was a demi-human. One that looked to be around nine to ten years old.

"Wait, it isn't safe-" Ren tried to yell.

He stopped speaking when the girl fell onto the dragon's snout and started to cry. The dragon did not react, other than its eyes softening as it sniffed the little girl's scent. It gently nudged the crying girl with its snout. Tears were also coming out of its eyes.

_'What the hell…'_ Ren thought in shock. He'd never seen anything like this in any other game before.

"Dad, please, don't go." The girl, not even a pre-teen yet, cried softly. Barely loud enough for Ren to hear. "Don't go…"

...

"I'm… sorry… little one…" The dragon finally spoke in a deep, rough voice. Like a dying volcano. "I'm… afraid… I no longer… have… a choice."

The girl sniffled. "But… but you said you'd always protect me from those evil people who killed my parents… you promised..." More tears started to leak from her blue eyes. "You promised!" She yelled.

"I did… promise… But I'm… afraid… these… are wounds… I won't… recover from." The dragon spoke slowly, laboriously.

The rest of Ren's party appeared stunned at what was going on. Ren himself wasn't stunned and was instead approaching the dragon. He looked angry, whether at the dragon or at himself, he wasn't sure. But he had been told the dragon was preparing to attack the village! Yet it was sorry that it was dying!?

"Why, why did you attack us!?" He asked. "Why were you planning on attacking the village!?" _'And how is this NPC girl supposed to be your daughter!?'_ He thought incredulously in his mind. None of it made sense. This didn't match up with his quest parameters at all!

The dragon lowly growled. "You are… here to… kill and… enslave my children… just like… all the others…" The dragon said lowly.

"I didn't come here to enslave anyone!" Ren yelled in anger, his calmness disappearing at seeing this little girl crying at the death of this monster. Why was she crying over a beast like this dragon?! "I came here because I was told by the guild that a dragon was planning to wipe out a village! I came here to stop you!"

…

"Is that… what you… were told?" The dragon asked… it's rough voice holding a note of curiosity. It continued looking into Ren's eyes as if seeing into his soul... "Yes… I see it... now… ... you were played… just like me…" The dragon said sadly. "I was… reckless… I was... a fool…"

_'... What?'_ Ren thought in shock. This definitely didn't match up with the boss he'd faced in his game. That dragon had been a warmonger, a being that delighted in bloodshed. It would have never thought about taking care of a child...

The more he studied the dragon's eyes, the more it was like knowledge poured into his mind. And then he realized that was exactly what was happening. The dragon did not speak, but somehow, a mental connection had formed between the two. Magic that Ren had not thought possible to exist in this world. The dragon brought thoughts and images into his mind to explain. Knowing it did not have much time left. And the thoughts and images opened up Ren's mind to the truth.

Gaelion, as Ren learned the dragon was called, had made a peace pact with Dragon Village long ago. He stayed in the mountains were his poison would harm no one, while the people of the village wouldn't go into the forest to hunt his offspring. He was a dragon of honor and had had no intention of breaking the pact. The people in the village, for the most part, had no intention of breaking the pact either.

No, this mess had been caused by others. By a group of outsiders who had plotted with those few who wanted him dead so they could increase their wealth with his lands. And they had lied to Ren, so they could use him to achieve their ends. It had been a set up all along.

_'Why, how…'_ Ren thought in disbelief.

**'You are strong, Sword Hero. Stronger than I gave you credit for in that battle.'** Gaelion the dragon finally spoke in his mind. Ren took a step back, feeling like he had been punched in the gut. **'I am sorry I didn't try to defend my actions. I was blinded by my need to protect my children here from trappers… and my adopted daughter from the slavers who've tried, again and again, to come here and capture her. I saved her from a group of slavers when she was little. Her parents had been killed. I… I only wanted to protect her from those slavers... If I had only… spoken sooner… please… protect her… for me...'**

…

It took Ren a moment to realize that Gaelion had stopped breathing. And that was why he had stopped speaking. As if to confirm, an experience notification appeared next to his head. Along with the heads of his party members. It was enough experience that he went up from 53 to 55. His party members, though getting less experience, went up quite a few levels too. Going from 36 to 40, and 38 to 40. Stars appeared next to their names, indicating that they were in need of class ups.

They had done it… they had defeated the dragon. They had gotten stronger... so why did he feel so terrible on the inside...

"No, Dad, please," The girl tried to say. But then she started sobbing, laying her head against the dragon's snout. "You promised you'd protect me from those bad people! You promised!" She cried again. "Noooooo!" She screamed in grief.

Ren stood stock still, shocked at what he was witnessing. Shocked as he felt the feeling of death cutting off something from his mind. Shocked that, despite the cut-off, he still saw the string of images like a motion film the dragon had passed to him over the link. Both its own, and of the little girl who had shared them with him. Images that overrode what he was seeing around him, and replaced it with what'd happened in the past.

_A group of slave hunters chased two desperate demi-humans through the forest. A couple. The mom held her four-year-old sobbing girl in her arms. The dad leading her by the hand, trying to lead them along across the rocky root strewn ground. Trying to cross the mountain to the country of Zeltoble beyond where they'd be safe._

_'No… I was just doing what the guild assigned me to do… I… I thought…'_ He'd thought it was a quest. He had thought it was only another challenge in this game. He'd thought it was only a game.

_An arrow suddenly pierced through the woman's gut from behind. A scream came from her, the sense of loss overwhelming her. Still, despite the pain, she passed the child, the crying girl screaming for her mommy, to her husband. "Get her out of here! Leave me!" She yelled, knowing this was the end, and only wanting to keep her daughter safe. It was almost too much. Too much._

_"No, please-" The husband tried to say._

_"GO!" The woman ordered, pushing her husband and crying daughter away as she collapsed to the ground._

_"Hey Ren… Remember that this isn't a game..." Naofumi's voice rang in the background of the images._

_Ren fell on his knees, watching as the husband tearfully ran on. Crying as his wife collapsed onto the ground behind him in her effort to get back up. Crying more as, seconds later, the slave hunters overtook her. Several staying behind to torture her, now that the arrow had pierced vital organs, she would soon die. She was worthless, except for the entertainment they would provide them as she screamed up till she died. The rest continued chasing the Father. Releasing more arrows in an attempt to stop him from running away._

_'No, it can't be!'_ Ren thought. _'He can't be right! He can't! This is a game! This is a game!'_ If this wasn't a game… then…

_The husband climbed onto a large rock and saw a large cave. He somehow knew that safety could be found there if he only reached it. Before he could start climbing down though, an arrow pierced the man in the back. Making him fall down the side of the rock, with his daughter screaming as they landed hard next to the entrance. He grunted, gritting his teeth in pain, and looked down at his cradled crying daughter. The one who would be taken for running away, who would grow up in slavery worse off than he had. All because he and his wife had tried to flee from their master after their slave crests had been removed by a hooded figure._

All of Ren's thoughts stopped. He stared at the image, as if frozen in time, wide-eyed. The Father held genuine emotion in his face, his eyes, in every little facet. The look mirrored what Ren had seen on the roof of the ambulance back in his world. When he'd realized in the gurney that he wasn't going to make it. When he'd realized he had sacrificed his own life so the girl he'd loved would continue to live.

Yet, despite that, like this Father, he saw the same look he'd had. The same look that said, even if I die, he'd be happy that she would have the chance to live on.

"This isn't a game." Ren murmured in realization.

_"I'm sorry… my little Wyndia…" He whispered to the now quietly crying girl. He kissed her on the forehead and laid her small body in a shadowy crevice near the entrance. Pausing only long enough to give her one last head pat. It was enough that she stopped crying to look confusedly up at him. "Stay silent. Know that daddy will always love you."_

_"Puh, Papa?"_

_He smiled sadly, memorizing her face one last time, before forcing himself back up. He took off away from the cave, acting like he was still holding the child._

_"There he is!" "Capture the damn demi!" Yells came as he ran back into view of the slave hunters. He hustled towards the summit, blood dripping from the arrow in his shoulder as the group of slave traders followed after him._

"_No, Papa, no!" The young Wyndia cried._

_Her dad bravely disappeared over the rise. The group of intent slave hunters still on his tail. In a moment, they too disappeared over the rise after him._

_Wyndia stared in shock for a moment more. "No… mama… papa…" The little four-year-old Wyndia sat back against the wall of the cave and started to cry anew._

**"Protect her…"**

_The images around Ren finally stopped. He stared at the ground, wide-eyed in shock. He had no thoughts. He had no feeling. All he had was a realization that had slammed through everything he'd thought he'd known since he'd woken up with the Legendary Sword in his hand._

_"This isn't a game."_

_Then, everything around Ren turned to black._

* * *

"... en... Si.. Sir... Sir Ren! Please wake up!" A voice yelled worriedly.

Ren slowly opened his eyes. His party members surrounded him up above, their worried faces looking down at him. He had been lying on his back next to the dead dragon. The dragon who still had the demi-girl crying next to it. He felt at his own face, finding tear tracks under his eyes. At the sign of him coming too though, relief came onto their faces. "Oh thank the Gods," Tersia said gratefully.

"What… what happened?" Ren asked confusedly. His throat felt dry. _'Was that… was that all in my head?'_ It couldn't be possible. He had never had an experience like this before in this world. Yet it had all felt so… real...

"You passed out several minutes ago. We tried to wake you up, but nothing was working." Welt explained nervously as Ren worked on standing up. It wasn't hard, it just felt like he was… weighed down. _'I killed a dragon. A dragon that was only looking at protecting its home… protecting its children… protecting this girl...'_

"You started crying after you passed out… we had no idea what to do…" The young man said worriedly. The other party members shared in their worry for Ren. They had never seen the Cardinal Hero crying before. "What happened there, Sir Ren?"

…

Ren looked at his party members. The knowledge of his revelation finally opened his eyes. These people were looking at him with genuine concern in their eyes. Not programmed. Not built in. But real, human concern... His party members were not NPC's.

He looked to the sobbing demi-human girl, Wyndia. The little girl he had seen in his vision. She was not an NPC either.

He looked to the dead dragon, Gaelion. He had not been a raid boss, a boss monster, a threat to the village…an NPC. He had never been a preprogrammed monster set to destroy a town at a certain time like in his game. He had been a real being, with real hopes, dreams, and desires. And Ren had cut them short.

Ren felt the sorrow of the memories go through his mind again, enough to drop him back onto one knee. Like the husband, before he had been killed, using the last bit of effort he had to hide his only daughter in the shadows of the cave before running off and sacrificing himself so she would have a chance at survival. Running off so the slave hunters would chase him instead of her. Leaving her in the dragon's cave. Protected… from the slave hunters… until now… because those slave hunters had used him... used him to kill a peaceful dragon...

"Sir Ren?" Welt asked again in worry.

Ren stayed still for a moment, his mind drinking in the realization… finally, he calmly stood back up. "Take up lookout points. Warn me if anyone approaches this crater." Ren said, doing his best to sound calm. "I need a moment to recover."

The party members looked at each other again. They weren't sure if it would be for the best for Ren to be alone with this demi-human if she had been raised by the dragon... But they trusted him, and without question, each one went to different parts of the crater to either hike up or climb up to a spot where they'd be able to keep a lookout for anyone approaching from anywhere around them. In less than a minute, Ren was all alone with Wyndia and the dragon's corpse.

…

After a moment, Ren finally walked up next to Wyndia. For once, he looked unsure of what to say. She had gone silent, just... staring down blankly at the dragon's corpse. The dragon who had taken her in as one of its own, and raised her these last five to six years...

…

"I'm sorry," Ren finally said.

The girl's ear flicked, acknowledging that she had heard. Ren forced himself to continue speaking. "If I had known… that Gaelion wasn't an evil dragon… I would have-" He tried to say.

"Would have what?" Wyndia spoke icily. "Spared him? Let us continue living our lives in peace?" Each word was like a punch to his face. It was obvious that she didn't believe him. He wasn't sure if he would believe himself. Up until a few minutes ago, he'd treated this whole thing as a game. "I thought the Cardinal Heroes were supposed to protect us from monsters. But you're no better than the slavers who wanted me because my parents managed to run away. Because my real dad had fooled them away long enough for my adoptive father to wake up and find me in his home." She said, continuing to look down at the dragon. It sounded like she was close to crying again. "When he realized what had happened to me, he took me in. He drove off all of those horrible people. He raised me… and gave me everything I wanted. He let me visit the village with some of his children acting as my bodyguards. He gave me his scales to pay for my clothes and anything else I needed when his children said it was safe to go to the town… he did everything he could to protect me... but now… now I have no one left." She hugged herself. "I'm all alone."

...

Ren didn't speak for a few seconds. He wasn't sure what he could say in response. "Please, I-"

"Leave me alone Cardinal Hero," Wyndia said bitterly. "Take what you want from my Father's body and cave and leave. That's really why you came here after all." She spoke icily again, wiping away a few sad tears from her eyes. "The Cardinal Heroes use the parts of monsters to fight monsters. I remember learning that much from my parents while we were on the run. Before they..." She didn't continue, as she had to force down a sob.

…

Ren still did not move. She was right. He hadn't just come here because the guild told him too. He had been looking for a strong high leveled monster to take down to help increase his own strength along with the strength of his party. A monster he could harvest for its various parts so he could unlock more weapons, and use the energy his swords would have gotten in the fight to upgrade his best weapons. There was nothing he could say in his defense. He had been led in like a fish; hook, line, and sinker. There was nothing he could say in his defense to this little girl... so why did he not want to walk away and leave her be like she asked?... why did he want to stay when she didn't want him around?...

...

"Sir Ren! A group of men is approaching from the forest!" Tersia yelled to him from where she was keeping a lookout. She could see down the narrow gap that led downhill towards the forest. "I think one of them looks like the person from the guild."

"What are your orders, Sir Ren?" Welt shouted from his spot. Figuring there was some reason why Ren had thought to have them keep a lookout for anyone approaching now other than needing to recover.

Ren finally looked away from the girl. He could not see the group himself yet, with the walls of the crater in his way. But his face hardened to its normal calm. "Stay where you are for now," Ren ordered. "Don't interfere unless I ask for your help." He was beginning to get a feeling about why he refused to leave.

The members of his party looked to each other from their vantage points across the crater and nodded to each other. Whatever was going on, they trusted that Ren would be able to take care of it.

Wyndia stayed looking down at Gaelion's corpse. Unmoving, merely waiting for fate to take its course. Ren took a few steps away from the corpse... and waited…

...

Eventually, the group of men walked into the crater. For members of the guild, they didn't look the part. They were dressed in brown leather outfits, armed with shortswords and bows. They were laughing up a storm amongst themselves and were pushing each other around in glee at the sight of the dead dragon.

If he hadn't known any better, Ren would have mistaken them for a group of robbers. The only giveaways as to their true profession were the whips some had tied to their belts. Along with the man in front. The person who had given Ren the quest. He held a slave collar in one hand, ready to be attached around the neck of those unlucky enough to be caught by this group of slavers.

_'It was true…'_

Ren calmly looked down at the ground as the man approached, one of his hands balling into a fist. '_It was true. This man only hired me so he could capture this girl. The dragon wasn't a monster, it was never a threat to the village… it never was…'_

The group stopped short of Ren and became silent. He was still staring calmly at the ground as the leader perked up. "Looks like you did a good job on that dragon, Sir Hero!" The man said happily, looking at the dragon's corpse. "I wasn't sure if even you would be strong enough to deal with him despite being a Cardinal Hero, but I see my faith in you wasn't ill-placed after all!" The men behind him gave a loud cheer at their leader's words.

Ren did not speak.

The guy started to smirk. "You can keep anything from the dragon, of course. There's only one thing we're here for. And she is rather worthless to anyone besides her former master." He held up the slave collar, looking to the now defenseless demi-girl looking down at her adopted father's snout. "And he's willing to pay a fortune to have her back."

"Or maybe we could sell her to Idol Balred. He pays through the nose for the chance to torture runaway slaves!" One of Balred's men said excitedly behind him.

"... You'd sell this girl, just for someone to torture her?" Ren calmly asked.

The leader grimaced at his friend's poor choice of words. "Well, I mean, business is business. And that girl is run away property. So however her Master desires to punish her is acceptable in-"

Ren was still staring down at the ground. There was nothing he could say in his defense. However, our actions always speak louder than our words.

"No." He interrupted.

…

Balred had stopped speaking, processing what Ren had just said. A confused expression came onto his face. "I'm sorry, what did you say-"

In a flash, Ren was in front of Balred, sword in hand. The look adorning his face was like the calm before the storm. And then, in a split second, the storm finally broke. "I said, **Air Strike Bash!**" He yelled.

Before the man could react, a gust of wind burst from Ren's sword, hitting Balred square in the chest. He screamed as the force of the hit sent him flying back into one of the walls of the crater.

"Sir!" The men Balred, the guild representative, had brought with him immediately moved to unsheathe their weapons and attack Ren. Ren, however, gave them no opportunity as he held his sword up into the air and changed it again.

"**Flashing Sword!**"

A bright light emitted from Ren's sword. Since all of the slavers had been moving in to attack him, they had no warning. All of them screamed as they dropped their hastily drawn weapons, covering their eyes after the bright light had burned their irises.

Ren wasted no time after the skill going from slaver to slaver. Punching them in the gut, kicking them in the face, hitting them with the flat of his sword so hard that they went flying like limp rag dolls. He turned into a beast who had been unleashed. These men had tricked him, used him, put him and his party at risk, and for what?! To capture a defenseless little girl!?

Within fifteen seconds of Ren's impressive melee rampage, each one of Balred's friends was lying against the crater wall next to Balred. Some were fortunate and had passed out from the pain. Those who were less fortunate moaned in pain from the injuries they had received.

Balred tried to get back up, but the point of Ren's sword appeared under his chin, stopping him in his tracks. "You lied to me," Ren said icily. All the calm was gone from his voice.

The man looked up, and for once Ren's face looked livid. It was one thing for him to think this had been a game, with the only real people being the other Heroes. It was another thing for Naofumi to treat it as reality, and for Itsuki to dive into his antics in going after other nobles to save NPC demi-humans that were being mistreated. It was an entirely different ballpark for Ren himself to realize that Naofumi had been right and that he himself had been used by corrupt individuals. Individuals who had made him kill a monster that was not a monster, and only so they could be monsters to this girl who was real.

This man was vile. Just like the moderator who had almost raped his girl in a VRMMO, and that paired with his perception of those he had merely thought to be NPCs programmed in this world. The King, the Princess, the Church. They were not NPCs following a storyline he didn't understand. No, like this slave hunter, they were real people, doing despicable things not because of programming, but because they wanted to.

How sickening to realize this whole land had been real the whole time.

"I… I…" The slaver had paled, seeing how Ren now held his life in his hands.

"I didn't sign up to kill a peaceful dragon." Ren continued icily. "I definitely didn't sign up to help you enslave a girl."

"But, but that's a damn demi-human! She's run-away property from the Pope himself-" Ren dug his sword in a little, and Balred stopped speaking in fear as the point rested against his Adam's Apple.

"Not anymore," Ren said. It was amazing how he could look so angry, and yet speak so calmly, but coldly. "You won't touch her. You will leave this place immediately and never go near her or another free demi-human again. If you try…" His sword point dug in the littlest bit, drawing a line of blood from the man's neck before pulling back an inch. The man whimpered, realizing how close he'd been to losing his life, and started to nod his head, not trusting himself to speak. A wet spot also formed in his pants. Ren noted the blood and wet spot. They weren't the result of programming. They were the result of actual fear.

"Take your friends, and don't ever bother me again." Ren finished. After glaring for a moment more, he finally pulled back so his sword would no longer threaten the man's life.

Balred quickly stood up, still staring fearfully at Ren. The others got up with him, picking up their unconscious friends before booking it back towards the forest. Ren watched to make sure they all fled.

...

"Why didn't you let them take me?" Wyndia asked coldly behind him. It sounded like she would have preferred being enslaved by those horrid people rather than being saved by the person who had killed her adoptive father.

Ren turned around and stared at the demi-girl. She was still staring down at Gaelion's face. He took a deep breath. It had been a while since he had last been so angry at somebody. The last time had to have been when his girl back in his world had almost been raped virtually by a horrible man.

"Because I made a mistake, a serious one," Ren said solemnly, sheathing his sword on his back again. He still felt guilty for what he had done. But… "And I'm going to make up for it."

Wyndia still did not lookup. "You killed my adoptive father. How will you make up for that?" She asked again coldly. "Can you bring back the dead Cardinal Hero? Can you bring back my dead parents? Can you bring back everyone who died by the hands of those cruel slavers?!" She yelled at the end. "If not, then get lost! Leave me alone here to grieve until the next group of slavers comes back to retrieve me! Or until my father's other children decide to eat me now that I no longer have him protecting me! Just go! I hate you!" Wyndia yelled with finality. _'Leave me alone so I can grieve in peace!'_ She thought despairingly inside her mind. She knew what the darkest parts of life were like. She had been born into slavery. Gaelion had been like a light to her, a light that had lit up a brand new world she'd never known. And now, her light was gone. She was all alone… and soon, she would be placed back in the cold dark cellar that was called slavery...

…

After a moment, Wyndia received a notification on her status magic screen. She blinked her eyes, trying to tell if she was seeing things or not. But she was not seeing things. She had just received a party invitation from the Sword Hero himself. She looked up at last and turned to face the Sword Hero for the first time.

"There's nothing I can do to fix what I did here," Ren said solemnly. "I can't apologize for killing your adoptive Father. I can't apologize for all that I've done up to this point. You can hate me if you want, but I won't let you go back to being a slave, and I won't let you die." Ren felt like a part of him, however small, was beginning to change. That was why he'd stayed. He was stepping onto a different path. A path he hadn't realized till then had been available to him all along. "Yes, you're right about why I came here. I won't deny it. I want to become the strongest swordsman in the land by any means, but not so I can claim the title of strongest swordsman, but so that I can save everyone from the Waves of Catastrophe. So, I can save people from vile men like those slavers. That is my duty as the Sword Hero! And I'll do everything I can to prove this sword chose me for that reason!" Ren yelled determinedly at the end.

Wyndia stared, his words bringing a memory from long ago back to the surface of her mind.

* * *

"_Mama?"_

"_Yes, dear?"_

_A very young version of Wyndia looked up at her Mom. Both of them were in chains, lying against a stone wall under the Three Heroes Church. "Can you sing the stowy of the Cwadinal Heroes." She whispered._

_"..." Her mom let out a weary sigh. "I'm sorry, Wyndia. I don't think I can tonight-" The mom tried to wearily tell her daughter._

"_Pwetty pwease?" She begged quietly. Making cute dog eyes up at her mom..._

"_Yes, dear." Her mom gave in, and hugged Wyndia close, cradling her in her arms._

"_A person of great strength_

_The Sword Hero became to be..._

_In terms of pure raw power,_

_He outgrew the other three._

_The Sword brought as much destruction_

_As the disasters gave off themselves._

_But the Sword it fought for honor_

_And cut down the forces of hellllll."_

_..._

_Her mom, her voice first starting soft and unsure, continued on with more confidence into the first song of the Sword Hero._

...

"_The Sword never surrendered_

_And he never ran away._

_The Sword would fight forever_

_If only to save a day._

_The Sword lit up the darkness_

_It brought light to those in need._

_The Sword trod down the rough path_

_And planted a hopeful seedddd."_

_..._

_"He was the promised blade _

_That would lead to victory._

_He always fought for honor_

_For our rights and liberty._

_He'd fight till his last breath_

_If he could help the other three."_

_*Pause*_

_"... The Sword it held the power..._

_To free those like you... ... anddddd meeeeeeeee..."_

_..._

_Wyndia snuggled tiredly in her mother's arms as she hung onto the last note. "Do you weally think so mama?" She quietly asked. Too tired to hear the rest of the song for the other heroes for the time being. "Do you weally think he'll come to fwee us?"_

_Her mom kissed the top of Wyndia's head. "I believe one day all the Heroes will bring light once again to this world." She looked at her daughter's innocent eyes. "And that, one day, they will come and free us. You just have to believe it sweetie."_

"... _Okay…" The little Wyndia replied._

* * *

Wyndia shook her head coldly. "I don't believe you." She whispered. Whether it was to Ren, or the memory of her mother, she was unsure.

…

However, she did not decline Ren's party invitation, and instead accepted it, joining Ren's party. "I won't forget what you did here today." She added coldly. "But since I have no choice, I'll tag along to make sure you stick to your promise, Sir Ren." She said the name mockingly.

It was only then how Ren noted that despite her age, she seemed far more mature for a nine-year-old. In a way, she almost reminded him of his girl back home. Albeit, a much younger version with demi-human features. But the same cold hard resolve that would appear in her eyes when she decided to stick with something was also in Wyndia's brown irises.

Ren calmly nodded in response. "I'll stick to it." He promised before he finally looked back up above at his party members. They were still in their spots, having been watching the whole scene without moving. He then looked at the dragon's carcass, which had not disappeared after a few minutes of being dead. Like it would have in his VRMMO game, Brave Star Online.

'_It's real. This is all real.'_ He thought to himself. This… this changed everything.

"Alright. Come down." Ren ordered.

The party obediently came down from their perches, and within minutes were gathered around the Sword Hero. "We're going to harvest the important parts of this dragon to help us increase our strength," Ren said, before looking at Wyndia. She was looking at the dragon. "Then, we're going to bury the remains of the dragon Gaelion in his cave," Ren said more solemnly.

The party looked surprised at that. "But, but that could take hours. That thing is massive-" Bakta, the noble's son, tried to complain.

"We'll cut him piece by piece if we have to," Ren said, looking to Bakta. "He deserves an honorable burial." Gaelion had been a strong opponent, and despite being a dragon, he'd tried to be good, fair, and honorable. He did not deserve to rot in the sun, to have the vultures of the air feasting upon him... Also, if this was real, then who knew what would happen if the poisonous dragon's body was left out to rot.

His party members slowly nodded and walked over to the corpse at last. Each one pulled out daggers, and started to slice off the important parts. The scales, the talons, the meat; anything that Ren could use to unlock new weapons. Anything they could use to craft new armor. If it had a use, they would make sure it was harvested.

Wyndia still stood by her Father's snout. She helped to remove Gaelion's fangs. Her hand lovingly rubbed her adoptive father's snout as she did so. An apology for having to take his fangs away. She then directed a glare back at Ren. Even though she was going to travel with him now, this eight-year-old was going to have a hard time growing to trust him.

'_I can't be her father figure. And I'm not sure I can be her friend.'_ Ren thought as he watched. He was likely around eight years older than her. '_But I can try harder to work with my party. I can try harder to protect them and her. We'll level up and train together. That way we can all get as strong as we can, and survive the waves together.'_

Without his party members noticing, he finally took a moment to adjust his party settings for the leveling parameters. Now, they would all share experience they got from their kills, 50-50. No more would he look at their monster grinding as a means for their programming to obtain skills.

Yes, he was a loner at heart. He'd likely still want to face monsters on his own every now and then. But that did not mean he could not care for these people. And though he had not had a demi-human as a party companion before, he somehow knew that she would be a great help for his party. Like Raphtalia had been for Naofumi. Even if she was only nine years old right now. Somehow, he got the feeling that she would be of great help to him.

_'I'll make it up to her. Somehow, I swear, I will.'_ Ren thought determinedly.

It was the least he could do after realizing this was not a game anymore.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**You know, back in Chapter Twelve when some of you reviewers talked about this scene, I didn't realize how long it'd be, or how much Ren's character would grow because of it. This story is mainly focused on Naofumi, but I'm glad you readers inspired me to write scenes and chapters for Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu. I know some of you wanted the dragon to live. Or that you wanted Naofumi to help Ren with the dragon. Or that you wanted to see Naofumi in general with the dragon. But I thought that this would be a better route. And quite honestly, I think this helped out Ren a lot more.**

**Also, forgive me if I got anything wrong with Wyndia. I couldn't find her exact hair or eye color and things like that. But I've been looking forward to publishing this for a long time. Also, if you haven't noticed, I like coming up with lyrics for songs too. Maybe one day I'll post the rest of the song to the Cardinal Heroes. Hope you all continue to have a great week!**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**The Most Traumatizing Experience**

* * *

"So, you went through something traumatizing too?" Itsuki asked. He, Ren, Motoyasu, and Naofumi were gathered around a table.

"Yeah. It sucked.." Ren said in his normal bored tone.

"Well duh. That's the meaning of the word traumatizing." Motoyasu said airily. "But I think the real question we should be asking ourselves is who had the most traumatizing experience out of all of us!" Motoyasu said.

"Well, I had flashbacks to my best friend killing herself," Itsuki said informatively.

"I was used to kill a girl's father so she could be enslaved," Ren said boredly.

"Adopted Father, no way that dragon was actually her father." Motoyasu said. "And besides that, I was confronted by the fact that I was killing a town!"

"That was more so because of your own naivety and stupidity," Naofumi muttered under his breath. None of the other heroes heard him.

"Motoyasu, I literally watched my friend dying in front of me all over again," Itsuki said a little angrily.

"And I got my butt handed to me in a fight!" Motoyasu responded heatedly.

"Not our fault you suck at close combat," Ren muttered louder than Naofumi had.

Motoyasu lifted Ren by his collar. "What did you say to me loner boy!?"

"You heard me Girlyasu," Ren responded evenly.

"I had to remember being called Icksuki! Icksuki of all names!" Itsuki yelled angrily.

The three of them continued to argue with each other. Each on the verge of getting into a fight over who'd had the worst experience of them all.

Naofumi continued to watch with a bored expression from his end of the table. '_I doubt any of them were falsely accused of raping someone and forced into exile.'_ He thought to himself as he continued to blankly watch the other three heroes bicker. '_Or forced to take up a new identity and learn magic the hard way and learn the world's alphabet; all while having a Church hellbent on Inquisitioning me to hell. But hey, what do I know?'_ Naofumi thought sarcastically.

"I had the worst experience!" Motoyasu said angrily.

"No, I had the worst experience!" Itsuki said angrily.

"This is ridiculous," Ren said boredly. "It's obvious I had the worst experience out of all you idiots here."

"You take that back!" Motoyasu and Itsuki said while drawing their spear and bow.

"Why don't you make me?" Ren said as he drew his sword.

'_And that's my cue to move on to the next chapter.'_ Naofumi thought as he got out of his chair and walked towards the exit.

**Boom!**

The table exploded.

"Take that Icksuki!"

"Shove it up your *** Girlyasu!"

"You stay out of this Mr. Edgelord!"

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	22. 22: Help From The Shadows

**Wow. I didn't know if I'd get this done since I flew out of the Bahamas today and had such terrible wifi while I was there last week. Miracles can happen! Also, we're finally back to Naofumi and his gang! I'm just glad you guys enjoyed getting the chance to see the other heroes and all that was going on with them! Now, I hope you all can enjoy today's chapter!**

**Thanks again to E2Moto for proofreading the last few chapters. Along with Emmy and MaLockser for proofreading this chapter alongside him. You're all awesome, and deserve a shoutout here!**

**Also, let's not forget, have a Merry Christmas everyone!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _28 more Favorites, 34 more Followers (Total: 705 Favorites, 816 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _December 23rd, 2019 9:30 P.M. (EST)_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two: **_Help from the Shadows_

* * *

_Two Days Later (33 Days before the Next Wave)_

"And protect my target. **Fast Guard!**"

At first, nothing happened after Naofumi had finished the chant. But then, a blue glow came out from his outstretched hand and settled over Filo. Her head perked up as she was pulling the wagon. "Wow, I suddenly feel more protected! Thanks, daddy!" Filo cried out happily.

Naofumi calmly smirked where he was sitting. For once, his hood was back, and he was happy. The spell had used some of his MP, but not an outrageous amount of what was contained in his current gauge. In his screen, he again got the confirmation that Filo's defense stat had been raised. "Good. That should help you with the monster attacks. Keep running Filo." He said calmly as he looked back down at the medical grimoire again.

"Hmm hmmm hmm hmmm." In front of him, Filo started humming to herself as she kept up a brisk pace on their path through the forested hills. They were finally almost out of the mountain range. Filo was pulling the wagon as usual. Naofumi was on the driver's bench trying to translate a recipe for a sleep resistance potion from his medical grimoire (since, apparently, sleep could be inflicted as a status effect, go figure). Raphtalia was currently resting in the back of the wagon. Having been up most of last night because of all the monsters that had constantly harassed their camp.

Even now, miles away from their last campsite, they were being harassed by monsters.

A large porcupine burst out of the forest in front of Filo. However, because of Filo's much larger mass, speed, and with Naofumi's spell boosting her defense, Filo plowed right through the porcupine. Knocking it's much smaller body away with her wing into a tree. "Hm hmmm hm hmmhm." Filo kept on humming.

Naofumi was almost tempted to hum along with Filo as the familiar experience notification appeared next to his head again.

'_I still wish she wouldn't call me her Father… but I can't believe it! I'm finally able to use magic! This is so cool!'_ He thought excitedly in his mind. Granted, the spell would wear off after fifteen minutes, and he'd have to cast it all over again; still, he didn't mind at all. Ever since he'd learned how to channel mana from the accessory merchant he'd found himself feeling far happier and more upbeat than before. And he gladly took time to practice the two spells he knew whenever he could. Fast Guard, and Fast Heal. The spell he'd learned shortly after leaving the merchant back in Algade.

'_That guy really helped me out a lot.'_ Naofumi thought. Even now he still found himself sometimes thinking about what he'd learned.

* * *

"_Now, observe."_

_Naofumi watched as the accessory merchant's hand hovered over the nicely cut emerald on the table in front of him. A blue glow then came from the merchant's hand, and then suddenly the gem started to glow. "To enchant an accessory, you first need a source to power the enchantment. And while your own mana supply will be sufficient for most basic enchantments, using a rare gemstone can provide access to far better enchantments." The merchant explained._

"_You mean like how you explained the rarer the ore, the easier it is to give a better enchantment?" Naofumi asked._

"_Precisely." The Merchant said with a smile on his face. "Silver is almost always better to use than Copper. But gold is better than them both. And neither of the three could ever compare to a rare ore such as Adamantium. The same rules apply to gemstones. An Emerald won't get as good as enchantments near as often as a Ruby. And a Ruby won't get as good as enchantments that Diamonds achieve. And unless they're all cut gemstones, they'll be utterly useless for enchantments."_

"_So the reason why your Silver Ring is so rare-" Naofumi started to say._

"_Is because it achieved a Gold Diamond Level Enchantment with Silver and an Emerald used for the enchantment process." The merchant finished happily. "An extremely rare possibility! One I can't hope to replicate again in my lifetime!"_

_Naofumi looked down at the gemstone again. What he was learning would come in handy. However… "How do you infuse mana into it?" He asked. "I mean, I'm not very good at magic." He admitted._

"_Hmmm. Explain." The merchant asked curiously._

"_Well, I learned a spell from a grimoire already. I have an MP gauge showing on my status magic. But whenever I try to use it, nothing works-" Naofumi was explaining._

"_Hmmm, that's rather a simple issue really." The merchant said, interrupting Naofumi._

"_... It is?" Naofumi asked in unbelief._

"_Why yes. You obviously have the magical capability if you learned a spell from a grimoire. I've met several people in my life who knew magic but couldn't cast it. Only because they didn't know how to channel their mana." He surprised Naofumi again by grabbing his hand and moving it over the infused gemstone. "Tell me, what do you feel?"_

_Naofumi recovered from his surprise and focused on what he felt coming from the gemstone under his hand. "It feels… strangely warm." He said after a moment of feeling the infused gemstone._

"_Focus on that warm feeling." The accessory merchant advised. "Imagine the warmness trickling in and out of your hand. Imagine it becoming a part of you."_

…

…

_Naofumi was beginning to think after concentrating really hard that the merchant was messing with him, but then a surprising thing happened. The gemstone beneath his hand became cold. "Yes, good! You managed to take the mana out of the gemstone!" The merchant said excitedly. Beneath Naofumi's hand, the gemstone no longer glowed._

'_What…' Naofumi quickly checked his gauges. 'Holy hell!' Naofumi found his eyes widening in surprise when he saw his MP gauge. The amount of mana he'd taken in had overfilled his gauge to over double what he was supposed to have._

"_Now I'd recommend putting that mana back in the gemstone. Overfilling yourself with mana can have… unexpected consequences if it's held for too long." The merchant advised._

"_You couldn't have told me that beforehand?!" Naofumi asked incredulously._

"_Well, that's because as long as you remember what you felt, you shouldn't have a problem channeling your mana." The merchant said happily. "Hmmm… at least, I hope not." He added as an afterthought._

_Naofumi wanted to facepalm. He wanted to facepalm so badly. But instead, he put his hand over the gemstone, not wanting to find out the consequences of holding too much mana for too long. He focused on the warm feeling he'd felt before... 'This warm feeling, the one that was emanating from the stone…' His eyes widened slightly under his hood. 'There it is!'_

_It was like discovering another layer of himself he hadn't realized he had before. One that felt like it was just under the surface of his skin. It was weird. He didn't know whether or not it was because of the amount of mana he was holding, but that warm feeling was glowing brightly inside his being. Almost too bright. 'Is this what Raphtalia meant when she explained it as being a part of herself?' He thought._

_He imagined that part of him, extending out from his hand and infusing itself into the emerald below him. And then, that warm feeling dimmed significantly, like a fire turning into the glowing embers of charcoals._

"_You did it, Nocturnal Doctor!"_

_Naofumi looked down at the now infused gemstone below him. His MP gauge currently showed itself being half full. He'd not only gotten rid of the extra MP but some of his own. "It's fully saturated now, and ready to be used for an enchantment!" The merchant added excitedly._

'_So for me to even be able to use a gemstone for an enchantment, I'd have to use my full mana gauge repeatedly. And this is just an emerald.' Naofumi thought. He couldn't imagine how much mana he'd need to put into a ruby, let alone, a diamond at his current level before it would be saturated enough for an enchantment._

_After a few minutes of excitement, the merchant had a silver bracelet with a hole for the emerald in place on the table. "This is the last step, and normally the one that most people mess up. Most trinkets, armor, and weapons can be enchanted. Normally, all you'd have to do is touch the item to whatever you're enchanting to start the process." The merchant explained. "However, there is always a chance of the enchantment failing, destroying both the gemstone and the item being enchanted. One secret to decreasing the risk is to make a slot that'll fit the gemstone perfectly before enchanting. Like so." He fit the emerald into the premade slot he'd made in the side of the bracelet._

"_It also adds a bit of beauty to the final product if I do say so myself." He said in admiration, awing over the bracelet before he handed it to Naofumi. "I'll allow you to do the final honors Nocturnal Doctor."_

_The bracelet's item description appeared on Naofumi's status magic screen. At the bottom of the description was a new option._

_**Enchant Great Quality Silver Bracelet? Chance of Success:90%.**_

'_Alright, here goes.'_

_He selected the enchant option, and the bracelet glowed a bright green for a few seconds. His MP gauge dropped to almost empty. Then, finally, the light cleared and a new notification appeared on his screen. _

_**Enchantment successful.**_ _**New Item: Good Quality Silver Bracelet. Enchantment Applied: Slight Agility Up.**_

'_Slight agility up?' Naofumi thought._

"_Hmmm. Not as exciting as I thought it'd be." The merchant said. "What do you think Nocturnal Doctor?" The merchant asked._

"_The quality went down after I enchanted it. And it used up almost the rest of my MP to enchant it… plus, the effect I got from it wasn't what I was expecting." He said dryly._

"_That is one last detail I should mention." The merchant said. "The enchantment effects received at the end of the process are always random."_

"_Always random, huh?" Naofumi looked up at the merchant and smirked from under his hood. A new idea was forming in his head. An idea that, just maybe, might finally give him a way to increase his attack stat. 'If it's always random, then there's no way my Shield can stop me from enchanting something to raise my attack!' He thought happily. "I don't think I'd mind that at all." He said calmly._

"_Indeed!" The merchant said happily. "Now I know we've been at this a few hours already, but if you want, I can show you another secret to enchanting. Something that minimizes the risk of quality dropping during the enchantment."_

"_The night is still young," Naofumi replied as he resettled into his chair. "Let's keep at it." He wanted to learn all he could._

* * *

Naofumi sighed happily in his seat. Not only had he learned the ins and outs of enchanting, but because he had learned how to channel his mana. He had found hope of finally having a way to increase his attack stat once more.

_'Where spells, weapons, and armor won't work, maybe this will finally be the thing that helps me increase my attack stat!' _He thought happily.

"What was that Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked curiously and tiredly as she took a seat by Naofumi on the bench.

Had she just read his mind again? Either way, her reappearance caught him off guard. "Nothing. Just thinking about the spell I'm using to keep Filo safe while we travel." He said calmly. "And why are you up? We just started an hour ago."

"I was getting a little queasy back there," Raphtalia admitted tiredly as she rubbed at her eyes.

"... You're still not used to riding in the back of the wagon? Are you?" Naofumi asked.

"Well, I'm not using any medicine today to see if-" Raphtalia was saying as she was checking her own status screen. "Um, are you sure you cast a spell on our daughter?" Raphtalia asked, looking at Filo's status.

"Yeah, I'm sure, and she's not my-" Naofumi's eyes widened when he looked at Filo's status himself. The spell had long since worn off. He'd been so caught up in his memories of several nights ago he'd forgotten to reapply the defense magic!

At that same moment of realization, another porcupine jumped out of the forest into the center of the road. It was easily as wide as Filo and blocked the path ahead. It had a purple arrow pointing down at its head. Naofumi's appraisal skill identified it as Filo stopped.

**Quill King: Level 45**

"The other porcupines were only level 30," Naofumi said in surprise. He was about to tell Filo to turn around and find another way when Filo slammed a foot down on the road.

"Yayyy! I'm finally going to have the chance to have a real fight!" Filo said excitedly. "I hope this monster puts up more of a fight than those other weak ones.

"Hngh!" The Quill King screeched as it reared up on its hind legs. It did not take kindly to having Filo call its kids weaklings. It brought both feet crashing down on the road, and then a barrage of sharp quills launched from its back at Filo.

"Filo-" Naofumi tried to warn her to move.

"It's okay Daddy. Those things won't hurt me-" Filo was bragging as she lifted her wing to defend herself. However, she'd thought that Naofumi's spell was still active. Unfortunately, even if it had, this boss wasn't like the other weaker porcupine monsters.

"Owie!" Filo cried as the quills pierced her wing. She fell back onto the ground, cradling her hurt wing to her chest.

"Filo!" Naofumi jumped off the bench and landed in front of Filo, shield raised towards the porcupine. "**Royal Shield!**" A gold-colored barrier of energy with a crown in the center of it appeared in front of Naofumi and Filo.

"Keep it distracted!" Raphtalia had already disappeared from where she'd been standing on the wagon by the time she yelled.

"I'll try-" Naofumi was cut off as more large Quills from the boss slammed into the skill he'd placed. While it stopped the needles from hitting him and Filo, it shattered the skill entirely.

The Quill King screeched angrily at Naofumi as it prepared to fire more quills from its back. _'I guess that skill doesn't work well on monsters with royal titles.'_ Naofumi thought as he pulled up a reliable shield from his arsenal.

"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi activated the skill, and a green shield appeared in front of Filo and himself. The Boss Monster fired another round of large quills at them, but these ones bounced harmlessly off onto the ground. The Air Strike Shield stayed in place. _'Much better.'_

"Grrr…" After seeing its barrage fail, the Quill King growled angrily. Naofumi grimaced as he held a defensible stance in front of the whimpering Filo. _'As long as I stand in front of Filo, it won't get a chance to hurt her.' _He thought logically. '_My defense is too high for it to do any damage to me, so as long as-'_

More screeching sounds came from the sides. Naofumi quickly turned his head and saw several smaller porcupines that had appeared on either side of the wagon. The Quill King's growling now sounded pleased with its young.

_'Oh hell. How long did Raphtalia need me to distract this for?'_ Naofumi thought. He was currently level 36, Filo was level 34, and Raphtalia was level 39. And while his high defense would protect him, Filo and Raphtalia could still be hurt by the level 33 Porcupines surrounding them.

Filo tried pulling at one of the quills in her wing with her beak but cried out in pain from the action. Her status menu currently showed that she was poisoned and paralyzed from the first barrage.

The Quill King screeched out its orders to the smaller porcupines, and the quills on their backs bristled. Naofumi, upon closer inspection, saw venom dripping off the tips. His grimace grew deeper. _'Crap. I only have Shield Prison to defend Filo. And she can't attack while she's paralyzed. This is not good. This is so not good-'_

"Hah!" **Slash!**

The porcupine boss's eyes widened in surprise. A dying gasp escaped its lips. Then blood burst from the gash that had cleaved it in two. From the front of its head all the way back to the tip of its tail. The two pieces fell to either side. Blood quickly coating the ground. The other porcupines, who had been about to launch their barrage, looked stunned.

Naofumi looked as surprised as the Boss Monster had been. "How the hell-" He stopped speaking as Raphtalia appeared from her Hide Mirage spell in front of the carcass. She was taking deep measured breaths, but the glare on her face didn't look any less deadly as she looked up at the other porcupines. _'She snuck behind the monster, and then she sliced the whole thing in two…'_

The large critters turned tail and bolted back into the forest. Not wanting to deal with Raphtalia's rage.

She slowly sheathed her blade back in its sheath. Her job was done. "No one… no one… is allowed, to harm my daughter." She said evenly.

The Air Strike Shield disappeared. _'Note to self, don't ever piss off Raphtalia.'_ Naofumi reminded himself. She had killed the boss so quickly, it hadn't even had time to say oops for its mistake.

"Mommy!" Filo whined behind Naofumi.

Raphtalia without a second thought ran by the monster carcass and past the still in shock Naofumi to reach Filo. "Are you okay Filo?" Raphtalia asked worriedly.

"That last monster really hurt!" Filo pouted as she looked at her wing. A fistful of porcupine quills was sticking out from her feathers all over it. Some spots were lightly dripping blood, staining her feathers red.

Naofumi sighed to himself. '_I guess that's the only downside about traveling through forests. They're the perfect place for monsters to spawn…_ _I understand this country isn't as advanced as Japan's, but seriously. If they got rid of some of the forests, there wouldn't be as many areas for monsters to spawn. At least annoying ones like these porcupines.'_

Raphtalia tried to reach for one, but Filo worriedly put her other wing over her wounded one. Not wanting the pain to somehow get worse. "It's okay. I promise it won't hurt." Raphtalia said.

"... Okay, mommy." Filo moved her wing away, and Raphtalia got to work pulling the long sharp quills from Filo's wings.

"Ow!" Filo cried out when Raphtalia pulled the biggest quill out. "It stings mommy!" She continued to cry.

"There there. It'll be okay." Raphtalia comforted Filo as she tried to work as gently as she could. "It'll be over in a moment."

…

Naofumi finally snapped out of his reverie and pulled two potions from his inventory. He kept his shield out, just in case the other porcupines came back. _'I wonder, can I…'_ Naofumi pulled up an alchemy menu and mixed together the paralysis cure potion and the antidote.

"Hey, it doesn't hurt as much anymore!" Filo suddenly said.

"That's great!" Raphtalia said happily.

Raphtalia finished pulling the last quill out of Filo's wing. Right as Naofumi finished the little mixed concoction he'd been working on. "Alright, my turn now," Naofumi said as he and Raphtalia switched places.

"As source of thy power, I order thee, decipher the laws of nature, and heal my target. **Fast Heal!**" Naofumi chanted.

Green light appeared from Naofumi's hand over Filo's wing. The small holes the quills had in her wing closed over. Within a few seconds, besides a couple of scars hidden in the feathers, Filo's wing was as good as new. "Here, drink this," Naofumi ordered as he handed Filo the potion.

"What is it for?" Filo asked curiously. "Does it taste nasty?!" She then complained.

Naofumi grimaced. "Just drink the damn thing please." He said impatiently.

Filo took the bottle from Naofumi's hand with her beak and leaned her head back to drink it. Her body glowed in response to the potion beginning to take effect.

"How do you feel Filo?" Raphtalia asked.

Filo spat the glass potion bottle away. _"_Wait, don't-" It crashed into the path a dozen feet away, shattering into a thousand pieces. '_I… still… needed that…'_ Naofumi thought.

"I feel... amazing Mommy!" Filo yelled happily after a moment.

"That's great!" Raphtalia clapped her hands together happily.

Filo jumped forward, and in a poof of feathers, she wrapped her small child arms happily around Raphtalia. "I feel really great now!" She said happily.

"Remember, what do you say to daddy for helping you out?" Raphtalia said in a mommy tone.

"Thanks, daddy!" Filo said happily to Naofumi.

"Sure, no problem," Naofumi said dryly. "**Fast Guard.**" He dryly chanted.

The protection spell went over Filo's body again. The status of the spell taking effect appeared in Naofumi's vision again. This time, however, it said Filo's defense would be raised for the next seven minutes instead of fifteen.

That had been another interesting tidbit Naofumi had learned from the merchant, in case he ever learned any enchantment related spells. Some spells required a chant beforehand in order to cast them. Starting mages typically used chants before their Fast level spells if they wanted to cast them at full power. However, once a mage became proficient enough, they could say, as an example, **Fast Guard** and still achieve its full power. And, if he or she practiced and managed to progress far enough in magic, even spells in the Zweite and Dweite categories could be cast at full power without saying a chant beforehand.

"Now that you're healed up. Gather the drops from that boss and then let's get moving." Naofumi dryly ordered. He looked back at the boss's carcass. '_So we can get away from this damn forest already.'_

"Yes, Daddy!" Filo said happily. She jumped out of Raphtalia's embrace and ran to the carcass of the great porcupine. Raphtalia smiled happily at Filo's childlike antics.

_'I really hope we don't encounter more monsters like that today.' _Naofumi thought as he grabbed the edge of the wagon. _'We've had more monsters attacking us from this forest than anywhere else so far. I barely have time to translate the medical grimoire with all these interruptions!'_

He'd managed to learn two recipes from the book so far. The Nutritional Pill, which he could now make better quality batches of (a 'gamelike' bonus for discovering the recipe) and Poison Resistance Potions. He was trying to translate the third recipe in the book. Sleep Resistance Potions (since apparently, sleep could be inflicted as a status effect, go figure). He was hardly getting anywhere though because of being distracted by what he'd learned about enchanting, and because of all the monsters that were attracted to his party lately… Naofumi sighed. _'I'd just like a moment of peace today-'_

His thoughts were cut off as Raphtalia embraced him from behind. "I'm so happy your hard work in magic is finally paying off!" Her tail was wagging fiercely behind her.

"... Oh, um, it's nothing really." Naofumi tried to wave it off calmly. However, the hug and praise were starting to make him blush. '_I mean, it took me forever just to learn two simple spells! And she was the one to take down the boss!'_ He thought in agony inside his mind. "You saw how useful I was in that fight."

Raphtalia giggled as she let him go. "Yes, but you were able to heal up Filo." She said happily.

… _'She's right.'_ He realized. '_My current spells can't attack anything. But they can prevent and fix minor injuries.'_ As he thought that, his mind remembered the time when he'd been hurt by that porcupine outside Dragon Village. Then he remembered another time when Raphtalia had received a nasty cut on her arm from a plant-based monster a week and a half after the dog monster. But now that he knew spells that could either prevent injury or apply immediate first aid…

'_Not that it gives us an excuse to get reckless.'_ He put his hands proudly on his hips._ 'But damn, I've been looking for a way to help us recover more quickly and to protect my party from danger. Who knew all I'd need is a couple of minor spells.'_ He thought with satisfaction. Maybe he could be of more use in a fight… or after the fight, or before. Once he was done translating the medical grimoire, he really needed to learn some more spells. He still had to find a spell that'd fulfill his dream of a blurry Raphtalia pounding Bitch and Trash into the ground at the same time.

'_All the magic grimoire needs to do is give me access to an offensive spell alongside my healing and support magic, and then I'll really be useful-' _ Naofumi was thinking hopefully.

...

_"You have a rare affinity for healing, and support magic Shield Hero." The witch said happily._

_"How rare is it?" Naofumi asked skeptically. 'Seriously, healing and support!? Why not fire or ice or lightning or, or something offensive!?'_

_"Kid, out of the hundreds of magic users I've met in my life, I've only ever seen a dozen or so who said their affinity was in support or healing magic. You're the first one who I've heard of having an affinity for both."_

_"Alright. Does that mean I can only learn that kind of magic, or can I learn-" He tried to ask._

_"Normally if you had one affinity, you'd be able to learn spells in all sorts of affinities with your strongest being in your practical affinity… but since you have two rare affinities, I'm afraid it'll be impossible for you to learn any type of magic outside of them."_

_..._

Naofumi looked like the world was crushing him after remembering what the witch had told him a while back. _'Aw man…'_ So much for learning offensive magic.

Oh well, at least he had the chance of possibly producing an enchanted item that would raise his attack stat… hopefully…

"Filo, you done over there yet?" Naofumi asked.

"Just about Daddy!" Filo said. She was carrying several different items she'd gathered from the boss.

"Think you'd be up for driving this time?" Naofumi asked Raphtalia.

"Sure, I wouldn't mind one bit," Raphtalia said cheerfully as she climbed up into the wagon and sat in the driver's seat next to Naofumi. She was wide awake now after the last fight. By the time she was all adjusted, Filo came back in her Queen form. Holding the drops in one wing. The carcass behind her was gone.

_'Did she already…'_ Naofumi got queasy at the thought. The porcupine had been huge... _'This bird really doesn't have a bottom to her stomach, does she?'_ He pulled a box out of the back of the wagon and held it in front of him. "Thanks, Filo."

"Okey Dokey!" Filo easily dropped her load into the box. "That was fun! I hope we get to fight even more monsters today!"

Naofumi sweatdropped where he sat. _'Didn't she just whine and complain after being injured at the beginning of the fight?'_

Raphtalia held the reins and started to hum along with Filo as Naofumi looked down at the medical grimoire. _'Oh well. At least I won't have to stop to make her lunch. Filo is definitely one special bird.'_ He thought sarcastically.

"Were you thinking something rude Master Naofumi?"

_'HOW THE HELL DOES SHE DO IT?!'_

"Hmmm hmm hmmm hmm hm hmmm hmmm." Filo and the wagon continued on down the path down the forested hills out of the mountains.

…

"Looks like we chose to watch the right path."

"That was the Shield Demon and his party. Finally, at last, we shall capture him and make him pay for his sins..."

"Shall I send word to the other shadow groups?"

"... no, I think our group should be enough."

"Are you certain? We could at least contact Lady Altara and let her know-"

"I'd rather Lady Altara didn't take all the credit for us capturing the Shield Demon. I will be the one credited for this. Not that old nun."

"... as you wish sir. We will set up the ambush immediately."

"Good. Let us hurry."

The Church Shadows took off into the trees. The head Shadow of the group following along behind them.

* * *

_Twenty Minutes Later_

"Do you hear any monsters Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked. They hadn't been attacked ever since the takedown of the Quill King.

Her ears flicked as she carefully listened. "I hear a few, but it sounds like they're keeping their distance." She said after a few seconds.

"Thank goodness. I guess killing their King scared them off." Naofumi said. His shield still remained on his arm for the moment despite that comfort. As long as no one else was on the road with them, he felt it'd be safe to have it out. _'Hopefully, the King was the last interruption we have to deal with today.'_ He thought. _'I'm so close to finishing this translation.'_

He had found out another ingredient he needed for the Sleep Resistance Potion. All he needed was to translate the last paragraph and he'd have another potion he could make.

…

"Mas, Master Naofumi." Raphtalia suddenly said shyly.

Raphtalia speaking threw him off from where he had been in the text. "Yes, Raphtalia?" He asked her.

… Raphtalia shook her head to clear it of whatever she was thinking. "Oh, it's nothing Master Naofumi." She said quietly.

"... Alright then." Naofumi started to try and find where he'd left off in the last paragraph.

"Hmm hmmm hmm hm hmm." Filo continued humming to herself in front of them.

...

"I just, um, realized I hit level 40." She admitted quietly.

…

Naofumi blinked in surprise at that, and quickly checked their stats again. Filo's MP gauge was down some from using her spell, along with Naofumi's own. A quick check of Raphtalia's stats showed that, sure enough, Raphtalia had hit level 40. Looking more closely, he saw a star had appeared next to her name.

"What does it show on your status magic Raphtalia?" He asked.

Raphtalia was quiet for a moment… "It says I can't go up any more levels… not unless I go to a Dragon Hourglass and get my class upgrade." She said quietly.

_'I almost forgot. Ren said they'd need class upgrades when they hit level 40.' _Naofumi thought to himself, before looking at Raphtalia. He would have thought she'd be happy that she had managed to hit such a high level so quickly, but instead, she looked sad… sitting down with her tail drooping off the driver's bench behind her. It took Naofumi a few seconds of thinking to guess why. _'There isn't a dragon hourglass we can reach right now...'_ Since he only knew of the one in the Three Heroes Church. There had to be more in the world, but he didn't know where they were at.

"Hey, come here."

Raphtalia didn't make a move. So he put his grimoire away and put an arm over her shoulders. "It's okay. I'm sure we'll find a way for you and Filo to get your class upgrades somehow. So don't worry about it." He said seriously to her. "Just because you won't be able to level up now, that doesn't mean you're not going to continue to find ways to get stronger."

Raphtalia stiffened… and then she relaxed into Naofumi's side. "How did you realize that's what I'm worried about?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know. I could ask you the same thing." He admitted. "You always seem to know when I'm worried about something, or when I'm feeling down… or whenever I'm thinking about something rude."

Raphtalia started to smile again. Naofumi rested his head to Raphtalia's. "I'm supposed to be the Shield Hero. Yet it always seems like you're working your hardest to get stronger so you can protect me." He admitted.

He was beginning to appreciate moments like this more and more now. He got the feeling she was too. The way her tail was wagging happily behind her and all. "I just want to be able to protect you and Filo from whatever danger we face," Raphtalia admitted quietly.

"And I have no doubt you'll do a great job of it. Class Upgrade or not." He said to her. "Though to be honest, I don't know what I'd do if you got a class upgrade."

"What do you mean?" Raphtalia asked curiously.

"You're so strong, you one-shotted a level 45 boss at level 39. If your stats get any higher, then they might think about sending only you to fight the waves instead of me and the other heroes." Naofumi said sarcastically. "You'd put me out of the job."

Raphtalia lightly smiled.

...

"Awwww, where did all the monsters go?"

Naofumi and Raphtalia were dragged out of their moment. At first, they thought Filo was complaining about them being all lovey-dovey again. Then they saw Filo was looking around at the forest around them with a look of disappointment on her face.

"What are you talking about Filo?" Raphtalia asked.

"I'm not hearing any monsters around us anymore. They're all gone." Filo said with disappointment. "I was really hoping that more would come out and attack us."

"Seriously? After what happened last time with the porcupine?" Naofumi dryly asked.

"It was a big porcupine daddy! I wouldn't have gotten hurt if it was smaller!" Filo complained.

Raphtalia's ears twitched on top of her head as she moved off of Naofumi's shoulder and listened to their surroundings. '_She's right. I don't hear buzzing in the trees anymore. Or twigs snapping, or something moving through the bushes or leaves. Everything's just… quiet...'_ "Shhhh." She shushed Filo and Naofumi before they could have a full-blown argument. "I'm not hearing anything either." Raphtalia murmured.

Her tail that had been wagging before was starting to bristle. At the same moment, Filo slowed to a stop. Naofumi looked around now, his medical grimoire stuffed in his inventory.

"Something isn't right. The air feels… strange." Filo said ominously.

Even though he didn't have as good sight or hearing as Raphtalia and Filo, but he was able to sense that something wasn't right. It was like the world was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

The Church Shadows looked at each other in the foliage. It was now or never.

'_What's going-'_ He didn't hear it, but he saw it flying through the air. Right out of the brush in the tree above them. "Filo-"

The dart hit Filo in the neck. "Ahhhh!" Filo quickly pulled out the object, a steel-colored dart, and crushed it in her wing. A green liquid spilled out from the dart. "Owie-" From all around, more darts came flying out of the trees heading for the three of them.

"Shield Prison!"

A green ball of chains and plated metal wrapped around the whole wagon. Protecting Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Filo from the barrage outside. Naofumi knew, however, that it wouldn't last very long. '_Why are they attacking-'_ He suddenly felt at the lowered hood on the back of his head and looked down at the Shield still out in plain sight on his right wrist. '_DAMN IT! I THOUGHT WE WERE ALL ALONE OUT HERE!'_

"Filo, are you okay?!" Raphtalia asked in worry.

"I feel fine," Filo said as she rubbed the area where the dart had hit her. "For a sec there, I felt kind of sleepy. But I'm okay now."

Naofumi grimaced. "Great, so those darts are filled with tranquilizer." He said through gritted teeth.

"What?" Raphtalia asked.

'_Whoever is out there knows who we are. And they're trying to capture us...'_ "Prepare to run Filo!"

"Got it!" Filo responded as she got ready.

"Raphtalia, get in the back! I need you to slow them down with whatever magic tricks you have!" Naofumi ordered.

"Right!" Raphtalia quickly jumped into the back of the wagon.

"As Shield Hero I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and protect my targets! **Fast Guard!**" Naofumi pointed one hand in front of him at Filo and behind him at Raphtalia. The spells washed over the two, increasing their defense.

Naofumi gripped Filo's reins tightly. He switched his shield over to the Chimera Viper Shield, and waited…

The Shield Prison dropped, and almost as quickly the darts started flying through the air again. "NOW!" He ordered.

"Huahhhh!" Filo ran forward, pulling the wagon away from the spot right before the darts could hit her precious wagon and its precious occupants. Her parents. All the blow darts that had been aimed at her bounced off back onto the ground.

"**Fast Light!**" A ball of bright light appeared behind the wagon like a flashbang. _'There, that should blind them long enough for us to escape.'_ She thought.

"Way to go Filo!" Naofumi said. He hadn't had to raise his shield to block anything.

"Thanks, daddy!" Filo said happily.

"Looks like we escaped that ambush pretty easily!" Naofumi said with glee. They had avoided the trap, and now Filo was tearing down the path faster than the average Filolial. They were as good as-

"Um, master Naofumi, behind us!" Raphtalia shouted back to him.

He looked back through the open flaps of the wagon. The ball of light disappeared, and then he saw their ambushers. A group of black-garbed people moving through the trees. Jumping from branch to branch so lithely that hardly a sound came from their movements. There had to be at least a dozen of them! And not only were they keeping pace with Filo's speed, but they were gradually catching up!

_'What are they… ninjas or something?'_ Naofumi thought to himself. Whatever they were, they were gaining, and fast. '_Just how high are their agility and skill stats?!'_

"Try to slow them down!-" Naofumi tried to yell back to Raphtalia.

A dart glanced off his neck. He quickly turned just as three black-garbed figures jumped out of the trees they were passing. Two landed on either side of Naofumi while one landed onto the wagon's covering. The ninja tore a big hole in it. Revealing Raphtalia and all the supplies in the back.

"Daddy-" Filo started to yell in worry.

"Keep running!" Naofumi ordered as he blocked what looked like a dagger from the ninja in front of him. The ninja behind him made to stab one of the darts into Naofumi's back, but Naofumi quickly jumped back into the wagon. The ninja's dart stabbed into his compatriot, who immediately collapsed. The ninja's eyes widened in surprise at accidentally tranquilizing his friend.

"Hah!" The figure turned to late as Naofumi slammed his shoulder into the ninja from the side. While it did almost no damage, the ninja was sent flying off the wagon into the trunk of a tree. Naofumi then pushed the other sleeping figure off the wagon onto the side of the road. _'Got two down.'_ Naofumi turned around just as Raphtalia sent the last black-garbed figure flying using the flat of her sword. Half of the wagon covering was missing, exposing the whole right side to attack.

"Who are they Master Naofumi?!" Raphtalia asked.

"How the hell should I know?!" He replied. He hadn't seen any identifying markers on them yet. _'For all I know, these could be mercenaries hired by those bandits to pay me back. But I've already revealed by this point that I'm also the Shield Hero, so is it possible that these people were hired by the Capital. But why would they be hiding who they were if that was the case?'_

The black-garbed ninjas that had initially ambushed them had been steadily catching back up to the wagon while Naofumi and Raphtalia had fought the other three. More were joining them from the forest all around. Then, while still jumping from tree to tree, they began blowing more steel-colored darts from blow dart guns at Filo, Raphtalia, and Naofumi. Some ninja stars were also thrown into the mix.

The rest of Naofumi's thoughts were put on hold. "Air Strike Shield!"

Naofumi formed a sideways green shield to the side of him, helping to protect the exposed right part of the wagon.

"Hah! Hah!" At the back of the wagon, Raphtalia sliced darts out of the air with her sword. As she did so she started to chant. "As source of thy power, I order thee, decipher the laws of nature, and strike at my target!" Her sword glowed with light. "**Light Slash!**" She made a slashing motion with her sword, then an arc of light came out from it. It traveled through the air at the trees. It shredded several more darts and a ninja star before impacting against one of the black-garbed figures. He was sent reeling down into the forest. The rest, however, continued to pursue the fleeing wagon. Not relenting with their assault.

_'Are those blow tubes enchanted to refill with tranquilizer darts somehow? I don't even see them loading their weapons.'_ Naofumi thought.

"**Royal Shield!**" He tried the same skill from earlier since his Air Strike Shield was already out while facing toward Raphtalia. It appeared just in front of her at the edge of his range. However, it didn't last long under the continuous bombardment of darts and shurikens and quickly shattered just as his Air Strike Shield shattered. Raphtalia quickly went back to deflecting more darts and shurikens from herself.

"Urgh…" Naofumi growled in frustration. He didn't even know who was attacking them this time. He just felt so useless since he didn't have much in the way of ranged attacks to help protect Filo and Raphtalia. His best skills were on cooldown, so all he could use was his shield to block the darts on one side from hitting Filo. Trusting his defense and his armor to protect himself from the darts and ninja stars.

A skill's cooldown finished. "**Shield Prison!**"

The tree he pointed at was encased in the familiar ball of chains and plates. One black-garbed figure was trapped inside, several more slammed into it and fell to the ground. The rest, however, dodged around or over it and continued the pursuit.

Raphtalia sliced another dart out of the air. She quickly turned towards Naofumi and gasped. "Master Naofumi, behind you!" She yelled.

Naofumi turned, and his eyes widened as he saw another black-garbed figure wielding a dagger dripping with venom come jumping out of one of the trees on the other side up ahead. He raised his shield to react, but he had been paying too much attention to the opposite side behind him. His shield wasn't going to block it in time. And while he had high defense, if that nicked him, it'd mean squat if it poisoned him! That'd cost him precious time having to drink an antidote, time that could be used to attack Filo and Raphtalia!

'_Too slow. I'm to slow.'_ He realized.

As if in slow motion, the black-garbed figure gained more detail as he got closer and closer. The figure was dressed entirely in black, only the eyes visible underneath all the clothing. In the midst of that black though, a silver chain hung around the figure's neck. And on the chain…

Was the rosary of the Three Heroes Church.

Naofumi's eyes widened.

"**Fast Tornado!**"

Right before the black-garbed figure was able to drive her dagger into the Shield Hero, a blast of wind in the shape of a tornado slammed the figure away into a tree. The spell itself continued into the trees, blasting away more of the black-garbed figures on that side of the path who hadn't been prepared for the spell. "No one is allowed to harm my daddy!" Filo yelled as she ran by.

Naofumi quickly turned, looking down at Filo in surprise. "Wait, you know wind magic!" He yelled in shock. He hadn't even known that Filo had a magic affinity! And she'd just cast a spell at full power without saying a chant beforehand!

"I read the one weird book with mommy," Filo said back to Naofumi. "The one that sometimes has glowing letters appear on it! That's how I learned it!"

_'Wait, how the hell was she born two weeks ago and able to read and cast magic now!?'_ He thought. Yet, far from complaining about it, he was ecstatic! He wasn't poisoned, and this loli bird had ranged attacks that they could use!

"Was that okay for me to do Daddy?!" Filo asked in worry.

"Yes, it's more than fine! Keep running! And use more of that wind magic!" Naofumi ordered. "Air Strike Shield!" He made another shield to the side, helping to keep them safe from darts on that side for the moment. He then raised his shield, defending Filo from the other side.

"**Light Slash!**" Raphtalia sent another slash of light through the air into the trees using her sword.

"**Fast, Tornado!**" Again while running, Filo sent another blast of air at the black-garbed figures. Most of them dodged, but one unfortunate soul was slammed headfirst into a tree from the spell. The dozens of Three Hero Church Shadows who had gradually joined in as Filo fled down the winding path in the forest were slowly starting to get dwindled down.

Raphtalia breathed in and out heavily as she slashed through another wave of darts that came in retaliation. Her MP bar was almost depleted from using her recently learned spell 'Light Slash' several times in quick succession. "Master Naofumi, they aren't slowing down!" She yelled back to him. Her ranged attacks were only getting one or two at a time. It was using too much of her MP.

"Try using your invisibility spell and attack them in the trees!" Naofumi suggested.

"Got it! As source of thy power, I order thee…"

Naofumi thought to himself as he guarded Filo. '_Somehow, the Three Heroes Church knew we were coming this way. And they set up an ambush in the middle of the forest just for us. But how did they-'_ He was finally connecting the dots in his mind. He quickly pulled his map out and looked at the forest they were supposed to be in. '_Stupid! I chose to backtrack and go our original route away from Bellona Village! I should have taken a different route!'_ He thought angrily. He looked ahead on the map, trying to find a way for them to get out of this mess. Filo released another Fast Tornado on the group. They'd lost half of the pursuing Shadows so far, but they were getting tired. He had to find a way out of this, and quick-

"And hide me from my targets! **Hide-** Augh!"

Naofumi quickly turned around and saw Raphtalia fall back into the wagon. She had deflected a ninja star from hitting her face while chanting, but a steel-colored dart was sticking out of one of her arms. It had pierced her skin despite Naofumi's Fast Guard spell having four minutes left before it expired. "Raphtalia!" He jumped into the back of the wagon and crouched over her, holding his Chimera Viper Shield above him. More darts and stars made their way through the large hole in the white covering of the wagon above them. "Are you alright?!" He asked.

Raphtalia shakily nodded as she pulled the dart out of her arm. "Yeah. I'm alright… Master..." She weakly slumped back down onto the wood boards of the wagon. In seconds she was snoring away.

_'Damn, and Filo was able to resist that!'_ He thought in disbelief. _'... Maybe that trick with the nausea medicine won't work on her.'_

"Daddy, is mommy okay back there?" Filo asked worriedly.

Naofumi blocked another dart that tore through what was left of the cloth hanging over the back entrance. Was it just him, or were there less of them coming at him than before? Maybe they were finally starting to figure out that his defense was too high for their ranged attacks to work on him? "Yeah, she's just taking a nap." He said.

"... A nap sounds nice about now Daddy," Filo said drowsily outside.

_'... Oh hell! Filo!'_ He got back to the front and opened the wagon flap. He quickly realized why he hadn't needed to block any tranquilizer darts. There was, of course, the rest of the white cloth covering over the wagon that made it hard to get clear shots. But more than that, his Air Strike Shield had worn off, and most of the black-garbed figures had moved ahead to target Filo. She had several more darts sticking out of various parts of her body, and was visibly starting to slow down while trying to block the barrage.

"Filo!" He raised his shield, blocking another dart that came close to hitting his neck. While the majority were firing on Filo, a few aimed at Naofumi to try and keep him back. "You can't stop Filo! Keep running!"

"But, I'm tired… I only want to nap for a moment…" Her head was starting to nod off. Several more darts sank into her feathers.

_'What do I do?! If she stops running we're all done for!'_ He couldn't fight off these shadows by himself. He couldn't damage them no matter how hard he tried. He had to think of something! _'Come on, think, think think think think-' _ A lightbulb went off in his mind, and he almost wanted to facepalm. He'd been acting as Filo's butler since the day she was born for crying out loud!

He wasn't her daddy. He was her damn butler! "FILO! If you stop now and fail to get us out of this mess, then I'm never going to cook for you again!" Naofumi yelled in his best threatening grouchy tone.

Just as Filo had been about to stop and fall asleep, the words she'd most dreaded to hear reached her ears. 'WHATTTTTTTTT?!' Filo instantly became alert, all thought of sleep being expunged from her mind. "But I love Daddy's cooking!" She complained.

"Too bad! Unless you run as fast as you can, then I'm never-"

"**High Quick!**"

"- going to- Wahhhh!" The rest of what Naofumi was going to say was cut off as Filo activated a spell he'd never before and drastically picked up speed so suddenly, he was thrown into the back of the wagon on top of Raphtalia.

"Please, just five more minutes Master Naofumi," Raphtalia mumbled tiredly underneath Naofumi.

Naofumi quickly disentangled himself from the sleeping Tanuki and looked out the back of the wagon. Filo was running so quickly that a trail of dust was being left in their wake. The black-garbed figures that had been pursuing them were also falling behind. Some of them having to stop because they were coughing from the sudden inhalation of dust, others stopped because they were surprised at the speed Filo showed after being injected with enough tranquilizer to put a dragon to sleep. Some of them recovered and tried to follow, but within a few seconds, they turned a bend and the Shadows disappeared from view.

...

After a few seconds, Naofumi finally relaxed with relief onto the seat on the side of the wagon. "Thank goodness."

"You're not going to take away dinner from Filo, are you daddy?" Filo asked. Her skill was starting to wear off, but she was still running as fast as she could.

"No, you're getting extra helpings tonight Filo. Good work." He answered.

"Yayyyyyyy!"

Naofumi closed his eyes in exhaustion. "Finally, we're safe."

"I daresay, you are far from being safe Sir Shield Hero. The Church's Shadows will eventually catch up to you yet."

Naofumi quickly became alert again at the appearance of another black-garbed figure that appeared almost as if out of the shadows of his supplies. This lady, however, wasn't completely garbed in black. Instead, she had a silver-colored mask covering her eyes and nose. She had no rosary around her neck either. "Who are you?!" Naofumi asked as he held up his shield in defense.

"I daresay I am not your enemy. If I had wanted to, I would have struck you down the moment you let your guard down, Sir Shield Hero." The Shadow said logically to him.

…

Naofumi looked conflicted with himself, but then he put his shield down to the side. He could not deny that logic. "Who are you? What do you want?" He asked more calmly.

"You have done well Sir Shield Hero. You've hidden so well from the Capital and the Three Heroes Church that they are still unaware of your newfound calling as the Nocturnal Doctor, despite discovering you out here." The shadow continued, not answering the question he asked. "Yet, I daresay it has become obvious that the Three Heroes Church has become more aware of your actual movements in this area. And leaving your hood down and your Shield out for this group of Shadows to recognize you was a very foolish choice."

_'Why does she keep on saying daresay?'_ He thought confusedly.

"Up ahead you will soon reach a fork in the road. I daresay it would be for the best if you were to take the left fork to the north. For the right path to the south will be full of surprises for the Church's Shadows, set by me and my associates. I would hate for one of the Cardinal Heroes and his party to accidentally get caught up in them."

Naofumi growled in frustration. This lady, whoever she was, wasn't answering any of his questions. Still... "Hey Filo, when we reach a fork in the road, I need you to take a left!" He yelled to Filo

"Okay!" Filo yelled back.

Naofumi looked back at the Shadow. He didn't know how trustworthy she was, but anyone who was an enemy of the Church… how did the saying go? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Whatever the case, he was willing to take the risk of trusting her. "Can you at least tell me what you want, or who you're working for?" He asked. "Cause last I checked, almost everyone else in this world wants me dead." He added sarcastically.

"I daresay I cannot Sir Shield Hero." The Shadow answered. "For I cannot reveal my mistress's identity at this time. I can say, however, that my mistress's main purpose is to keep you and the other heroes alive." At least he got an answer that this mistress, whoever she was, wanted him alive. "Us Shadows are spread thin. More of our ranks than I care to admit have joined hands with our enemies. They grow and become more bold with every day... I fear I may not be able to help you as I have in the past,"

_'Wait, has she helped me out before?'_ He thought incredulously. Before he could ask, she continued.

"Beware, Shield Hero. Your enemies are more numerous than you realize. Some of them will be who you'll least suspect... And soon, the time will come when you will come face to face with my mistress's daughter. I already know we will be unable to keep her safe when she arrives, for those in the country are already plotting against her. Only you will be able to protect her from what's to come in the coming months." The Shadow said seriously.

"Wait, I have to protect someone's daughter?-" Naofumi tried to ask.

"It is a lot I ask of you, Sir Shield Hero. I daresay I am unsure if you will want to protect her after what has been done to you by Melromarc. But know that when you find her, then you shall know who it is I'm working for. And that it is within our best interests to protect you and the rest of the Cardinal Heroes from the dangers of our world."

Naofumi was baffled. "What do you mean?-" He had so many different questions. Why did she have to be so vague?! What enemies were out there other than almost everyone in Melromarc!? Why did he have to protect this mystery girl? Why couldn't he be told who she was?

However, he blinked as he spoke, and the moment he blinked the shadow disappeared from view. Not even a hint was left as to how she had disappeared.

_'... … The hell?'_ He thought. She'd just... vanished.

He looked around, but the only thing he saw that the Shadow had left behind was a mask. Similar to the one that she had been wearing. There was a note left next to it, written in Melromarc's characters.

"Absorb this mask into your shield." Naofumi read aloud. "I daresay, if our research is correct, the unlocked shield will help you out in the future."

...

"I see the fork in the road up ahead Dad!" Filo yelled excitedly.

"Alright, make sure you go left! You got me?!" Naofumi yelled back.

"Okay!" Filo cheered happily.

Naofumi sighed and looked back down at the sleeping Raphtalia. "Well, this turned out to be quite a day." He grumbled.

"Mmm…" Raphtalia rolled over in her sleep and began cuddling his legs. She smiled as if she were cuddling with her favorite teddy bear. _'... Would they call them teddy bears in this world? Wait, would demi-humans use teddy bears, or would they use human bears…'_ He shook his head at the weird thought. _'Now that's just ridiculous.'_ He took the mask. _'Can I even absorb this?'_

He placed it against the gemstone, and, sure enough, it absorbed the mask into his shield.

**Mask Shield Unlocked**

'_Mask Shield?'_ Naofumi changed it to the new shield and was slightly surprised when the Shield was replaced with a variation of the Shadow's mask. It was a pure white like the moon, with a small green gemstone in its forehead. He put it over his face and then raised his hood over his head. Besides his lower jaw showing, it was hard to tell that this traveling night merchant was the Shield Hero. As an added benefit, he didn't have to uncomfortably hide his shield under his cloak.

_'This… this could work…'_

Filo continued to hum happily outside. She took the left fork as promised, and behind them, Naofumi saw something he'd never expected to see. The air shimmered over the left fork, and then trees appeared. Not just over the entrance, but at least a hundred yards up the road too. Whether the illusion was solid or not, it would definitely cover their road from view.

_'… I wonder if Raphtalia's illusions will get that powerful…'_ He looked down at the snoozing Raphtalia who smiled widely in her sleep. "As Shield Hero, I order thee, decipher the laws of nature, and heal my target. **Fast Heal**." The last of the MP in his gauge was used as the spell washed over Raphtalia and Filo. While both were healed of their wounds, Raphtalia remained fast asleep. It turned out, his spell couldn't work on sedatives that induced sleep.

_'Well, it's a good thing that I'm almost done translating the recipe for sleep resistance potions.'_

He pulled out the medical grimoire again and began working on translating the last paragraph for the sleep resistance potion. Pushing all his other currently developing thoughts for later tonight when he could process them more easily.

_'Hopefully, these potions will work on someone who was already under an inflicted sleep status effect.'_ Naofumi thought to himself.

He could think over the Shadow's words later that night.

* * *

_Two Days Ago In the Palace (35 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"First you overtaxed my citizens in Lute, then you abandoned the food cart you were tasked to protect, and now you've awakened an ancient seed that's wreaking havoc on one of my cities! Are you trying to make me look like a fool!?"

Motoyasu shuddered under the piercing gaze of King Aultcray. A rather furious King Aultcray that was standing in front of his throne, holding a staff in one hand. Myne was somewhere else at the moment. "Your Majesty, I swear, I only left that food cart so that I could resolve the famine. I wasn't trying to-" The Spear Hero was defending himself.

"Trying to what?! Turn my own people against me! Abandoning important relief supplies for bandits to plunder! Trying to make a bigger mess while we're in the middle of the Waves of Catastrophe?!" The King asked.

"... But, but your Majesty, why are you angry? I was only doing what Myne suggested would be best-" He tried to say.

"Don't try to pin your blame on my daughter!" Motoyasu went silent at the King's words. "You are just as much to blame as she is! To think you'd go off and lead her to do such incredibly foolish acts in the name of royalty!"

Motoyasu stayed silent as the King seethed for a moment more before pointing at the doors. Motoyasu looked oddly broken at that moment. "Get out of my sight. It is time I had a talk with my oldest daughter."

… Motoyasu nodded and turned around to walk out of the room. He still looked oddly broken, as if something inside him had shattered.

He was led by an attendant to a fancy room, that had a fancy dinner already set at a table. "Don't fret Cardinal Hero." The attendant said upbeatedly. "You are the King's favorite. I'm sure after he's been given time to fume, you'll be restored back to his good graces."

Motoyasu didn't respond as he sat down, and the attendant left the room. Likely to retrieve something for Motoyasu. Motoyasu stared down at his food, not moving or anything.

'_Am I really not being a hero…'_

…

"_Thank you, Sir Hero!"_

"_You have saved our lives from this horrible famine!"_

"_We can never repay you Spear Hero!"_

"_We love you, Sir Hero!"_

The voices of the people from the southwestern village he'd visited went through his mind. The voices of its fair maidens went through his mind. For a moment, he'd really done it. He'd done something good. He'd felt like a hero. He hadn't doubted Myne, or himself. He had made these people happy...

Together, he and Myne had gone into an ancient temple he'd remembered from his game and unsealed the seed inside. They'd given it as a gift to the region. The famine was supposed to be solved. It was supposed to be better. That's how it'd gone down in his game...

'_For a moment, I actually thought I was being a hero… but I only did something else to hurt someone…'_

He began to be filled with doubt. About the sincerity of his title. About the sincerity of his friendship with his party members. His friendship with Myne.

'_Am I really worthy of being called a Hero… can I really do this if even the fair maidens curse my name?... but I'm supposed to trust my friends! I'm supposed to trust Myne… ... ... ... but... but all I've done is hurt others... every choice I've made with Myne has only led to hurting others... but if I can't trust her... then...'_

He sat there for a moment more. His mind being torn apart by his inner conflict. The room was getting smaller and smaller around him. He put his hands over his head. '_What do I do?! What can I do?!'_

…

…

"Sir Spear Hero?"

A knock sounded against the door. The attendant's voice sounded from outside again. "Sir Spear Hero, I have your dinner with me…"

…

The attendant knocked on the door again and then moved to open it. "Sir Spear-"

The room was empty. Besides an open window. The food that had been on the table was untouched.

"Sir Spear Hero!"

The attendant's cries were in vain. The Spear Hero, Motoyasu Kitamura, had long since departed the castle. Needing time to himself to resolve his inner conflict.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Damn, this was a long chapter to work on. I actually did some major re-edits on this one so it'd flow more smoothly and all that. I won't do any revealers. I'll just leave you all to guess in the reviews the meaning behind the Shadow's words and Motoyasu's sudden departure from the castle.**

**I will say, I've been thinking about how that part of the magic system works for quite a while now. About why some spells have a chant beforehand, and why others do not. I don't know if this is close to what Aneko had in mind, or if this is yet another thing being added to the list of headcanons I've made in this story. Either way, that, and the information about enchanting have all been things I've been thinking about for quite a while. If it makes sense, or if you have any suggestions, please let me know!**

**Now, for my favorite thing I like to write in each chapter!**

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_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**What Do Demi-humans Prefer?**

* * *

'_This is… probably… the most complex thing I've ever had to think about…'_

Naofumi stood in a store, looking at the two items on display in front of him.

_'Would demi-humans prefer to use a regular hairbrush, or would they prefer to use a dog brush?'_ On the shelf in front of him was a hairbrush on one side, and a dog brush on the other. '_I know Raphtalia loves it when I brush her hair, but I don't know which one she'd prefer.'_ He thought in all seriousness.

"... Um, Master Naofumi, what are you doing-" Raphtalia tried to ask.

"Just a sec. I'm thinking about something important here." Naofumi said impatiently as he looked the two items over. He had to get a nice gift for Raphtalia as a thank you for everything she'd ever done for him, but he didn't know what to get for her.

_'I know Raphtalia looks like a human, but her hair is thicker than a human's. But she isn't really a dog, but I don't know if the regular hair brushes work on her hair or not.'_

"Naofumi, I don't think I need a new hairbrush-" Raphtalia was saying. It didn't seem like a good thing to waste their money on.

"You're right. I need to get you something else." Naofumi said in realization as he moved on to the next shelf. A hairbrush could never express his gratitude to her. He had to go for something better!

But the items on this next shelf presented him with another predicament. '_Wait, I don't know if Raphtalia ever grew up with dolls or stuffed animals!'_ On one end was a barbie doll, and on the other end of the shelf was a stuffed teddy bear.

'_I mean, I know girls are supposed to like Barbies! But Raphtalia isn't like other girls! But that stuffed teddy bear could look a lot like a demi-human!'_ Though he hadn't met any bear demi-humans yet. Or knew if they existed. But it was a possible factor! '_I don't know which one I should get for her! Would she even be into this little kid stuff anymore?!'_

Raphtalia started to look at Naofumi as if he'd gone crazy. "Master Naofumi, please. I really don't need anything from here-"

"You're right!" Naofumi moved away from the cases. "I need something bigger, something better, something-" Naofumi gasped in surprise at what he saw next.

On display in a glass case was the most beautiful diamond necklace. It glittered spectacularly from the light of the room. It was extravagant… but in the other right next to it was a diamond-studded dog collar!

'_I know girls are supposed to like necklaces, but Raphtalia's isn't like most girls. I don't know if demi-humans prefer necklaces or collars! And they both have diamonds! Didn't I always hear back home that diamonds are supposed to be a girl's best friend!?'_ Naofumi internally freaked out where he was standing.

"Master Naofumi, please, I don't want anything from here. All I want is your affect-" Raphtalia tried to say.

"I don't know which one to choose!" Naofumi yelled, having completely ignored what Raphtalia said over the mental conundrum inside his mind. '_Do demi-humans prefer human products or animal products! I just don't know the answerrrrrrrr!'_

Filo appeared from behind Raphtalia, looking curiously at the mentally torn Naofumi. "Mommy, why did you fall in love with daddy?" Filo asked.

Raphtalia sighed. "I don't know sweetheart." She said almost to herself.

'_AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! COLLAR! OR NECKLACE! WHICH ONE DO I CHOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!?'_

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	23. 23: Plenty To Think On

**Alright, I've been reading the Light Novels ever since Christmas. They're really good, and I've been enjoying them. I finished the seventh novel today (yes, that's like 2400-2600 pages of reading in less than a week, I love to read when I have time). Now I feel like I have a better grasp on the Shield Hero verse. I've even been making small notes in the pages to help me out. I'm hoping this will help me with fleshing out future characters.**

**Anyways, it's getting late in the day. And New Year's is around the corner, so I'll get to posting this story now. Hope you all enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:**_ 33 more Favorites, 44 more Followers (Total: 738 Favorites, 860 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:**_ December 30th, 2019 9:00 P.M. (EST)_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three:** _Plenty to Think On_

* * *

_The Middle of the Night (33 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"Huahhhh."

Naofumi yawned tiredly. '_I wish I could get this to make it easier to stay awake…'_ He thought before he got back to compounding on his makeshift desk in the back of the wagon.

It had been almost eight hours since they'd been ambushed by a large group of Church Shadows. Eight hours since they'd escaped with the help of an ally Shadow. Seven hours since they'd left the forest and turned Southeast on the plains instead of Northeast like he'd planned. And four hours since he'd made Filo stop in a secluded area where they could camp.

He was alone with his Shield set to the **Two Dogged Head Shield** so he'd be alerted if any monsters approached his campsite while he was compounding. Or if the Church Shadows they'd shirked with the help of an ally Shadow earlier that day came charging in to ambush his party again...

He paused in his compounding to sip the potion he had just created. It didn't taste as bitter as his medicine, but he still winced at its taste. He sat still for a moment, seeing if it worked or not…

He tiredly yawned again. _'Nope. I can't get this thing to eliminate my need for sleep. It only works on the status condition form of it.'_ He thought tiredly. He set the bottle of sleep resistance potion off to the side. He'd managed to translate the recipe shortly after their brush with the Church Shadows. _'Damn thing tastes bitter too… but at least it woke Raphtalia up.'_

Whether it was because it actually eliminated the status condition, or because of its bitter taste was up to judgment. Regardless, it had worked when he compounded his first one and made her drink it… Naofumi got back to compounding.

...

After a few minutes, Naofumi sighed as he put his compounding tools away. '_That's the rest of the herbs I gathered from the area around us…'_ After Filo had stopped, Naofumi had taken some time to pick the herbs around their campsite with Raphtalia helping him out. They'd gotten a good amount as the box full of freshly made potions next to him attested to, but it hadn't been enough to help him work through his night shift. He still had a good hour left to go on his watch.

'_Maybe I can_ try _one last thing…'_ He pulled out another sleep-resistance potion (Otherwise called an Awakening Potion) and a poison-resistance potion (Otherwise called an Antidote) and used an alchemy skill to combine the two together. He was curious to see what would happen if he combined the two different status healing potions together.

After a moment, a notification popped up on Naofumi's status screen. Despite how tired he felt, he slightly smiled at the result as he read over the new potion's description.

**Cure All: Useful for curing the following battle status effects: Sleep, Poison, Burning, Paralysis, and Frozen.**

'_Damn, it still only helps with battle status effects. But if I remember correctly, this was a key ware of the typical Night Merchant from my games.' _Night merchants were better known for selling this potion than anything else. Now that he'd discovered how to make them, he could add these Cure All's to his stock and solidify his identity as a Night Merchant going around to heal sick people. Despite being very tired, he was pleased with himself.

He was about to set it down when he felt the potion reacting with his shield. Curious, he allowed his shield to absorb it.

**Requirements met: Cure Shield Unlocked: Bonus: Alchemy Mixing 1**

The Shield also gave him a small boost to his resistance against sickness. According to the Alchemy Mixing 1, it'd give a boost to the quality of potions he created using alchemy. '_First, I find out Filo knows magic, then I unlocked the Mask Shield, and now this…'_

His original plan after going through the mountains had been to travel northwest along Melromarc's border to continue the original route he had been taking as the Nocturnal Doctor. While they got some money to get better gear and helped Filo to reach level 40, he had planned on gathering information about the countries around Melromarc. If there was a country he could go to without having to worry about the Capital, the Three Heroes Church, or the Siltvelt Agents chasing after him; the next part of his plan would have been to find a way using Raphtalia's illusion magic to sneak over the border into said country after they'd upgraded their levels and equipment. Finally, all they'd have to do is find the country's hourglass and get Raphtalia and Filo their class-up ceremonies. They'd be brought back to Melromarc eventually when the next wave happened, but at least his party members would be classed up for it. His Help Menu had explained that Class Ups made party members significantly more powerful than they were before. It'd be harder for the Church or the Capital to restrain him from leaving if they could get their class ups.

Traveling southeast though, they were going to travel across flat plains into the interior of Melromarc. Eventually passing just a few miles north of the Capital before they got back into more familiar territory. However, they'd be far from any border up until they got to Dragon Village. If they traveled there. It'd take at least a week of traveling nonstop to reach the village. And that didn't count the time they'd need to stop to rest, collect herbs, defeat monsters, take detours to various towns and villages to earn money, and so forth. If they made fast time, they could theoretically still escape to whatever country was over the border from Dragon Village, but if it was the wrong country, say, Siltvelt, then they'd lose even more precious time trying to get to a more friendly country.

While it was bad that they wouldn't be able to stick to the border towns as Naofumi had planned on doing, he'd realized that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. It'd been almost two weeks since he'd left the Capital. The Church, having found out his movements, had probably guessed that he was trying to sneak his way to Melromarc's border. If the Church was smart, they would inform the Capital about it. Both of them would end up hunting the wrong areas in the exterior parts of Melromarc trying to find where he was going. Meaning he'd be able to travel more freely on the opposite side of the country. Being able to hide more fully in his night merchant persona with the help of the Mask Shield.

'_With all this, maybe we'll finally be able to catch our breaths for a moment.'_ Naofumi thought in relief.

Feeling up on his luck, he took out a cut gemstone from his inventory. It was an amethyst, a parting gift from the accessory merchant. It was smaller, meant to be fit into a necklace, but it was supposed to be of the same quality as a cut emerald. With it being smaller than the cut emerald, it'd also take less mana to infuse the gemstone. He'd already taken time before the last two days to put spare mana into it. Now, he focused what MP he had recovered after the day's events into the gemstone, hoping it was enough to reach full saturation.

Unfortunately, while the purple gemstone glowed more brightly, he didn't receive the notification that it was fully infused and ready for enchantment. '_Sigh…'_ He wished he could have vaster stores of mana to use. He set the gemstone back in his inventory, took out some tools and some silver ore he'd gotten exploring a random cave with Raphtalia a few days before they'd arrived at Dragon Village, and got to work crafting a necklace for the amethyst. Besides the medicine and the potions, he was hoping crafting accessories would also become another integral part of his night merchant business. After learning how much they were selling for with the waves going on, he could make some serious coin. But with how hard he was finding it to imbue the gemstones with MP…

_'Maybe if I asked Filo and Raphtalia, they could also imbue their spare mana into these gemstones…'_ He thought. It'd certainly help to have more than one person imbuing them with mana.

...

_'Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. I'll check if they're still asleep or not.'_ It was a simple trick. Maybe by teaching those two, he'd be able to imbue gemstones more quickly. It wasn't like they spent all their time fighting monsters.

At the thought, Naofumi put the tools down next to the unfinished necklace he was making. Naofumi then quietly exited the back of the wagon. On his left, the glowing embers of a dying campfire flew up into the clear night sky. On his right, under a half tent he had helped set up under a grove of trees, a sleeping Filo cuddled into the warm hair of her surrogate sleeping mother under their sleeping bag.

A smile tugged at Naofumi's lips at the adorable sight. _'Damn it. Did they have to choose now to look so cute? I'll have a hard time waking Raphtalia up for her shift!'_ Even after her first nap and her impromptu nap, Raphtalia had gone straight to sleep with Filo soon after dinner. She must have been really tired from today, either that, or the status inflicted form of sleep wasn't as restful as the real thing...

He turned to walk away. Wanting to leave the two of them at peace.

"Mmm… daddy?" Filo murmured quietly.

Naofumi stopped. "What is it, Filo?" Naofumi asked.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, her eyes still droopy. She also looked a little worried though.

He was almost tempted to try his idea. But then he decided against it. Filo had ran hard that day. Either that or the tranquilizer had finally caught up to her. She still looked very tired from the day's ordeals. "Yeah. Everything is fine. Go back to sleep, Filo." Naofumi responded.

"Okay." Filo smiled tiredly as she cuddled up to Raphtalia again. "Thanks again for protecting me and mommy today." She fell back to sleep.

"... no problem." Naofumi found that a small smile was resting on his face as he sat on a log by the fire. Filo might have been annoying at times, but damn, maybe she was turning out to be not so bad either.

_'Or maybe I'm just getting used to playing the butler to two gluttonous eaters.'_ He thought sarcastically to himself. That was always a possibility with Filo. He'd made an extra-large dinner for her after how good she'd been today.

"*Huahhh* Are you thinking something rude Master Naofumi?"

Naofumi quickly turned his head in shock. Only Raphtalia mumbled something unintelligible after that before yawning again, turning over, and going back to snoring softly into Filo's hair. He shook his head and went back to staring at the campfire. _'Even while that girl is asleep she uses her mind magic or whatever…'_

…

Naofumi stared at the embers of the dying fire. He still felt tired, but now that he wasn't doing anything, his mind finally thought over the events of the day. '_Raphtalia's level 40…'_

He was at 36. Filo was at 34. The two of them still had room to grow. But now, Raphtalia had a star next to her name in his status menu, indicating that she couldn't level up. Because of the growth maturation adjustments from the Slaver's Shields I, II, and III (He'd originally unlocked only two, but had accidentally unlocked the third one when Filo as a baby Filolial accidentally bit Raphtalia's finger while she had been feeding her parts of monsters. Naofumi had been helping Raphtalia with the small wound, and some of her blood had dribbled onto the gemstone of his shield, unlocking Slaver's Shield III) Raphtalia's stats were already well above average. But unless she got a class up, the only way she'd be able to improve now was by getting better equipment. Either that or she'd have to learn more magic. Her only offensive spell at the moment was **Light Slash**, a Fast variant spell. Raphtalia had let him known earlier though that she'd read the whole grimoire already, so it wasn't likely that she'd learn any more magic from it. So unless they could get another higher class grimoire...

He shelved those thoughts for now.

'We_ were ambushed in the middle of nowhere… and they almost got us too. If Filo hadn't known magic…'_

He remembered the one Church Shadow who jumped for him. He could still remember clearly the hate searing from his eyes. The dagger poised to strike. The rosary hanging around his neck. He involuntarily shivered as a ghostly chill traveled down his spine, and he put some wood onto the dying fire hoping to drive the chill away. Had Filo not intervened with that tornado of hers, that moment could have gone down far differently... their escape could have gone down far more differently if she hadn't used her other magic skill, High Quick…

_'I don't get why the Three Heroes Church hates me along with the demi-humans so much. I mean, what did the past Shield Hero and demi-humans do that made them turn me into a devil? Or is there no reason other than the fact that they need someone to feel superior to?...'_ He couldn't attack, meaning he couldn't easily fight back. His main modes of offense were either counter attacks or being really creative with the effects of his various shields. He could be a perfect target for abuse because of that...

…

Naofumi shook his head. He knew nothing about the history of the Church. He knew very little about the history of this world in general. He had too little information to come to a conclusion about it now. If he tried to think about it anymore, he was only going to come up with conspiracy theories about the matter.

_'What really concerns me is that Shadow from earlier…'_

He still found himself replaying their short conversation in his mind.

_"Can you at least tell me what you want, or who you're working for?" He asked._

…

_"I daresay I cannot Sir Shield Hero." The Shadow answered. "For I cannot reveal my mistress's identity at this time..."_

'_I know this Shadow is working for some lady. I don't know who this lady is though…'_ Naofumi thought to himself.

"_... I can say, however, that my mistress's main purpose is to keep you and the other heroes alive…"_

'_That's certainly refreshing.'_ He thought sarcastically. '_I'm glad not everyone in this country wants to put a sword through my back. But not telling me her name is very suspicious...'_ For all he knew, the mistress the Shadow was working for could have been Bitch, and this was simply her way of making him hope that someone was out there helping him before she came in and crushed him. However, despite what she'd done, Bitch didn't strike him as one who'd plan something as complicated as that. No, in his opinion, she was way too stupid to plan something so meticulous.

For now, all he could do was trust that the Shadow was working against Bitch and her father Trash.

"_...Us Shadows are spread thin. More of our ranks than I care to admit have joined hands with our enemies. They grow and become more bold with every day…"_

These words honestly did trouble Naofumi. '_Judging on what she said, those Shadows we met back in the forest formerly worked with her or something like it. But now, they've gone over to work with the Church. And if she was able to appear in and out of my wagon the way she did…'_ Another shiver traveled down his spine. He really hoped the other Church Shadows out there weren't capable of the same feats.

"_... I fear I may not be able to help you as I have in the past..."_

While the previous part troubled him, this latter part confused him. '_I don't remember her ever assisting us before...'_

He thought about it. The Church hadn't been sure if he was dead or alive after escaping the trap in the mines. The Church operatives in the area had been killed. Then there was the party where the Church was going to ambush him. One of Ren's party members had just happened to discover that Raphtalia was his slave. Hell, long before all this, Erhard had been given a note from a random stranger that had led Naofumi to the Slave Trader where he purchased Raphtalia.

'_Was she responsible for all of that?'_ Naofumi thought to himself. If this Shadow and her group were really responsible for that and possibly more, he didn't know what to think about not being able to receive such assistance in the future. He might have been overthinking it… was he?

_"Beware, Shield Hero. Your enemies are more numerous than you realize. Some of them will be who you'll least suspect…"_

'_I mean, I know that almost everyone in this country hates me. But who would I least suspect to be my enemy?...'_

Raphtalia was definitely out of the question. She'd had plenty of times to betray him in the past. Hell, she'd had the opportunity to take her freedom and leave him to rot in a jail cell. She could have easily left him to die numerous times since he couldn't damage anything. She hadn't though. She'd stuck by his side, trusting in him, fighting for him, and confessing her love for him time and time again. She'd even made herself his slave after being freed as a symbol for how much she trusted him and for her desire for him to trust her.

He'd already won the lottery having someone as loyal, helpful, and kind as her in his life. The last thing he was going to do was doubt her now after everything they had been through the last couple of months.

There was Erhard, the man who'd first believed him after he learned about the conspiracy against Naofumi. He could have been secretly plotting to turn against Naofumi in the future. Naofumi had a hard time picturing the kind-hearted blacksmith betraying him though. Especially with the quality of armor and weapons he'd provided for both himself and Raphtalia at a discount. He was also out of the question.

Filo… Nah. She was still a child that thought of herself as his kid… unless she developed a taste for human flesh, the chicken loli was also off the table.

'_Who else would want to betray me then?... or are they people I haven't met yet…'_ He honestly didn't know. He hadn't gotten particularly close with many people in this world being on the run, and none of them were coming to mind as potential people to betray him. Did that mean the Shadow meant that there were possibly more enemies out there that he didn't know he had?

But he still had one major thing the Shadow had said in their brief conversation.

"_... Soon, the time will come when you will come face to face with my mistress's daughter... we will be unable to keep her safe when she arrives, for those in the country are already plotting against her. Only you will be able to protect her from what's to come in the coming months..."_

_"Wait, I have to protect someone's daughter?-" Naofumi tried to ask._

_"It is a lot I ask of you, Sir Shield Hero. I daresay I am unsure if you will want to protect her after what has been done to you by Melromarc. But know that when you find her, then you shall know who it is I'm working for. And that it is within our best interests to protect you and the rest of the Cardinal Heroes from the dangers of our world."_

Naofumi found himself frowning. _'On top of everything else, I'm going to have to find out who this mistress's daughter is. Then I'm going to have to protect her from some conspiracy?'_

That was probably where the Shadow had been the vaguest. He didn't know who this mystery girl was. He didn't know her age or what she looked like. He didn't know who was conspiring against her, though he could guess either the Church or the Capital being responsible for it. Maybe Bitch, but that seemed like a stretch.

_'What would be happening anyway to keep someone as powerful as her from being able to keep this daughter safe?'_

Again, the Shadow had literally appeared and disappeared from his wagon in the blink of an eye. Her stealth stats must have been through the roof! If she wouldn't be able to protect this daughter, how the hell was he supposed to?!

He honestly didn't know. And the things he didn't know pissed him off the most. It sounded like this mistress honestly wanted to help him, yet she didn't trust him enough to reveal who she was. Or maybe the Shadow didn't think he was trustworthy enough. Not that he was one to talk. He had only started to trust people other than Raphtalia and Erhard almost two weeks ago.

…

Naofumi shook his head. He had been so lost in thought, the fire had started to die out again. Plus, he was feeling even more tired. They had a long day of traveling the next day.

_'I better wake up Raphtalia and let her take her shift. I don't want her to worry about me taking on extra shifts again... And maybe I could use it as a chance to see if she can imbue gemstones with mana or not.'_

With that thought in mind, he got up and went to wake up Raphtalia. Even if she did look adorable being all cuddled up with her daughter Filo.

* * *

_Earlier that Day (33 Days before the Next Wave)_

Ren Amaki leaned boredly against a column of the Three Heroes Church. In front of him, one of his party members, Welt, was in front of the Dragon Hourglass. A group of knights had just set a liquid into the grooves of the platform, and the Hourglass itself glowed a soft red. Welt was looking at a skill/job tree, preparing to choose and receive his long-awaited class-up.

"What class should I choose… being a swordsman is great, but maybe I'd do better in a position that supports Bakta. Like a spearman."

"Would you get on with it Welt?!" Bakta yelled a few dozen feet away. "I'd like to get my class up before I die here!" He was standing uncomfortably in his armor.

"We told you before we got here that you should have gone to the bathroom," Tersia said dismissively next to him.

"Honestly, you nobles and your noble pride sometimes." Farrie then commented next to Tersia.

"It's so embarrassing. You could have just admitted you needed to go to the bathroom before we came up here instead of saying everything's fine." Tersia said.

Bakta was about to yell at the two mages, but then one of the nuns nearby glared at him, effectively silencing him. "This is a Church, not a playground." The nun reproved him. "Be more reverent of the holy place you stand in."

Bakta's face grew red, and he continued to stand awkwardly in his enchanted armor. Tersia and Farrie giggled to themselves.

"Don't put your breeches into a knot Bakta. I'm almost done choosing whether I'll be a spearman or not."

"Shut up," Bakta said angrily as he turned to the side, still blushing a fierce red at having been reprimanded like a child by a nun. Then a look of shock appeared on his face. "Wait, I'm supposed to be the party's spearman!"

The reprimanding snap from the nun drowned out Welt's chuckles and Farrie and Tersia's giggles. He looked like he wanted to flip out as the nun proceeded to lash into Bakta about the sanctity of the holy room they were standing in.

Though Ren was trying to look cool and aloof, if you looked closely enough, you'd see the sadness in his eyes watching his party interact with each other. '_To think I didn't take notice of their camaraderie before.'_ Ren thought sadly.

Tersia and Farrie giggled into their hands again, seeing the noble tank spearman of their group effectively silenced by the nun. Even after she was done scolding him, the nun watched him carefully, obviously marking the noble as a problem child in her mind.

Ren had only realized two days ago that he wasn't playing in the world of his favorite game, Brave Star Online. Instead, he really was in another world. A real world filled with real people.

Another nun dressed in black robes walked by Ren on the platform, giving a respectful curtsy to the Sword Hero as she passed. This was a real lady, who'd made the choice to give her life over to the worship of her Gods. Even though Ren didn't acknowledge her with anything other than a glance, she looked grateful to have, if only briefly, gotten the attention of one of the Three Cardinal Heroes she strived to worship and emulate.

The people of this church were real too. The nuns and priests gathered together down below the platform for worship were as real as Ren was.

Ren glanced to the side away from his party. Leaning against the column opposite him, covered with a cloak to disguise her demi-human looks was Wyndia. She appeared calm, watching her fellow party members go through the class up ritual. She was only level 16, and wouldn't be going through the class-up ritual. One of her hands rested on the hilt of a small sword resting in a scabbard under her cloak.

A pang of guilt hit Ren looking at her again, briefly shattering his cool facade. Wyndia wasn't looking at him, but he could still feel the glare she was subconsciously sending his way. He might have saved her from a group of slavers, and she might have joined his party, but she was nowhere close to forgiving him for killing her adoptive Father.

_"I won't forget what you did here today… But since I have no choice, I'll tag along to make sure you stick to your promise, Sir Ren."_

That was right. She was only sticking with him to make sure he stayed in line with his promise. That he'd really grow and become the Sword Hero the world needed him to be. He couldn't go on thinking he'd be okay working by himself anymore. He needed these party members, these people to help him to become better. It struck at his pride as a solo gamer, but he was beginning to realize he couldn't keep going it alone anymore.

Especially when there was a bigger picture to look at here.

...

"Ah, Sword Hero, what a pleasant surprise."

Ren turned his head. Walking through the doors behind him onto the platform was the head of the Church. Pope Balamus. "I heard your trip to slay the Dragon was successful."

"Yes." Ren calmly answered. His normal facade had already taken over. He again looked like the normal, cool, aloof teenager he had been before. "The Dragon Gaelion is dead."

If the Pope was surprised that Ren had learned the name of the dragon he killed, he didn't show it. "It is a pity. Another time, he was one of the more peaceful dragons living in our country's borders. He was well respected by the people in that area." The Pope said, a note of sadness in his tone as he walked by Ren, his hands clasped behind his back. Welt was still choosing what class he wanted to upgrade into. "I guess it goes to show how even those we respect can eventually turn against us and become our enemies."

Ren stared calmly at the Pope. The Pope was facing away, but his words held an ominous undertone to them. "I don't think I understand," Ren said calmly.

The Pope was silent for a moment more. At the hourglass, Welt finally chose a class for himself and was enveloped in a shining light. A moment later, the light died down, and he came back into view looking at himself in surprise. In Ren's status magic screen, the star next to Welt's name disappeared.

"It's happened before." The Pope finally said with a sigh. "The mighty and well respected don't always live up to the promises of the people they promise to serve and protect." Had this been a game, Ren would have thought that this was a situation where an NPC gave him important background information about the world. Information that would influence his perception of what happened later. However, this wasn't a game, and he got the real meaning behind the Pope's words as he spoke.

"There have been people in the past who turned their backs on humanity. People who were once well trusted and respected by those below them. Whose actions affected humanity rather severely. Over time, we grew to see these respected people as enemies, rather than as heroes." The Pope said, watching as Welt was pushed out of the way of the hourglass by Bakta, only for the nun from earlier to then grab the tanker by the ear before pulling him away from the hourglass. One of the mages, Tersia, took his place to get her class upgrade. The nuns poured more of the strange liquid into the grooves of the platform. "Unfortunately, it seems the dragon Gaelion will be yet another addition to that sad list."

...

"People… like the Shield Hero." Ren commented behind the Pope.

"Yes, precisely." The Pope finally turned to face Ren again. A relaxed smile was on his face. "I'm afraid that even Cardinal Heroes can fall from grace to become the devils we fear. The past Shield Hero was no exception when he allied himself with the demi-humans while humanity was in danger from the waves. It was a sad blow indeed back when it happened. I'd hoped the current Shield Hero would be... redeemed."

Ren continued to stare calmly and aloofly at the Pope. The Pope wasn't saying it, but the hidden threat was there. Even Ren could be made an enemy if he made one false move he didn't agree with.

Even if the betrayal was something as simple as partying up with a demi-human.

"I won't betray humanity. Not like Naofumi." Ren said calmly, the lie came from him naturally.

"Good." The Pope turned back to the doors to walk away. However, before he left, he glanced at the hooded figure standing opposite of Ren. "Before I go, may I ask where you found that girl?"

Ren looked to Wyndia. She still wasn't looking at him. She was calmly staring as Tersia finished getting her class upgrade, and Farrie moved to take her place. The nuns again poured more of the strange liquid into the grooves.

"During my travels." Ren calmly answered. "She lost her family to monsters, so I'm helping her to become stronger." He didn't get more specific than that. He still remembered how the slaver had mentioned the Pope being Wyndia's former owner. He briefly wondered if the Pope would recognize her or not. Or if he'd recognize how her hood stood up above her hair slightly higher than normal because of her hidden dog ears...

"Interesting…" The Pope faced the doors again. He didn't seem to have recognized Wyndia as his former slave, or as a demi-human. "I'll take my leave then. Farewell, Sword Hero... And do remember what I told you about the Shield Hero."

Ren didn't respond as the Pope left the room. The same relaxed smile that spoke of how God was on his side still being on his face as the doors closed behind him.

With the Pope gone, Ren moved one of his hands behind his back so he could clench it into a fist. '_That man…'_ That did it. He had to look more into the Three Heroes Church's activities. He'd garnered that part of the reason for their distrust of Naofumi was because of a past Shield Hero. And that it was somehow related to demi-humans… but that didn't explain why they would hate him so much… he had to look more into it.

"Finally, it's my turn-" Bakta was saying as Farrie walked away from the Hourglass. Looking pleased with having been able to class upgrade.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to wait a moment." The nun interrupted him.

"Wait, what!?-" Bakta was yelling in surprise. However, when the nun glared at him, he quieted his voice. "Why do I have to wait?" He quietly asked.

"One, because of your rudeness and irreverence. Two, we used up the rest of our holy class up water on your friends. It will take time to bring more up here." The nun said calmly.

"How long will it take?" Bakta desperately asked.

"Longer if you can't learn to be reverent in our halls!" The nun snapped at him.

"Awwwww…" Bakta lied down on the floor, moaning in pain. He had to go to the bathroom so badly, it wasn't even funny to him anymore. Tersia, Farrie, and Welt all chuckled quietly nearby to themselves. The three of them going over their new stats and abilities in their status menus.

For the briefest of moments, Ren saw Wyndia glancing at him. He turned his head to face her, only to find her looking back at Bakta. She didn't speak up, nor did her calm facade break. The glaring feeling he'd been feeling earlier had lessened somewhat though. Had it been because he'd lied to the Pope about her? Had it been because he'd called the Pope a monster without the Pope realizing it?

Either way, the glare was still there in his mind. Reminding him of the guilt he felt for what he'd done.

Ren again promised himself that he'd make it up to her. To his party for being weak. He'd find out the Church's real plans and put a stop to them before more people like Naofumi got hurt.

Bakta continued to moan in agony on the floor.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Sorry, I didn't get a chance to write an omake scene for this chapter. I was so busy reading the Light Novels that the thought slipped my mind. I'm also sorry about this chapter being shorter than the others. But, I guess not every chapter can be light-novel length as I've discovered. Light Novel 4 was only 12 chapters, but almost 350 pages!**

**Anywho, I hope you all had a great Christmas! Have a Happy New Year, and I'll see you all again next Monday! Leave your comments! They definitely help with the story!**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	24. 24: Hot Spring Fiasco

**I haven't done this in a little bit, but I'll respond to a Guest reviewer here. No, I didn't say near the beginning of the last chapter that they were near Dragon Village. It's going to take Naofumi's party a long while to get there, and that's if they decide to go there. Naofumi and his party were pretty far Northwest of the Capital at the time they were ambushed by Church Shadows. He was traveling east through the mountains so he could go north and then either west or east once he reached the border. But because of events, he's traveling Southeast. And Dragon Village is in the Southeastern part of Melromarc past the Capital according to Naofumi's map. It isn't right by the border, but it's one of the largest villages on that side of Melromarc. So I'm using it as a point of reference.**

**Alright, with that out of the way, onto the chapter!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _21 more Favorites, 32 more Followers (Total: 759 Favorites, 892 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _January 6th, 2019_

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**Chapter Twenty-Four:** _Hot Spring Fiasco_

* * *

_(29 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

The last few days passed by quickly for Naofumi. He and his party had been gradually traveling across the Melromarc Plains. In the towns they stopped in for business, Naofumi heard no news about him being discovered. If anything, he heard that security was being tightened along Melromarc's northern border. That had brought a smile to his face. '_They're going to waste a lot of resources trying to find me up there.'_ The only issue he had was that he still hadn't heard any news about the other three heroes and their activities.

And either because they were traveling towards the interior of Melromarc, or because of their high levels, the monsters that had been harassing his wagon before were avoiding it. And the few that did try to attack it were so weak that they were barely worth the effort for Raphtalia and Filo to fight. Because of that distraction being taken care of, Naofumi had thrown himself into the other various tasks he had to tackle, like learning Melromarc's written language. Translating his medical grimoire. Gathering herbs and compounding more medicines for his Night Merchant Business. Unlocking abilities from previous shields he'd acquired but hadn't taken the time to unlock. Crafting new accessories. Reading the magic grimoire. Etc.

Naofumi had always considered himself a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy before coming to this world. Whenever he'd played any online games he almost always ended up being sidetracked by wanting to maximize his crafting skills and various other abilities instead of leveling up. But even he was starting to find his schedule ridiculous. If he wasn't working on one thing, he was doing two other things at the same time. It sometimes felt like he was juggling all the tasks he had to do and was barely succeeding at doing them all.

After all his work and hard effort, he still found himself stumbling his way through the written Melromarcian alphabet. He'd only managed to translate two more recipes from his grimoire that he didn't think would be useful (weed killer and gunpowder, why the hell were these two recipes in a medical grimoire!? Though Naofumi was getting ideas of using the gunpowder to form a makeshift bomb he could throw at enemies). He hadn't gotten a new spell reading the magic grimoire, which he still had over half of it left to look through page by page. He was fortunate he only had to equip a shield for a period of time to unlock its abilities and status upgrades, but it took several hours to do it for one shield.

And hell, if it hadn't been for him managing to teach Raphtalia and Filo how to imbue gemstones with mana, he would have tossed the idea of crafting accessories out the window altogether. With their help, he'd managed to finish imbuing the amethyst along with two garnets; all of which were on the same scale enchanting wise as emeralds. Because he'd managed to imbue the three gemstones, he'd finally been able to successfully enchant two Good quality Silver Necklaces he'd crafted. The amethyst silver necklace dropped from good quality to normal quality when it was enchanted, but it acquired Defense Up (Low). It had sold in the last town they visited for 80 Silver. The garnet silver necklace had stayed at good quality, but the enchantment it had gotten was HP Up (Slight). It had sold for 50 Silver. The enchantments were random, but he'd gotten way more for the two than he thought he would. There had technically been a third accessory, a bracelet, that he'd crafted for the last imbued Garnet, but because the enchantment failed on a 98% success chance and destroyed both the accessory and the gemstone, Naofumi would rather forget about having ever made it. The worthless thing failing on a 98% Success rate. What a waste of money.

'_I'll need to get my hands on more gemstones and ores. If I can sell cheap accessories for that amount, then I could make a killing because of the Waves of Catastrophe!'_ He thought gleefully. He could easily charge double, triple, maybe even quadruple the normal price and still have happy customers since demand vastly exceeded the supply! He'd be rich in no time!

"Are you thinking something greedy over there Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked from the wagon behind him. The wagon covering had been replaced with a new light grey cloth, and she stopped what she was doing to lightly glare at him.

"... No." Naofumi lied.

"Are you lying to me Naofumi?" Raphtalia said, her voice sounding displeased.

'_Damn it! How can she always tell!?'_ Raphtalia looked to be waiting for an answer.

Where lying didn't work, it was time to change the subject. That move didn't always work out, but he had as of yet to find other means of avoiding Raphtalia's 'mind' magic or whatever she used to read what was on his mind. "So are you looking forward to the next town, Raphtalia?" Naofumi curiously asked.

Raphtalia's serious look turned into a frown. Of course, Naofumi would avoid the subject. "I don't know… Are you sure we should do this?" Raphtalia asked.

Naofumi and his party were currently traveling through some low rocky hills, approaching another town. However, their main purpose wasn't to sell merchandise, though he would visit any sick people if called upon. He had a different purpose in mind.

"We've been going at it hard the last few days," Naofumi replied. "One of the people I healed in the last town was talking about visiting the hot springs here to help him recover. I thought we could use the chance to recover ourselves." Naofumi said.

'_I never knew this world had hot spring towns too.'_ Naofumi actually felt pretty happy about having learned about it. There'd been a pretty popular hot spring near where he went to college in his world. He hadn't always had the money or the chance to visit, but he had always looked forward to it when he had money and time that wasn't spent on his otaku schedule.

"But, but you also said we'd be staying the night," Raphtalia said worriedly.

"We spent the night in an inn two towns ago. What's the difference?" Naofumi replied.

He wasn't making plans on staying the night in every town he visited. But now that he had the Mask Shield and a good reputation as the Nocturnal Doctor going, he felt the risk of sleeping in a comfy bed at night was far lower than it had been a couple of weeks ago. Especially with all his enemies searching for him in the wrong part of Melromarc.

He wanted to take the chance to destress for a change. Where he wouldn't have to let any thoughts or worries trouble him. And a hot spring felt like the perfect way to do it.

"I… I just… I mean..." Raphtalia struggled with trying to find something to say. Naofumi looked back, and even though she was trying to protest, he could see her wagging tail behind her was giving away how much she was looking forward to the Hot Spring. He guessed she really did want to relax but she also didn't want to stop working on improving herself. He hadn't been the only one working himself hard trying to accomplish everything. Raphtalia had hit level 40, but she wasn't stopping either.

Since Filo could also use spells, the two of them went over magic together while Raphtalia was on the driver's bench. They were working on hastening their incantations for shorter spell cast times and implementing magic into their techniques. They were also learning how to conserve their mana by trying to cut off excess mana while maintaining their spells. They had a lot of work to do, but they were making surprising progress.

When Naofumi was on the driver's bench, Raphtalia would work on her motion sickness issues while organizing his supplies in the back of the wagon, which she had been doing before talking to Naofumi. When they'd stop to camp, Raphtalia would gather firewood and then go through some of the basic sword forms Erhard had shown her the last time they were at the Capital before she had dinner. She'd then sit with Naofumi afterward to help him with translating or studying depending on which grimoire he was working with before taking some time to play with Filo and put her to sleep.

She knew how important it was for them to get money and update their equipment. She'd sometimes hunt while gathering firewood to help lower their food budget for Filo. She was pushing herself trying to do all she could to help make it easier for Naofumi to accomplish his goals without many distractions... He saw this as a chance to let her know how much he appreciated it.

"Think of this as a gift from me to reward you and Filo for all of your hard work," Naofumi said lightly. "Trust me. You've earned it."

Raphtalia perked up at his words. "Well, if you really want to go." She said more happily as she started to smile.

"Besides, if you're really worried about us being recognized, I can always order us a private hot spring so no one will walk in and bother us," Naofumi then added nonchalantly as he faced forward again.

"... ... Uh… Uh…" Raphtalia was suddenly blushing a fierce red. Her tail also began wagging fiercely behind her, like she was about to take off. '_Oh no! If me and Master Naofumi are alone together in the Hot Springs! Then! THEN!-'_ There could be a really high chance of them kissing and her really getting pregnant. '_AHHHHHHH!'_

_She can pretend to be disinterested all she wants. I know she wants to relax too.'_ Naofumi thought densely to himself. The wagging tail always gave away when she was excited about what was coming up.

"Hey daddy, can I join you and mommy in the Hot Springs?!" Filo asked excitedly.

"Of course Filo. As long as you remain in your child form when we get into town." Naofumi said. _'The last thing I want is a big fat bird taking up all the space.'_

"Yaaaay!" Filo replied happily. "I can't wait to feel the warm water on my feet!"

"I'm sure you can't. You okay with that Raphtalia?"

Raphtalia calmed herself down. '_Thank the Gods, we won't be in there alone with each other.' _She thought in relief. "Yes!" She answered.

"Alright, one private hot spring for the three of us, coming up!"

If he hadn't invited Filo to join them, then she probably would have passed out from shock. But with Filo there, there was probably no chance of anything serious going down!... right?

* * *

_An hour later_

"Ahhhh…" Naofumi sighed in relief. '_Best, idea, ever.'_

He leaned back against the edge of the Hot Spring. The Hot Spring was in a private room the color of sandstone. The room had three walls with an open ceiling and an open balcony giving a view of the mountains bathed in the evening light. Naofumi had a towel wrapped around his waist and his Shield was in Mask Form above his hair, kind of like a pair of goggles. It had cost 4 Silvers to reserve this hot spring and a room for the night, but he was already thinking it was more than worth it. Plus, it turned out the people in this town were in good health, so it didn't look like he'd be called upon tonight for any sort of business.

It was finally time to sit back and unwind...

"Yippeeeeee! This is so much funnnnnn!" Filo said happily as she swam by. She had a towel wrapped tightly around her body.

"Filo, this is supposed to be a place to relax, not to play around," Naofumi said blandly. _'Seriously, doesn't this bird know how to sit still and relax?!'_

"But daddy, this is Filo relaxing!" Filo replied happily as she continued swimming.

'_Ugh…'_ Naofumi's head sunk lower into the water. He would have been annoyed, but this felt even better than the hot bath he'd taken at Erhard's place before the Wave of Catastrophe. He could let Filo's behavior slide… for now. He just wished she'd swim farther away where she wouldn't disturb him with her loud swimming.

"Filo, if you're going to swim, can you please do it on the other side away from me and Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked nicely. She was happily sitting a few feet away from Naofumi and also had a towel wrapped around herself.

"Awwww, why mommy?" Filo asked curiously. She stopped swimming to stand up and face her.

"We're here to relax, and it's hard for us to relax when you're being splashing so loud near us sweetie," Raphtalia said.

"... Ohhhhhh." Filo suddenly understood. "Okay, Filo will swim on the other side then." She turned away from Raphtalia and Naofumi and obediently swam away. Luckily, the hot spring was several dozen feet long. Filo had plenty of room to swim away from them.

"Thanks, Raphtalia," Naofumi said gratefully.

"No problem." Raphtalia looked at him and smiled happily. Then her face suddenly turned red, and she looked away from him again. He figured it was likely because of how hot the room was. His face was pretty red too, so he let it slide and closed his eyes.

'_It's been so long since I saw what Naofumi looked like under all that armor!'_ Raphtalia thought embarrassedly to herself. The last time had probably been when she'd been measuring him for Jerry back in Dragon Village. She took another glance at Naofumi, and then quickly looked away again. It was like a part of her wanted to jump Naofumi and feel his developing muscles all over again.

'_No! I have to restrain myself! I can't get pregnant with the Waves of Catastrophe going on! I refuse to kiss Naofumi!'_ She thought determinedly… she then turned to look at Naofumi again and started to shake. '_But Naofumi's body looks so good when it's on displayyyyyy!'_ She couldn't make up her mind!

Naofumi sighed in relaxation again. Even when they were relaxing, Raphtalia somehow managed to do something to make his life easier.

Heh, he still had no idea what would happen after the waves ended. He still pictured himself going back to his world after the waves were done, but the idea of Raphtalia coming back with him seemed to solidify more and more in his mind with each passing day. He trusted her more than anyone else and she trusted him. He just wasn't sure if Raphtalia would want to leave this world behind to be with him or not… not to mention, there was still the matter of Bitch to deal with. Whatever happened, she had to pay for everything she had done or planned on doing to him.

Oh crap, and… there went his chance at relaxing. '_That damn bitch…'_ He tensed up angrily. Of course, when he was finally relaxed, his mind just had to wander over to that red-haired demon. You know, he figured his life would be far more relaxing if she'd never been born. Hell, he probably would have settled on his feelings for Raphtalia by now if she hadn't made such a dark pit of anger deep in his soul.

Nothing could make him go from relaxed and calm to unstable and angry like that Bitch. '_If I ever get the chance, I'm going to-'_

"Naofumi, you said we were here to relax."

Naofumi was brought back to reality. Raphtalia hadn't moved any closer to him. She was keeping her distance in the hot spring. But she was gazing at him in concern now. Naofumi sighed and rested his head back against the edge of the Hot Spring again. "Sorry. Bitch was coming to mind again." He said dryly, yet apologetically. It was times like this where he was glad that Raphtalia could read what was on his mind.

"Alright." Raphtalia understood. She didn't like the Bitchy Princess either after what she'd pulled at the Sacred Duel. "Let's not have that pig ruin our chance to relax," Raphtalia suggested.

…

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Naofumi said. Smiling a little at the fact that Raphtalia had called Bitch a pig again.

"Maybe I'm right?"

"Fine, you're right, Bitch is definitely a pig," Naofumi said with a roll of his eyes. "But don't forget I'm the one who suggested relaxing here in the first place." He added.

Raphtalia smiled. "Of course. Thanks again Naofumi." She said happily.

'_Ugh…'_ He could hold a grudge against Bitch like nobody's business. But he couldn't stay mad at Raphtalia. Not when she had her own special way of calming him down and reining him in should he ever lose control. Hell, he started to imagine her calling Myne a pig and the King an ass, and he was already starting to sink into the water again, finding relaxation and happiness at the thought of their reactions.

'_I really do need to figure out my feelings for Raphtalia soon… I'd probably be a lot happier when that happens.' _

…

"Hmmm… The origins and benefits of this Hot Spring." Raphtalia read to herself. While he'd been relaxing, she'd caught sight of some placard placed in the middle of the Hot Spring. She held her towel to keep it from falling as she read it. Her instinct to jump Naofumi was getting stronger for some reason (maybe because Naofumi was thinking happy thoughts about her), so she wanted to distract herself with something. "In ancient times, a Silver Razorback-"

"A Silver Razorback?" Naofumi asked curiously.

"It looks like a boar type monster. Nothing too big according to this." Raphtalia answered. It showed a muscular man holding what looked like a dead boar in one hand while his other arm was wrapped lovingly around the waist of a beautiful lady. The boar in the picture didn't look all that large.

"Hmmm…" Naofumi went back to relaxing in the Hot Spring. Whatever the legend was about, it had nothing in comparison to the relaxation he was feeling again. He doubted even the damn brat would be able to ruin his state of relaxation.

"Daddy, are you thinking something meannnnn?!" Filo whined as she swam by Raphtalia.

On second thought, if Filo was learning to read his mind too… "Don't swim so close Filo. It's annoying." Naofumi repeated dryly to her.

"But I'm not swimming close!" Filo childishly complained. She was halfway across the Hot Spring from him for crying out loud!

"Too bad, I still think you're too close to me," Naofumi replied without any care in his voice.

"Boo!" Filo turned and swam back to the outside edge.

Who knew such childish displeasure could be carried in one word? Naofumi sunk deeper into the water, refusing to let it bother him.

_'Sigh… Master Naofumi…'_ Raphtalia resumed reading. "In ancient times, a silver razorback was sacrificed so its blood would intermingle with the water of the Hot Springs, purifying it..." Raphtalia looked down at the water they were all relaxing in. '_Ewwwwww… we're bathing in some monster's blood here?'_

But... it was a legend, and the water didn't look tainted by blood, so… she swallowed her discomfort at the sentence and continued on. "The razorback was sacrificed by a couple who deeply loved each other, and because of them, their love mixed with the water like the blood of the razorback. Purifying it." She smiled at that. '_Awwww, that's actually kind of sweet.'_

Raphtalia looked back at Naofumi, but he was floating on his back now. He looked at peace. '_I wish Naofumi loved me too...'_ Raphtalia went to reading the last paragraph. It had a heading over it saying: **For Couples** "In relaxing in this hot spring, it's effects are…" Her eyes comically widened. "SUCCESS IN LOVE!?"

Floating on his back, Naofumi's ears had been below water. At hearing Raphtalia shout in surprise though, he quickly jerked and stood up. "What is it? What's going on?" He quickly asked. Were they being ambushed or something already?! Filo stopped swimming to curiously look at Mommy.

Raphtalia didn't answer. She was reading the rest of the text quietly to herself. "The couple that enters this hot spring together, will be united eternally... But, but that means that… that..." Raphtalia looked back at Naofumi. The confused Naofumi who was now standing, with his body besides the towel wrapped around his waist fully on display. His body looked so much better above water than below water. Could it be, was this fate?... Her face was turning red, and it wasn't because of the steam of the Hot Spring.

"Raphtalia, what's going on-" Naofumi tried to ask.

"Ahhhhhh! Please stay away! I don't want to be a real motherrrrr!" Raphtalia quickly backed away from the pedestal and Naofumi. Holding tightly to her towel as she tried to back away to the edge where she could climb out and run away. Her instincts were yelling at her to throw away the towel and jump Naofumi right then and there. But she didn't understand why she had to throw away the towel! Oh Gods, she wasn't ready for Naofumi to love her now! She was so embarrassed!

"Wait, Raphtalia-" What was going on with her now?!

Raphtalia tried to step out of the hot spring in protest of her screaming instincts but slipped as she did so. "Wahhhhh-" **SPLASH!**

Raphtalia fell back into the hot spring.

"Raphtalia!" Naofumi started to move towards her to help but then saw something floating in the water where she'd fallen. '_Wait, is that…'_

Raphtalia resurfaced a few seconds later, coughing and spitting out hot water. "Ugh…" '_Oh Gods, I just made such a fool of myself…'_ Raphtalia thought embarrassedly to herself. '_What am I doing, it's just a silly old legend, it wouldn't make Master Naofumi fall for me that easily…'_ She thought depressedly. He was either too traumatized by Bitch, or too dense in the head to fall for her womanly charms that easily...

Naofumi realized what the floating object was. "Uh… Raphtalia…"

Raphtalia turned to Naofumi to apologize. Only, he quickly looked away when she turned. There was a blush appearing on his cheeks. But why-

She quickly looked down at herself. She hadn't realized it, but her slip up had caused her towel to come flying off. The towel Naofumi had seen floating nearby. And that meant her body…

"AHHHHH!" Raphtalia yelled embarrassedly as she covered herself with both hands and sunk to her neck in the water. "Please don't look Naofumi!"

"I, I didn't mean too!" Naofumi yelled back embarrassedly as he turned away. It honestly hadn't been the first time he'd seen her naked. Having to bathe out in rivers or streams while they were on the run before the first wave, it had happened a few times where he'd had to help wash out her hair. But back then he'd only looked at her as a child, as his own daughter. This time, she was an adult, and she looked very much like an adult who didn't view him as her Father, and whatever his thoughts were on the matter, he hadn't been looking at her like she was his daughter.

_'Damn it! It's just like the scene in that one anime!'_ He thought embarrassed. Naofumi slapped a hand over his eyes. For good measure, since Filo had swam up next to Naofumi when Mom fell in the water, he also slapped a hand over Filo's innocent eyes. She was confused by all the action.

"Daddy?" Filo said confusedly.

"I'm sorry! I swear I didn't mean to stare!" Naofumi quickly said apologetically to Raphtalia.

"Ahh! AHHHHHHH!" Raphtalia was beet red and was panicking as she struggled to grab her towel out of the water and wrap it around herself again. Her instincts were yelling 'MATE' in her mind like her life depended on it. But because of her embarrassment, she wasn't able to focus on her instincts. _'Master Naofumi was staring at me naked! MASTER NAOFUMI WAS STARING AT ME NAKED!'_

She was really internally panicking. Partly because of how embarrassed she was, and partly because she didn't know if Naofumi approved of how her body looked or not. Was it stout enough, or was she too fat? Was it good for her to see her naked, or would it lead him to kiss her and, and… "AHHHHHH!"

"Daddy, why are you covering my eyes-" Filo tried to ask.

"Because mommy's indecent right now and we can't look." Naofumi tried to say in a calm tone. Internally, he was panicking just as much as Raphtalia was. _'Holy hell, why did I think it'd be a good idea to get only one private bath for all of us!'_ Naofumi thought hysterically. This was like the worst-case scenario he could have ever thought of happening in a hot spring. He'd had towels ordered for them specifically to avoid this! And why the hell was this reminding him of a scene he'd read out of a manga?!

Naofumi still heard water splashing, but Raphtalia had stopped screaming. He didn't dare to uncover his eyes to see if she'd gotten the towel back on yet…

He honestly shouldn't have been thinking about something like this given the situation… However… _'You know, seeing them for myself, I seriously wonder how those breasts of hers never get in the way of her fighting. I mean, they're so big and full-'_ Naofumi was thinking to himself. Seriously, how could he not think about that?!

He should have uncovered his eyes before forming that thought. Because Raphtalia had finally managed to put her towel back around her body again. She sighed, and then looked back at him. She was immediately able to tell that he was likely thinking something indecent and rude about the situation... it not only made her embarrassed that he was thinking that way, but she was also mad.

"NAOFUMI!"

"What-" Naofumi tried to say.

**Wham!**

Before he could defend himself, Raphtalia, in her embarrassed anger, delivered a massive kick to Naofumi's family jewels through his towel. Whatever he had been about to say died on his lips.

The Mask Shield he currently had equipped didn't have the best defensive rating since it was more meant for stealth. Even if he'd had his best shield equipped, Raphtalia's attack would have still beaten his defense by a long shot. "Owie…" He squeaked out.

He fell over sideways into the water of the Hot Spring.

Raphtalia quickly realized what she had just done and gasped in surprise. "Master Naofumi!" She cried in worry as she moved to help him up.

"Daddy!" Filo cried in worry. The two of them working together lifted Naofumi out of the water. Raphtalia moved him onto the stone outside of the hot spring. His towel stayed in place.

"Ughhhhh…"

"Naofumi, please, speak to me! Say something!" Raphtalia yelled in worry as she shook him.

"Whyyyyyyyyyyy…" A nearly silent plea came from his lips. His mind was thinking the exact same thing. It felt so much worse than the time Raphtalia had punished him for using Filo to threaten some bandits.

Again, he felt like this whole scene had been taken out of some anime or manga he'd watched or read back home. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember what it was.

"Oh no, this is bad," Raphtalia said. "This is really, really bad."

"Were you punishing Daddy for being a bad guy?"

…

Raphtalia looked confusedly at Filo. "Why would you ask something like that Filo?!"

"Filo thought Daddy taught us to only perform that kick when people were being bad?" Filo innocently replied.

… Raphtalia facepalmed. '_I'm setting a bad example for my daughter just like Naofumi…'_

The two of them rushed to get him to their room.

* * *

Naofumi never thought in a million years that he'd be doing this. But here he was, lying on his bed in the inn room, nursing his sore balls with a bag full of ice. Even after applying healing ointment and a couple of Fast Heal's to the area, it still felt sore.

_'That was one hell of a kick.'_

He couldn't speak coherently for twenty minutes after having received that kick. During that time, Raphtalia had carried him back to his room, apologizing profusely the whole way. She'd sent Filo to get Naofumi a bag of ice from the innkeeper after setting him on the bed, and then Raphtalia had disappeared shortly afterward. To where he didn't know. Filo returned with the bag of ice, and then went off to swim in the Hot Spring again. Naofumi had spent the last several hours since then icing his poor groin on and off while lying in his bed.

'_So much for relaxation.'_ He thought sarcastically. '_Damn it! I was such an idiot back there! What kind of guy am I to stare at Raphtalia like a peeping tom!?'_ He berated himself.

If he hadn't known any better, he would have sworn that was something Motoyasu would have done.

_'Ugh, and for Raphtalia to catch what I was thinking then of all times…'_ He really hoped this wouldn't drive a wedge between the two of them. Especially after they'd been getting along so well…

...

…

Naofumi must have nodded off, because the next thing he knew he heard the sound of the door opening again, and his balls were freezing! He jerked up and threw the bag of partly melted ice away from his body. _'I already received a hard kick there! I'd rather not take the chance of freezing my balls off and losing the chance to have kids forever!'_ He thought in frustration.

"Um… Master Naofumi?"

Naofumi looked up. The bag of ice had almost inadvertently hit Raphtalia in his attempt to dispose of it. Raphtalia had walked out of the small hallway leading from the door into the room. The bag of ice had hit the wall in front of her. She was looking at him, unsure if she was welcome or not. She looked to be holding something in her hands.

Naofumi sighed defeatedly. The poor girl looked about ready to break down again. She must have felt really bad about what had happened earlier. Him inadvertently throwing the bag of ice in her direction likely complicated matters. "Come in."

Raphtalia stood still for a moment, and then she numbly moved to sit on the bed opposite Naofumi. She stayed staring straight ahead, not wanting to look at him. Naofumi sighed again and moved to sit next to her. One of his hands moved to rub her head. "Seriously, don't worry about it. I fell asleep and that bag of ice almost froze my legs." He said comfortingly. "I wasn't mad at you."

"I… I…" Raphtalia bowed her head, lowering it away from Naofumi's comforting hand. "I'm sorry Master Naofumi!" She buried her face in her hands. "I swear I didn't mean to attack you in the Hot Spring! I swear I didn't!" Naofumi looked stunned. She must have been more shaken up by what had happened then he'd thought.

"Hey, I can admit I deserved it-" He tried to say.

"Please, please don't leave me here… don't leave me behind for being a failure..." She then quietly begged. Like she hadn't listened to what he'd just said.

_'Wait, failure… What?!'_ He thought incredulously. He was starting to wonder if there was more going on that he didn't know of. "What are you talking about?"

She didn't answer and kept crying. Naofumi lowered an arm over her shoulders, hugging the crying girl into his side. "It's alright. You're not a failure. No one's being abandoned here." He said comfortingly. Raphtalia always tried to act so strong at times. It was easy to forget that she'd only finished growing to adulthood more than two weeks ago.

The two of them remained quiet after that for a moment. Naofumi didn't think much to himself during that time. He was mainly worried about why Raphtalia would have thought that he'd ever abandon her or think she was a failure… _'Has she been straining herself so much the last few days because she worries she won't be strong enough to protect me and Filo?'_ He thought. It sounded like a good guess, so he decided to ask.

"Raphtalia, be honest with me, have you been pushing yourself so hard lately because you're afraid I'll abandon you for not being able to level up?" Naofumi worriedly asked.

"N-No…" She mumbled. She whispered something under her breath after that, but he didn't catch it.

"What was that?" Naofumi asked.

Raphtalia scooted away, clasping her hands in front of her. Naofumi's arm fell down onto the bed again. _'Raphtalia?...'_

"Is it because those Church Shadows from before managed to knock you out?" He asked. He'd remembered that had been around the time he started to see Raphtalia pushing herself harder.

...

"... Naofumi… be honest. What do you think of me?" She quietly asked.

Naofumi had a feeling she was using the same tactic he'd used earlier. "What do I think of you?" He asked confusedly.

Raphtalia shyly stared down at her body. It wasn't her main concern, but it was part of her concern. Part of her couldn't help but wonder if it was her body that kept Naofumi from wanting to form a deeper relationship with her. Yes, she was also embarrassed at how she'd lashed out while being embarrassed, but that wasn't the main issue either. The issue did center around that topic though. What was keeping Naofumi from wanting to be in a relationship with her? Was it because she wasn't strong enough? Was it because she'd failed to protect him and Filo from those who wanted to hurt them? Was it because… she was a demi-human? He'd reassured her before that wasn't the case, but was it possible that it was?

Naofumi followed her eyes and was finally able to somewhat understand her question.

_'Maybe there was more than one reason why she was embarrassed earlier…'_ He could not forget that this girl loved him, and his opinion of her would vastly outweigh anyone else's. Still, he found himself at a loss for words thinking about how to respond.

...

Raphtalia took his silence the wrong way. _'I guess I don't have the kind of body Master Naofumi prefers after all…'_ Maybe that really was the problem. She was just too fat in all the wrong places. Her tail sagged sadly on the bed behind her at the thought.

"... … Raphtalia. You know I'm not good with this kind of stuff…" Raphtalia continued looking down at the floor. "... But, but that doesn't mean that I don't think you're beautiful."

He found his mind flashing back to the time at Erhard's shop when Raphtalia had asked him if she looked fat or not in her armor. He was positive she had been joking around with him back then. And he'd been honest in saying she looked amazing. She looked even more amazing now than back then! And he'd be damned if all this reminded him of the after scene of that novel/manga/anime/whatever he'd seen before!

Raphtalia finally looked up at him. She looked incredulous at his response. "Look, I don't know if this is all because of some self-esteem issue or whatever," Naofumi said seriously. "I don't know if you're pushing yourself so hard lately because of body image or whatever. But I think you look beautiful, and I'd be damned to abandon a wonderful girl like you no matter how hard you kicked me. I already said I deserved it, so don't worry about it, you got me?" He said seriously.

Raphtalia sniffed again, but her tail was starting to wag fiercely behind her again. "I…" She surprised Naofumi by tackling him onto the bed with a tight embrace. "Got it!" She said happily.

_'Good.'_ Naofumi relaxed and hugged her back. _'I'm glad to have that taken care of.'_ At least he hoped he'd managed to take care of it.

After a moment, Raphtalia sat back up, looking a lot happier than she had before. Naofumi also sat up. He was about to say something, but then he saw something on the sheets next to Raphtalia. "What is that?" He asked.

"Huh?" Raphtalia looked down at where Naofumi was looking and started to blush again. "Oh, I almost forgot." She grabbed the object and showed it to Naofumi. It looked like a large purple crystal. Naofumi almost thought it was a large uncut amethyst, but it didn't look like a gemstone to him. Then the item description came up, showing it was a gemstone. "It's called Latium," Raphtalia said sheepishly. "I got it from a Gagoko nest just outside the town." Her tail drooped behind her again. "I overheard these two girls saying that it was rare to find around here… and I thought that getting you a gift would help to apologize for kicking you earlier…"

Naofumi took the Latium from Raphtalia and examined it. With the right tools, he figured he could get a few gemstones from this one crystal. And he wasn't sure if his appraisal of the crystal was correct or not, but he was guessing Latium was on the same scale as a Ruby enchantment wise… it was something he'd have to figure out.

He started to smile again. "I'll make good use of it." He patted her on the head. "Thank you, Raphtalia."

Raphtalia's tail was swishing happily behind her again! Naofumi had to hold back a chuckle. For a second, seeing Raphtalia look so happy, he felt something bubbling up inside his heart. It felt weird, yet warm at the same time. He felt the urge to lean closer, and she did too. They felt the urge to stare into the depths of each other's eyes, and-

"Awwwww, no fair!" The two snapped out of their moment and looked at the hallway. Filo was standing there, pointing angrily at the two. "Filo wants some love and attention too, Daddy!"

_'That damn loli girl!' _Naofumi thought irritably. That warm feeling was now long gone. Here he had been thinking he was on the verge of some great discovery with Raphtalia, and this KFC farm came out of nowhere and ruined it!

"Filo!" Raphtalia complained. Her heart was beating fast in her chest. What had been going on. It was like she couldn't remember the last few seconds. Had she really been about to do it? Had she been on the verge of kissing Naofumi and getting pregnant!?... she didn't know whether to feel happy or angry about Filo interrupting their moment now.

"You're always giving me love and attention Mommy! Filo wants love and attention from Daddy for a change!" Filo complained childishly.

"I'm not your Dad! Now go to bed this instant young lady!" Naofumi yelled at her angrily.

"But you're sitting on my bed!" Filo complained. Technically she was right since Naofumi had switched beds to comfort Raphtalia.

Naofumi, maybe out of spite, laid down on what was formerly Filo's bed. "Too bad! The other bed has a wet spot from the ice bag, you're sleeping on it now!"

Wahhhhh! You big meanie!" Filo cried as she ran over to Naofumi's former bed.

Raphtalia sighed. Here she was hoping she'd get to sleep peacefully by Naofumi's side. But Filo was going to be angry if she didn't receive any attention from her Dad. So it looked like she'd have to take his place again. "Here, how about you let Mommy brush your hair sweetie." Raphtalia offered Filo as she sat behind her on the bed.

"But I want Daddy to brush my hair!" Filo complained.

"I'm going back to bed," Naofumi said as he turned away from the two to sleep.

"Naofumi!" Raphtalia begged.

"Huahhhh!" Naofumi pretended to be snoring away in his sleep.

"Boo!"

Raphtalia sighed again. She really didn't know who was more childish. Filo, or Naofumi... Regardless, she started to gently brush Filo's blonde hair.

* * *

Four days ago (37 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)

Itsuki Kawasumi stood behind Van Reichnott's manor. His hood was up, but it didn't hide his gaunt face. The dawn of the coming sunrise lit up the sky in front of him. Signifying a new day for the people of this world.

'_... Why…'_

He had been thinking that like repeat ever since the little girl had died so needlessly the night before. Ever since he'd used a skill, **Transport Bow**, to teleport his party and the slaves all back to Van's estate. Ever since he'd helped the little girl's mom and her friends bury the girl at the base of a hill near Van's estate. Ever since he'd watched the mom and the other demi-humans break down at the grave and cry. He'd never seen such a heartbreaking scene for a game before in his entire life… he'd never known such a thing existed in Dimension Wave...

Why did that noble have to kill Lily? Why did she have to die?… What had she done to deserve it?… Her blood was still on his clothes. A reminder of how he'd hesitated in saving the little NPC girl's life… a reminder of the catalyst that had brought up memories he'd suppressed, and turned this game into a nightmare.

_'Why did it have to happen?'_ Were the game mechanics in this world really that cruel? Or was he in some dream-like state? A state that wanted to make him feel miserable… a state that made him want to hate himself for being so weak just like he had been in the real world...

...

"Are you okay, Sir Bow Hero?"

Van Reichnott appeared next to Itsuki. Staring out at the sunrise in the distance. He was normally a cheery fellow. But, like the rest of the demi-humans in his land, he mourned with the mother and friends of the girl who had been killed by her master. In accordance, he had chosen a black outfit to wear today.

…

"Why did the noble kill that little girl?" Itsuki finally asked. Maybe by asking another NPC, he could learn what had programmed the other NPC to do it. Maybe, he could get an answer that would turn this back into his favorite game...

Van glanced at him. His eyes looked sad. "I don't know." He admitted. "I cannot fathom what drives others to commit such acts of cruelty to one another."

That hadn't been the answer Itsuki wanted to hear. He was supposed to get an answer to situations like this! "He didn't have to do it," Itsuki said, crossing his arms in front of him. "He had no reason to... She was just a little kid!" Itsuki started to yell in frustration. "He said it himself that he was dying! Why! WHY DID HE FEEL LIKE HE HAD TO DO IT!? WHY DID HE HAVE TO KILL A LITTLE GIRL AFTER BULLYING HER HER WHOLE LIFE!?" Itsuki was breathing in and out heavily after yelling at Van, who looked unfazed at Itsuki's yelling. Fresh tears appeared in Itsuki's eyes, tears he didn't know he had left. He was only talking to another NPC, yet he was taking it so much more seriously…

"Why… just… why…" He said sadly. This fantasy world had already been cruel to Lily, having her programmed to be born into slavery. Just like his best friend, who had been destined to be born in the slums of poverty. Just like how it was programmed in their society that, whenever someone at the bottom was finally seeing light, others would come in to block it out. They'd force those at the bottom of the food chain back into the darkness they'd feared all their lives.

It had led his best friend to take her life. It had led this noble to kill a little girl before she was given the chance for freedom... Why did her life have to end, right as he was there to free her… why did the noble have to block the light when it was in reach… why did it have to happen?... why couldn't he just be emotionless about it... why...

…

Van sighed sadly after a moment. "I don't know, Sir Bow Hero." He said, before looking up at the light of the coming sunrise. "If I knew why people felt justified in mistreating or killing those they felt superior to, I could answer you that and much more. But sadly, I do not know the answer. And thus, I don't have an answer that will satisfy you or me."

Itsuki looked down at the ground. It was too much. Seeing that girl had reminded him too much about his former past. The life he'd tried to outgrow before coming here. The life he'd tried to outgrow… ever since the day he'd felt… it'd be better he no longer existed like his best friend…

...

Maybe he should quit… there was still that one dictator that needed overthrowing… maybe he could still do that and leave this storyline quest behind… maybe then he could leave these memories behind… but was that right?... was that the just thing to do?...

Van rested a firm hand on Itsuki's shoulder, and the teenage Bow Hero looked to him in surprise. "I can't give you an answer. But what I can tell you is that this won't be the last time this happens. There's a price to pay if Melromarc is to free its slaves. And unless you help pay that price, more demihumans like Lily will die cruelly at the hands of their masters." He said seriously. "They need your help, Sir Bow Hero. They need you to stop this from happening ever again. Are you willing to help those who are unable to help themselves?"

Itsuki said nothing for a moment. It was like one of those turning points of dialogue in a quest. Where the NPC said something profound to you to encourage you to continue...

Itsuki chose to look up at the sunrise that appeared at that moment. A beautiful gold circle that gradually started to rise out of the horizon in the distance. The light that brought fresh life and hope for the people in the world. The light that drove away the darkness of the night… it really was like a turning point… did that mean Justice was calling out to him to go through with this Quest?...

A quote from a manga he'd read back in his world came to mind.

_People forced to live in darkness will never know the light. Yet the first light they'll see after the long night isn't the sun. But the light that heralds it's coming... Only you can lead this people out of the darkness. Only you can help them identify the light of the coming sun._

…

Could he do it?... Itsuki's fists clenched tightly at his sides. "I'll do it." He said. Even if he was confronted with more horrors in what was to come. "I can't stop now." Even if he did hate himself, he couldn't stop. He had to stand for justice. He had to punish those wrongdoers for every crime they'd ever committed.

He wasn't going to allow these nobles to bully their slaves ever again. There was a price for freedom. And Itsuki Kawasumi was more than willing to pay for that cost.

"Then I'd suggest we go in and get some rest," Van said, leading Itsuki by the shoulders inside. "You have a long road ahead of you, my friend."

And so he did.

* * *

_Present Day: A Noble's Mansion (28 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe_

The noble went toppling over the back of his desk. He had a bloody nose and a broken arm.

"Please, I swear I'm innocent!" The cowardly noble begged for his life as he tried to scoot back.

The room around him looked like a warzone. Two of his guards were lying in pools of blood on the ground. The third one had been thrown out the window behind his desk several stories to the ground below. The fourth one stood nearby, making sure his former lord couldn't escape. He agreed that the Lord was a vile man, and had refused to defend him. He'd been the one to throw the third guard out the window.

"Please Sir Bow Hero, have mercy on me!"

"My informant here told me you supplied a fifth of the knights that were stationed in the region of Seaetto," Itsuki said calmly from under his hood. "You're holding some of the demi-human kids they captured in your cellar where you torture them and abuse them." He didn't state it as an accusation but as a fact.

The noble's eyes widened. He thought the Bow Hero had come to punish him for the heavy taxes he'd placed on his citizens. He'd heard that the Bow Hero had been out and about in the world bringing corrupt nobles to justice a couple of weeks before the last wave. But now... "What is this?! The Bow Hero would never care for the lives of such creatures-" He started to yell.

"Sir Itsuki, we found the last of them." A mage wearing a pointed hat appeared in the doorway.

Itsuki turned his hooded head to look at his party member. The mage gently led two kids, a boy, and a girl, into view. The girl had dog ears on her head, the boy was a Hakuko. Both were dressed in rags and shook with fear when they saw the noble. The noble squeaked in terror at their appearance. It was true. The Bow Hero really had turned against them.

"Is that all of them?" Itsuki calmly asked. "I would have sworn I was told he owned more slaves."

"The guards executed three of them before we got there. The other four he owned were already dead." The mage said sadly. It looked like she wanted to cry from the memory of the sight she and the other party members had experienced when they took down the guards and broke into the cellar. Their knight, Aksel/Armor, was back out front, vomiting from what he had seen in the dark parts of this noble mansion. "Sir Itsuki... their bodies were naked... and chained to the walls. All four were girls, and showed signs of being raped before they died."

Itsuki's face didn't change. His eyes, however, glared with a new level of disgust for the Lord kneeling on the ground in front of him. "Are you so twisted that you'd even force himself on little girls in their dying moments?"

"Please, Sir Bow Hero, you have to understand, I was only doing what the Gods wanted me to do!" He pleaded again.

There it was again. Just like every other noble who abused their slaves. It was all for the sake of their religion, for the sake of pleasing their 'Gods' as they put it. What kind of horrible programming was this?!

"Your Gods wanted you to help exterminate a village full of people… to sell their kids into slavery..." Itsuki said slowly and calmly. "Then he asked you to take some of these kids, bully them into submission, put them through hell, and to end their lives so monstrously?!" He yelled as he looked disgusted by this Lord's logic. "Don't you even feel sorry at all for what you've done to them?!"

...

The noble growled. "I will never be sorry for dealing with those worthless abominations!" He yelled, pointing angrily at the demi-human children. Who cowered behind the mage, shaking in fear. "They are devils in the eyes of God, and every one of them deserves to suffer like one for thinking they could live in our world against the Almighty's holy will! And if you're going to fall from your position in the heavens, then I'll force you to come to terms with the will of the ALMIGHTY!" He snapped his fingers after saying those words. Activating the command on his status magic that would kill the two demi-human children that were his slaves.

...

He looked surprised and snapped his fingers again. The command to kill the last two slaves wasn't working. Then he saw through the rags of the clothing the two kids were wearing that the slave crests on their chests were gone. "But… but… how…" The noble was shocked.

Little did he realize he'd just thrown away his last chance for mercy from Itsuki. "Rachel." Itsuki addressed the mage. "Lead the children outside. I'll be out to transport them away in a moment."

"Yes, Sir Itsuki. Come along children." Rachel said, grabbing the small malnourished hands of the kids as she led them away from what was about to happen.

"You have to believe me! I only did what the Gods wanted! I swear!" The Lord pleaded again. Not liking the look that appeared in Itsuki's eyes.

Itsuki breathed in calmly. "You can claim all you want that you did what you did in the name of your Gods." His bow changed shape. Its color was now a sinister orange, and strange symbols appeared on the haft near Itsuki's hand. He pulled an arrow from a quiver on his back and loaded the bow. "But I know that the Gods would never allow anyone to bully and rape innocent children of any kind. No matter their reasons."

The Lord froze in fear. Seeming to realize only then that there was something horribly wrong with the Bow Hero. "And now, foolish sinner, I will dispense the Justice of the Gods upon you and your house for all that you've done to his creations!"

"No, no-!"

"**Justice Arrow!**"

Itsuki released the string. The Lord's words were cut off. His eyes stared glassily up at the ceiling above. The normal arrow, his trademark way of execution to hide his identity, had, by the power of his bow, pierced through the Lord's frontal lobe and pinned his head to the ground, killing him instantly.

It was clean. It was fast. In all honesty, it was a lot more merciful than what the man had deserved. It was far more merciful than what any of these nobles deserved...

He barely spared a glance at the Lord's corpse before turning to face the Lord's former guard. His bow was starting to return to its normal default form. "Go. Spread the word of what happened here," Itsuki ordered calmly. "And keep my identity a secret. I want to make sure all the nobles and Lords in the area get the message that a vigilante is coming for them. If they refuse to repent of their wrongdoing, they will receive Justice just as this man has."

The guard bowed to Itsuki, and then turned and ran out of the room. Itsuki watched on for a moment more, and then sighed. The strange symbols that had been on his bow finally disappeared. He looked at the dead Lord.

'_Oh Gods…' _He immediately faced away. A sick feeling forcing its way into his gut at the sight of what he'd done. It was only supposed to be a game, but...

Killing monsters was one thing. Killing people, looking at their dead bodies was like a reminder of his dead best friend. Ever since that first noble, it had felt like he'd tried so hard to find a way to have mercy on them. He tried to find a way to get through to them, to resolve this through diplomacy instead of through bloodshed. But each time somehow ended like this… Justice would take him over, and he'd dispense it upon the criminal as if he was judge, jury, and executioner...

...

A green-haired girl who was unsurely holding a sword appeared in the entranceway. "Sir, Sir Itsuki, is, is everything alright?" She unsurely asked.

...

Itsuki forcefully recomposed himself. "Is everyone out of the mansion Rishia?" Itsuki tried to calmly ask the green-haired girl he had saved just two days ago after killing a nobleman who had also been abusing his slaves. For some reason, she'd been among his demi-human slaves despite being a human. The noble had already been doing plenty of other shady things, bullying lower class nobles around him, taking bribes from merchants, overtaxing his citizens, but that had made Itsuki even more mad at that noble. Slavery itself was wrong. But enslaving humans illegally in Melromarc was a whole other ballpark. That noble was six feet under like the rest he'd visited.

After saving her, he had brought her back to her parents' home in the neighboring village, where he'd learned more in-depth about what had happened. And where he'd gotten more updated information about the current noble he'd just killed. For some reason, before he left, she made the decision to join his party. Though, as of right now, she didn't look to know where she fit into it. With two mages, a swordsman, a spearman, and an armored tank already in the party. Not to mention, Itsuki himself specializing in long-range attacks. He wasn't even sure why he'd accepted her into the party. She reminded him so much of his former self, her constant whimpering was like being continually slapped with memories of himself in his old world.

He hated it.

"Oh, um, yes Sir Itsuki," Rishia replied nervously. "They're all waiting out front."

"Good... Use your fire magic and burn this place down." Itsuki ordered.

"Fuehhhhh!" And there was the whimper he hated so much. Rishia's eyes widened hysterically. She could use fire magic. She didn't have an affinity, and could thus use all types of magic. But for Itsuki to ask her to burn a Lord's manor down!? "B-But-" She started to say nervously.

"I'm sick of the other nobles disregarding me Rishia," Itsuki said calmly. "I'm tired of them not listening. I'm tired of having to kill them. I don't want to have to kill them all. But I need them to get the message. I can either free the slaves using the cleansing potions Van gives me, or I can free them by killing their masters. I don't want to kill them all. Will you help me do that with burning this place down or are you going to remain useless to me?" Itsuki asked evenly.

...

"Fuehhh...Yes, right away Sir Itsuki..." Rishia turned and ran from the doorway. Preparing the spell she'd need inside her mind while hoping she wouldn't mess it up.

_'This is only the sixth noble on the list that Van Reichnott gave me.'_ Itsuki thought to himself. There were too many other names to go after still on that list. And likely other nobles and Lords who weren't on that list who'd avoided being on Van's radar. Van hadn't known some of the things that Rishia's parents had told him about this noble. And they hadn't even known of all the evil going on in this place…

Itsuki was finding that, outwardly, most of these nobles made themselves like saints in their communities. But inwardly, they were nothing but ravening wolves. Giving pleasing words from their lips while seeking to destroy those they owned beneath them.

He couldn't believe it. But he'd seen it face to face. He'd seen nobles who, when given the chance, had activated a kill command on their slaves, rather than letting them go free. He'd failed so many times since that little girl. And he hated himself for it. They were only NPC's, but every step, every corner only seemed to hold another trauma. Another memory he'd worked so hard to suppress in his mind after coming to this world.

This storyline quest was steadily turning into a nightmare… The things he'd seen already from these nobles he'd killed…

Itsuki shuddered to himself. _'I made a promise. I swore I'd see this through.'_

He'd only wanted to punish them for their crimes. But ever since he'd targeted the first noble on his list, he'd found out just how terrible some of these nobles and Lords were to their demi-human slaves, most of whom were women and children. They didn't deserve the right to live with the crimes they committed. And he had as of yet to pay a visit to the worst nobles on the list like Idol Rabier.

And the thought of how they could treat their demi-human slaves worse than what these nobles sickened him more than the dead body in front of him. Yet this was what he had to resort to. A life for a life. Fair payment for all the evil they'd done. But was that fair justice? Killing them here and now? After the way these kids had suffered under them?

He turned around, forcing the sick feeling and confusion of having killed another person away inside his mind. There were more slaves needing to be freed, and more nobles and Lords to punish. He finally had the chance to be the hero of justice that hunted evil from the shadows. He had to be that hero of justice.

As Van said, no one else in this country could pay the price but him. Naofumi was on the run. Motoyasu had disappeared to another part of the country to 'get stronger.' And Ren had been tasked by the guild to deal with Motoyasu's mess in the town of Leruno. So he had to keep on going.

He had to.

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**Author's Note:**

**I'm honestly not sure how rare or valuable Lectium is. I'd really appreciate it if someone could tell me since Google refused to answer it for me. Also, I started another semester of college today! Hopefully my updates will be posted around 3:00-5:00 MST from here on out. I have a Calculus class to do in the evening on Mondays, so we'll have to see what happens.**

**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I look forward to your comments! And I'll be seeing you all next week!**

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_Hero Clips!_

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**Dud Bombs** **(Canon scene)**

* * *

"Yes, finally, I have found a way for me to attack!" Naofumi yelled excitedly as he held up a round black ball to the early morning light. It looked like a cannonball, with a short fuse attached to it.

"*Huawwww* Master Naofumi, what are you doing now?" Raphtalia tiredly asked. Naofumi's yelling had woken her and Filo up.

"Raphtalia! I used the gunpowder recipe I learned from my grimoire to make myself bombs!" Naofumi said gleefully. "Now I'll finally be able to attack monsters without you and Filo's help!"

"Daddy, Filo's not sure that's how it works-" Filo tried to warn him.

At that moment, a small Silver Razorback, just like the one Raphtalia had seen on the placard yesterday, stumbled into the clearing. The arrow that appeared over its head indicated it was a normal level 10 monster. "You two stay back! I'm going to handle this monster all by myself!" Naofumi said gleefully as he used the campfire to light the fuse to his bomb.

"Um, if you say so." Raphtalia and Filo watched as Naofumi chucked the bomb at the boar.

"That thing has enough gunpowder in it to knock down a building! There's no way a weak level 10 monster can stand against such power! Bombs away-!"

**Poof!**

The bomb... exploded? A little bit of smoke came out from the bomb when it impacted the monster's skin, but otherwise, no large explosions happened. The smoking, intact bomb settled on the ground by the boar. Naofumi's right eye twitched at the lack of explosion. '_But, how!? That bomb should have blown the stupid pig sky high-'_

**Warning: The Cardinal Hero can't equip any weapons besides his current weapon**. The notification appeared on his screen.

"Are you kidding me!?" Naofumi yelling angrily. The little monster started squealing and running away. It hadn't even noticed the bomb hitting its side. "I can't use bombs against monsters!? What kind of bull sh-"

A blast of air parted Naofumi's hair. He stopped speaking, slowly turning around to see what had caused it.

It was an actual adult Silver Razorback. Much larger than what the guy in the placard was shown to be carrying. It was easily taller than Naofumi. It was glaring down at him. The purple arrow pointing down on its head indicated it was level 48… and the little Silver Razorback from before came charging up alongside it. Cuddling and squealing with its mother and letting her know how the scary man had frightened him.

The boar looked over Naofumi at the still smoking object on the ground... yep, it figured out he'd just tried to hurt one of it's cubs.

"Ra-Raphtalia-" Naofumi tried to say.

"You said you could take care of it all by yourself Master Naofumi," Raphtalia said. She was in the middle of brushing Filo's hair.

"You said you got this Daddy, so Filo and mommy won't interfere," Filo said happily.

The mother boss Boar squealed loudly at Naofumi.

"AHHHHHHHH! HELP ME!" Naofumi yelled in fear as he ran away from the giant boar. The monster tore up the ground as it chased Naofumi into the hills.

"... When do you think we should help Daddy out?" Filo asked after a moment.

"Hmmm… after he gets his morning workout in," Raphtalia said happily as she continued to brush Filo's hair. "I noticed he was acquiring a little bit of a gut when we were in the Hot Spring. This should help him to work it off."

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Naofumi ran by. The mother boss boar still hot on his tail.

**And that's the story of how Naofumi eliminated the last of his belly fat and became the hottest looking hero of them all.**

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**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	25. 25: Conversing with the Bow Hero

**You know, I wrote some of the paragraph below to vent. I was planning on deleting it and just moving on. However, I've been made aware of an issue that needed addressing. And I decided since it's gotten out of hand to not to delete the below paragraph. In fact, I'm adding a little extra. Readers, buckle your seatbelts. It's time to tear a Guest reviewer a new one again. To the Guest this is addressed to... you asked for it.**

**As several others obviously pointed out, this is the anime and manga section of fanfiction. I don't care if Rising of the Shield Hero was a WN first. I really, really don't care. I read the WN, and it was the absolute worst reading of my life. I've read some pretty cringy fanfics on this site before, but I'd rather make myself read them all again than try and read part of the WN. For all I care, the WN is the rough draft while the LN is the final copy. End of discussion. Next, in case you never noticed, the original anime, Light Novels, even the WN uses humor and gags in them. Therefore, you are massively wrong to say anime humor can't and shouldn't be done in a writing format. They do that in Japan all the time. Finally, if you ever try to pressure me into allowing your comments to make it onto the review page when they're derogatory and antagonize many of the other readers along with myself, I will delete the review just like your last three. I have absolutely no patience for pricks in real life. I have even less patience for anonymous pricks on the Internet who think they can say something I disagree with and then try to bully me or my readers into submitting. As you said, I'd like to think you're better than that. Or am I wrong to assume you're better than that you no balls, integritless swine?**

**Now, XX, Kirozen, and any other guest/reviewer out there; thank you for defending and supporting this fic, but I want to make it clear that you aren't obligated to say something in my defense every time someone has a criticism. Actually, it'd be wise if you didn't. I deleted one of your comments XX since it started this whole little review war with the above Guest. Part of me wants to delete the other one you made towards another reviewer who had a valid criticism too. I'm not deleting Kirozen's since he addressed some of what I said to that Guest up above. However, I will not be approving such comments towards other reviewers in the future from anyone, even if it is to defend me or this fic. I already said I accept criticism before, but only solid constructive criticism. Not hateful demotivating criticism. Hate on that if you want. I already gave an outline in Chapter Eleven of the criticism I'll listen too. I also decided to add a clearer section about it to my profile page yesterday, so I won't be repeating myself here. Especially do not abuse the other reviewers here. I'll be keeping a closer eye on that in the future so we can avoid having this mess again. Trust me, if I have to address such stupidity again, I will be ticked.**

**Are we good? Good. Let's get on to the story!**

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**Since Last Time:** _29 more Favorites, 32 more Followers (Total: 788 Favorites, 924 Followers)_

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**Updated: **_January 12th, 2020 11:15 A.M. (MST)_

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**Chapter Twenty-Five: **_Conversing with the Bow Hero_

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_(24 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"Wahhhh, I want your cooking Dadddddddy!"

"Filo, this isn't the time for your whining," Naofumi stated blandly.

"I want your cooking Daddddddddy!" Filo again whined.

"There's nothing wrong with it Filo. Just eat." Naofumi said, sounding a little more impatient.

"But this food doesn't taste like what you cook for meeeeeeee!"

"You damn… urgh!" Naofumi clasped his fist in frustration. This blonde child just wouldn't shut up! He was currently sitting across from Raphtalia in a side booth of a tavern having dinner. Filo was sitting on the inside by Raphtalia. The tavern was noisy from all the villagers drinking away a hard day's work.

They'd been able to continue to travel, compound medicines, study the language, gather herbs, craft accessories, study the grimoires, buy ores and gemstones, and peddle their wares wherever they'd visited. They hadn't seen any sign of the Church's Shadows since the forest, but they had been seeing more wanted posters of him and Raphtalia up wherever they visited. He figured they'd been there since he'd left the Capital based on how worn the papers looked. Still, he left rumors of the Shield Demon raping and pillaging his way northwest in the last couple of towns he'd visited just to be safe.

"Wahhhhhhhh!" The tavern was pretty noisy, but that didn't mean some people weren't starting to look over in confusion at the crying girl.

Naofumi pressed his head to the table. "Raphtalia, can you please calm your daughter down?" He begged.

Raphtalia set her utensils down by her plate. She'd normally agree and work her magic to calm Filo, however… "Um… Master Naofumi?"

"What is it Raphtalia?"

"Our daughter... has a point," Raphtalia whispered nervously under her hood. Looking down at her food which had hardly been touched either.

"What do you mean?"

"This… doesn't taste as good as your cooking." Raphtalia admitted.

"..." _'Her too?'_ He wasn't sure how to respond at first… had he been spoiling both of them with his cooking? It wasn't a bad meal they were eating. It was one of the more expensive ones the tavern owner had specially made for them as thanks for all the people the Nocturnal Doctor had helped out with his medicines (and in some secret cases, a quick Fast Heal muttered under his breath). Could they really find it that bad?...

"You know what, I'm not in the mood for arguing this," Naofumi said after thinking about it.

"But Master Naofumi-" Raphtalia tried to complain.

"Eat up," Naofumi replied tiredly. "I'm not cooking for you two tonight no matter what you say." He added dryly, leaving no room for argument.

"Awwww…" Raphtalia sadly looked down at her plate of food again.

"Boo!" Filo pouted as she stared down at her food. At least she wasn't crying anymore. So the drunk people who'd been staring over in confusion went back to their drunken activities without the loud noise distracting them.

There were a lot of other people drinking in the inn with it being so late in the night, so they weren't grabbing any attention. There was music playing, and a bard singing in one of the corners. Unlike the few other times they'd eaten at a tavern, these people were very lively. Quite a few were drunk after drinking away a hard day's work. A person was passed out in the booth behind Raphtalia, and another man was singing drunkenly out of tune to the bard's song in the booth behind Naofumi. Somewhat adding to his irritation.

Naofumi noticed Raphtalia looking sad. "What? Does it really bother you that much that I don't want to cook tonight?" He asked.

"No…" It honestly wasn't bad food… She quickly thought up a half-truth. "I'm just worried we'll be discovered here. That's all." She said with a sweet smile on her face. It was always a worry on her part whenever they stayed the night in town. She didn't want to admit the real reason she was sad was that she'd grown fond of Naofumi's cooking. To the point that even this food which had been prepared by a talented chef didn't compare to his cooking.

"Hmmm…" Naofumi shrugged. It was a reasonable worry. "Everyone here is too busy getting drunk or doing whatever to notice us," Naofumi said indifferently. "Besides, my Mask Shield keeps normal people from recognizing me, so we should be fine," Naofumi added. _'Plus, this gives me an excuse to take a break from cooking. And I'll get to sleep in a nice warm bed after this.'_ He thought to himself.

The euphoria of being able to taste his own cooking had finally died. Cooking large meals for the child glutton and her mother every day had taken their toll. Now, he appreciated the break of having someone else cook for them. Even if it didn't taste as good as his own food.

'_Though Filo having a fit about it sure is annoying. Hell, I'm on the verge of sending that loli to our inn room if she whines about being hungry to me again…'_ Sure, it didn't taste as good to him as his own cooking. But jeez, did she have to make such a racket about it?! What did Filo have to complain about!? Or was she really just a spoiled brat who thought of him as her butler?!

...

"I can't take this!" Filo said angrily as she pushed her plate away. "I want your cooking daddy! I want it now! Give it to me!" She yelled, childishly trying to boss him around as she pointed an angry finger at him.

And Naofumi was pushed over the verge. '_Who does this KFC loli THINK SHE IS?!'_ He was so not in the mood to play Father or butler anymore tonight. "If you're not going to eat, then you can go to your room without dinner!" Naofumi said before Raphtalia could say something to sooth Filo.

"Whaaaaa?!" Filo looked shocked at Naofumi's response. Had daddy said what she thought he said?

"If you want to complain about the food, then you can go to bed without it!" Naofumi said with finality.

Filo quickly realized that, yes, Daddy was sending her to bed without his cooking. She was being forced to go to bed hungry. Even though, in her mind, he could have easily made her something to eat. "Wahhhh! You big meanie!" Filo cried as she crawled out under the table and ran for the exit.

"Wait, Filo-" Raphtalia tried to stop her. But Filo ducked her mother's outstretched arm and ran crying for the exit. A few drunk bystanders stared at this angel-like girl as she ran by before they shrugged it off and went back to partying.

...

"... Don't you think that was a little rude, Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked, feeling disappointed with him.

"Oh well, she'll live," Naofumi said blandly. "Filo can't expect me to cook every meal for her. She has to learn that I'm not always going to be there to cook for her. The sooner she understands that, the better."

"Sigh, I guess you're right-" Something Naofumi said caught up to her. "Wait, do you mean…" Raphtalia tried to find the words to say. '_Is Master Naofumi… planning on going back to his world after the waves are over?...'_

"Well. we're fugitives, and at the same time we're dealing with the waves." Naofumi continued, not sensing that Raphtalia had been about to ask him if he still thought of going back to his own world after the waves. "I can't cook for her whenever she feels like it."

… Raphtalia sighed to herself. She wanted to ask… but she was afraid of the answer she'd receive. Besides, it didn't really matter now. They were fugitives, and they were having to deal with the Waves of Catastrophe alongside the Waves. "Alright…" She said defeatedly. She grabbed a fork and forced herself to take another bite of the meal that tasted bland to her.

"Besides, I wanted it to be just the two of us tonight," Naofumi added.

That caught Raphtalia off guard, so much so that she almost choked on her food. "Just, just the two of us?" She asked nervously. First, she thought he was going to mention going back home again. Then he said that out of nowhere, throwing her original thoughts out the window!? _'Did he want it to be just the two of us for some reason? But why- oh no! Is this what my friend Rifana called a date?! Oh no oh no OH NO!'_ Raphtalia thought. She suddenly became embarrassed and horrified. _'If this is a date, then the chances of us sharing a kiss can drastically go up!'_ Her cheeks flushed red. '_I can't kiss Master Naofumi! I-'_

"Yeah. Now that Filo isn't yelling in our ears, we can see if we can eavesdrop on any news of what's going on in Melromarc before we turn in for tonight." Naofumi said, taking another bite from the steak on his plate.

_'... oh.'_ Raphtalia sat back in her seat. Oddly enough, she felt disappointed. They were finally alone with each other… well, as alone as they could be in a tavern full of drunk and loud people... and all he wanted to do was figure out what they were missing out on in the world… _'Am I disappointed that this isn't a date… then does that mean I want Master Naofumi to kiss me?... Are my instincts telling me I should get pregnant?'_ He still wasn't a very affectionate guy. But he was getting better at opening up and smiling more. Especially after their talk together at the Hot Spring.

_'But if that's the case, then why hasn't he told me how he feels or not!?'_ She thought, starting to internally panic again at the thought that Master Naofumi might not end up thinking of her as more than a friend. And that she might be warming up to the idea of kissing him if only to become pregnant so he'd love her. Or would getting pregnant only make him hate her...

'_I'M SO CONFUSED!'_

"Can you listen to the people around the edge of the room?" Naofumi asked, oblivious of what Raphtalia was thinking. "I've been listening to those around us, but I can't hear what's being said at the outer tables."

…

It took a moment, but Raphtalia eventually shook herself from her thoughts and looked around herself. She grimaced when she saw two guys get into a brawl with each other just a few tables over. "Maybe, but it's hard to sift through all this noise," she murmured unsurely to herself.

"Try focusing on one part of the room at a time," Naofumi suggested. "Like when I had you focus on my heartbeat in that crate. I'm sure there are more than a few people going over useful info in here right now," Naofumi said as he looked through the eye-slits of his mask while eating. "At least, I hope there are." Drunk people weren't always the most reliable source of information.

Raphtalia breathed in and out calmly, doing her best to throw her raw disappointment away to focus. Just like Master Naofumi had told her. She could think over what she wanted and what her instincts were telling her later. She tuned out the merry singing and the brawl happening nearby. Her ears twitched under her hood as she tried to find someone to listen to behind her…

...

"... and the Lord of Donto was killed too. His manor was burnt down along with nobleman Zachir's."

"Ha, you must be drinking again. You've always been one for believing wild rumors, Fenril."

Raphtalia turned her head and saw what looked like a very sober servant talking to a very drunk noble in a corner booth. A chained, dejected-looking demi-child sat under the table. Looking down at the ground. Raphtalia had to hold back a gasp when she saw bruises on the poor girl's arms traveling up into the rags she wore underneath the chains.

"Sir, I'm serious." The servant said urgently. "The Lord of Donto was only the next town over from us. He's the fifth noble we've heard of that's died since the last wave. And Nobleman Zachir is the sixth! The Capital is in an uproar over it!"

"They're just wild rumors, Fenril. Nothing for a powerful man like me to worry about." The noble said, slurring his words in his drunkenness before he took another hefty swig of his drink.

"But this time, the vigilante left a survivor who's passing on a message. He sounds serious!" The servant added fearfully.

"Really, and what did this messenger have to say?" The nobleman asked. He was pretending to sound curious, but the fact that he was drunk made it quite obvious that he didn't care what was said.

The servant gulped. "He said; nobles of Melromarc, those of you who enjoy abusing your slaves. Repent of your iniquities and free them, or else justice shall swiftly fall upon your heads. I'm coming for you."

…

"Ahahahaha!" The noble laughed boisterously. Obviously thinking it was a good joke. Raphtalia's eyes widened when he kicked the demi-human child out from underneath his table. The little girl whimpered and huddled in on herself. "As if I'd ever do that! Honestly, I don't know where you hear these crazy rumors from, Fenril!"

"But, but sir, he could be targeting you next!"

"As if!" The noble yelled.

"Damn you, Uncle! Idol Rabier and the others are taking this threat seriously, so why can't you-"

"Take a hike, Fenril. I'm busy right now." The nobleman said. He took a hefty gulp of his drink before pulling harshly on the chain of his slave. "Did I say you could show yourself in public you worthless piece of ****?!" He yelled angrily at the slave.

The slave girl whimpered and tried to huddle herself under the table again. However, the nobleman kicked her hard, launching her out from under the table again. He laughed as he cruelly repeated the process. Tugging the girl back, only to deliver another harsh kick to her ribs that sent her flying into view. The people sitting nearby didn't seem to care, and a few of them laughed as they watched the spectacle being performed in front of them.

The servant, also nephew of the nobleman, opened his mouth, as if to say something more… but then he turned around and headed for the exit. An angry expression was on his face. Muttering something about the "Damn fool" under his breath as he exited.

Raphtalia ignored the servant, and saw red in her vision as she focused on the laughing noble. _'That vile man!'_ That demi-girl was getting hurt worse by the second. One kick connected with her head, and the poor girl collapsed to the ground and started crying for her parents. Some of the drunk bystanders laughed at her pain.

"I already killed your parents girlie! No one's coming to help you now!" The noble laughed boisterously. The little demi-girl continued to cry.

Raphtalia moved to get up, one of her hands moving to her sword to deal swift justice herself. Not just to the noble, but all the drunk fools who found the situation funny. '_HOW DARE HE-!' _

A hand gripped hers. She looked up, and saw Naofumi had a similar look of anger on his face. His desire to get up and protect that girl was just as strong as hers. Maybe even stronger. However, he shook his head and sat down. She got the message. _'We'd only make it worse. For the girl, and for us.'_ He wanted to help too… but doing so would lead to a confrontation with the noble that could either end in the girl's death, revealing who they really were, or both. They couldn't help now...

It didn't make her feel better about it. But she sat back down, sword sheathed, and eyebrows angrily furrowed. None of the drunk patrons nearby had noticed them.

"Did you overhear anything important before that started happening?" Naofumi asked.

Raphtalia glared down angrily at her food. "I hope those rumors are true." She muttered to herself. Naofumi remained expressionless as she continued. "That noble was talking to a servant. The servant said that there have been several nobles killed recently. Whoever is doing it is demanding the rest to stop abusing their slaves and to free them."

Naofumi thought on it for a moment. "That must be Itsuki. Finally, some news about the other heroes." He said. "It's great to hear that he took what you said seriously… but killing them? I didn't think he was one for killing people before…"

Raphtalia remained quiet. She could tune out some of the other people. But she couldn't tune out what was happening only a dozen feet behind her… she found herself hoping that Itsuki would appear to kill this noble. Otherwise, she was going to find a way to deal with the prick herself.

"I haven't overheard much." Naofumi continued. "All the idiots close to me are drunk off their asses."

Raphtalia didn't cheer up at hearing his joke. The girl was still being beaten behind her. Around the two, conversation and merry singing was starting to die down, but she didn't notice. She just wanted to help that girl before the noble killed her.. "I did overhear some crazy rumors about the King trying to make Motoyasu the Lord of Lute Village and a rebel group forming because of it. It doesn't sound... very reliable though…"

…

Raphtalia hadn't been aware that Naofumi had stopped speaking. However, she did recognize that the sound of the beating of the girl behind her stopped. Along with most of the other sounds in the room. She sighed and turned to look to see how the girl was.

"Unhand me this instant!"

A figure dressed as a knight was restraining the drunk noble. Two mages, a sword wielder, and a spear wielder flanked the knight. Approaching the bewildered noble was a cloaked individual. A normal bow and quiver rested on his back in plain view.

"There's no way…" Naofumi muttered to himself. The rest of the room had gone eerily silent as if they had realized something big was about to happen.

Itsuki kept his face and identity hidden in the shadow of his hood. He glared daggers at the noble who struggled in the knight's grip. "Who are you?! Unhand me, now!" The noble yelled angrily.

"Sir." One of the mages said as he approached. "This is the noble of the area, Lelouch Onren."

"I said unhand me! I wasn't done with my drink and entertainment!" The noble said, still sounding drunk despite the predicament he was in. In his drunken rage, he tried tugging on the chain for his now unbound slave to beat her some more. Yet his brain, so consumed with rage and drink, didn't make the connection as to why he didn't feel something resist on the other end.

The patrons had gone oddly silent. Most watched what was happening with drunk interest. A few that were sober enough paled in horror. A couple fainted. Several tried to casually leave before they became witnesses to another gruesome murder.

"How guilty is this one, Rachel?" Itsuki asked emotionlessly.

"He was a friend of the Lord of Donto. The two were well known to visit each other to see who could get their slaves to scream more. The winner often got to have his way with the slaves." The same mage said blandly.

The unchained girl hugged closer to Itsuki's leg underneath his cloak. Shaking with fear as she looked up at her angry master. "Where's my slavegirl! I demand to know what you've done with her!" The noble shouted, his mind finally making the connection that his slave was no longer chained and that these individuals were responsible. "Answer me or I'll have your worthless heads! I wasn't done meting out that girl's punishment for today!"

The girl squeaked in terror and covered her head with Itsuki's cloak.

"He's also well known for punishing his slaves, and sometimes his servants over the littlest things." The mage added. "The worst punishment he's given was fifty lashings to a slave girl who failed to please him correctly."

"If I don't have my slavegirl back, I'll kill you! I'll kill every last one of you, along with the girl!"

Itsuki continued to calmly stare at the noble. "No wonder that Fenril guy was willing to help us. It's obvious to me that this man feels no shame for what he does." He said blandly, lifting his bow from off his back. The bow almost looked to be dripping with malevolent aura. "Let's take him out back."

The knight carried the cursing noble out the door outside into the alleyway of the inn. Itsuki and his party followed. The tavern stayed strangely silent, listening for what was about to happen.

"Wait, what are you doing!? Unhand me this instant!" The drunk noble demanded outside. "I still have to-"

…

…

An eerie silence followed… a couple more of the people who'd paled fainted in their seats...

...

Itsuki walked back into the tavern. Naofumi caught side of a fading aura coming from the bow that was on his back again. A bland expression was on his face as he pulled out a small bag of coins.

"Sorry for the trouble. A couple of rounds for everyone on me." He said blandly, dropping the coins onto the counter next to the owner of the tavern, who had been staring in shock the whole time at what had happened.

His words finally elicited cheers from everyone in the tavern, and just like that, the atmosphere returned to normal. Drinks were passed out to the various attendees. Those who had fainted were moved to the sides where they could recover from their drunken stupors. Conversations sprung up again between groups. Merry songs of drunkenness were sung again. Including a triad done by the bard and the two former men who had been brawling earlier. They had made up and become good friends again.

_'Hmmm… I'm not sure what to think...'_ Naofumi thought as he saw Itsuki turn to his party members who'd followed him in to say something to them. The bow on his back looked normal again, but that aura he'd been sensing…

"It sounds like he's telling his party to head to the noble's manors to free the other slaves," Raphtalia informed Naofumi. "With him dead, they won't have to erase the slave crests off their chests." Itsuki then turned to another party member and spoke to her in hushed tones. "And he told her to make sure the body is burned with the manor."

"Fue… Fuehhhhh!" The girl's whimper of surprise was loud enough for even Naofumi to hear. Itsuki looked annoyed by her response. The slave girl he had saved was still hugging one of Itsuki's legs, staring up at him in awe as he gave out orders.

"Well… at least that demi girl is safe now." Naofumi muttered. Though he wished the noble hadn't had to be killed in the process...

"Right…" Raphtalia was surprised. Her wish had actually come true. Yet she didn't know whether to feel happy that the girl had been freed or sad that the noble had to be killed in order for that to happen… as horrible as that man was...

After another moment, Itsuki's party moved along to fulfill their various orders. Itsuki walked in their direction since another exit was that way. The injured demi-human girl holding his hand as she limped with him. Some of the people he passed whispered to themselves, wondering if this was the guy who was going around punishing nobility or not. But none of them dared get in his way. Especially after he'd been nice enough to order them a round of fresh drinks.

'_Should I try and stop Itsuki to talk to him?...'_ Naofumi wasn't sure if that'd be a good idea or not. Itsuki had given him some of his reward money for helping out during the last wave… he had also defended Naofumi after the Sacred Duel… '_But I don't know if those two acts would be enough to build a relationship of trust between us...'_ Naofumi thought.

He was still pondering it when Itsuki stopped next to him. "So, is this where you chose to hide?" Itsuki asked lowly. "Can't say I'm much of a fan of this place."

Naofumi almost looked up in surprise, but he managed to keep calm. No one else had been staring at him oddly, so they didn't recognize who he was with his Mask Shield in place. _'His eyes must have gotten sharper from using a bow for so long. Either that or he noticed Raphtalia.'_ He logically deduced in his mind. At least, he hoped that was what it was.

"No. I'm not hiding out here. I merely go around in a wagon, peddling valuable medicines and other wares from place to place as a Night Merchant." Naofumi answered.

"You wouldn't happen to be the new famous Nocturnal Doctor I've been hearing about?" Itsuki asked, fortunately recognizing the night merchant reference Naofumi had made. Dimension Wave had had a similar merchant in it who only appeared in random towns at night to peddle his valuable goods.

'_Do I tell him-'_ Naofumi was thinking.

"Yes," Raphtalia said. "My master is the Nocturnal Doctor," Raphtalia said happily. Naofumi gave Raphtalia a flat look at how easily she'd just given Itsuki that information.

"That's good to hear." He looked down at the limping demi-girl. "I'm out of medicine and potions from the last group I saved, and I haven't managed to learn any healing magic. I'd transport her somewhere to get her treated, but my skill's cooldown timer hasn't expired yet. Do you have something you could give to her Nocturnal Doctor?" Itsuki addressed Naofumi formerly.

'_Wait, is he saying he can teleport to other places!?'_ Naofumi thought in surprise. He had to work hard to hide his disappointment at hearing about it. _'That'd be a useful skill to have...'_ "I have some HP potions that should help. But they're still in my wagon." Naofumi answered calmly. "I also know a spell that could help her if you gave me a moment."

Itsuki looked around. The people were as drunk and lively as ever, but anyone could still be listening in... "How about we meet up somewhere else in ten minutes? We can talk there without anyone else overhearing." Itsuki suggested.

'_I figured he wouldn't want to just help this girl…'_ He wasn't entirely sure if he should trust Itsuki or not. But then he figured, if Itsuki had really wanted to expose him, he could have told everyone who he was then and there. Or he could have just shot a skill at Naofumi while he'd been feeling safe in his disguise.

Itsuki was, at last, earning himself some trust points. "Fine by me. Just make sure you're not seen."

Naofumi whispered which room at the inn was his. Itsuki nodded before he left with the child. Naofumi set down the last bit of his free steak. It wasn't as good as his cooking thanks to the skills he had from his shields, but damn, he'd need to find the recipe the cook used for preparing his steaks. There were some things his cooking skills could supplement when preparing a meal, but even they could be improved upon if he used the proper recipe.

"Come on Raphtalia. It looks like I have one more person to play doctor for tonight." Naofumi said calmly.

Raphtalia set her fork back down. Her food had barely been touched, along with Filo's. "Right."

Naofumi gathered up the leftovers, and then the two of them left the tavern.

* * *

_Ten Minutes Later_

Naofumi reached into his inventory, and pulled out an HP Potion he'd grabbed from his wagon. It was one of his better quality ones. Very High Quality. "Here." He handed it to the girl, who sniffed curiously at the contents. Fortunately, HP Potions weren't like medicine, so it didn't smell bitter. The girl drank it down, and almost immediately color returned to her face. Some of the bruises faded, and most of her cuts closed up. "**Fast Heal."** Green energy poured over the girl from Naofumi's hands, closing up the rest of her cuts and healing the rest of her scrapes.

"Wow, I'm feeling much better now. Thanks Sir Shield Hero." She said happily. Naofumi, now that they were in his room, had moved changed to his default shield and set it on his arm again. The girl glowed as one of Naofumi's Shield skills improved the potency of the HP Potion and his healing spell.

_'This world still amazes me sometimes. Maybe it's for the better that parts of it are like a game. As long as I remember that this is real.'_ Naofumi thought as the girl felt at her arm. Looking amazed that she didn't feel pain coming from it anymore. Naofumi took the plate that held the rest of his, Raphtalia, and Filo's meals off the nightstand and gave it to her. "Just make sure you take it easy for a while. I'm not sure if my potions or my spell helped your concussion out or not. So don't do anything too strenuous." He said with the calmness of a practiced doctor.

"Okay." The girl happily started eating. There was a lot of food on the plate, but she was quickly plowing it down.

"Careful, or you'll choke yourself-" Raphtalia tried to warn.

The girl stopped and started beating at her chest. Similar to Raphtalia had as a kid when she'd eaten too quickly. Raphtalia was quick to give the girl a wooden cup filled with water.

"Thanks again, Naofumi," Itsuki said, smiling a little in relief. He was sitting at the table in the corner of the room. "I didn't think to grab a meal for her on my way out."

"Don't thank me yet. The potion and spell were worth 5 silvers together." Naofumi responded blandly. "That meal's another 2 silver."

Itsuki looked at him in shock. "But I thought you did this to help someone out?!"

"What? Making high quality HP potions isn't cheap. And MP takes a lot longer to recharge than SP." Naofumi said, shrugging in indifference towards Itsuki's plight. "It's your fault for not checking the details of the transaction first."

"Master Naofumi," Raphtalia said beratedly from her chair. "What have I told you about overcharging those you're helping."

"Relax. I was only kidding Raphtalia. Jeez." Naofumi said to her sarcastically. "Just the fact that he chose not to sell me out to the people here is enough for me not to charge him for this service."

"You know you shouldn't kid about that. How old are you, 11?"

"Okay, I am not 11."

"Well you're certainly acting like it," Raphtalia replied sarcastically.

"But you are too."

"I am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"AM NOT!"

Itsuki almost chuckled at the way the two spun down in immaturity. _'Definitely not a master-slave relationship going on there… hell, they seem closer than they were last time...' _After a moment of watching, he looked back down at the demi girl who'd stopped eating. She seemed a lot more tired, yet happy at the fact that she didn't have a horrible master looming over her anymore. And now that all of her various cuts, scrapes, and bruises had disappeared after taking the potion, and since she'd had something nice and warm to eat, she looked on the verge of falling asleep. Possibly having her peaceful rest for the first time in a long while... _'... not like what this girl was experiencing with her master.'_

If he'd heard correctly, he'd heard the noble say he'd killed the girl's parents before he and his party confronted the vile man...

…

Itsuki felt a little bad about the way he'd judged Naofumi before. He'd judged Naofumi in part since he had ran away from his supposed crime against Myne. He'd also judged Naofumi based on the rumors he'd heard about him going around, killing and raping innocents like he was a barbarian in Skyrim. He'd wondered back then if anyone could be viler than Naofumi…

Yet, Ren had said to wait. They needed to find Naofumi and see if he really was a monster or not. And they'd both found that Naofumi wasn't a monster at all… and the way he'd pictured him had been nothing compared to a couple of the nobles he'd come face to face within their manors the last couple of weeks. Like the first one, who slit a little demi-girl's throat in the name of God. Or the second one, who had been in the middle of raping one of his slaves when Itsuki had busted in. Or the third one… who had been… beating one of his slaves for getting pregnant...

Hell. Itsuki realized the Naofumi having a childish argument with his companion was at least a hundred times better than what these nobles did to their slaves. A thousand times better. _'In some ways, he's a better person than me and Ren. Sure, it looks like he still has his rough patches. But he still tries to help people out...'_ Itsuki had heard the Lord of Lute Village speaking about how Naofumi helped them during the wave. He'd also heard tales about the famous Nocturnal Doctor going around, healing the sick, helping the needy, charging low prices for his services, and things of that nature. To know that Nocturnal Doctor was actually Naofumi...

"Anyways," Naofumi finally cut off the immature argument between himself and Raphtalia. "You said you wanted to talk to me Itsuki?" Naofumi asked.

Raphtalia's tail spiked indignantly and childishly at Naofumi cutting off their argument so abruptly. And it had been only because he'd realized he wasn't going to win it.

Itsuki was pulled out of his thoughts. "Yes. I wanted to ask how you've been doing. But I can already make a good guess since you're the famous Nocturnal Doctor I've been hearing about." Itsuki said awkwardly. He realized this was probably the first time since they'd been summoned to this game world that he'd actually sat down to talk with Naofumi. "How have you been holding up using only a shield?" Itsuki asked.

"Well, other than the fact that I can't damage anything with my fists, I'm doing pretty good," Naofumi said honestly. "I leave the monster-slaying to Raphtalia and a monster we're raising so I can focus on learning other useful skills."

"A monster?" Itsuki asked curiously. "You tamed a monster?"

"Yeah, well, I raised one from an egg." He corrected. "It's normally a very large version of a Filolial. Yet somehow, she's capable of transforming herself to look like a little girl." Naofumi said blandly. "It's really annoying sometimes."

"Interesting…" He'd never heard of such a monster before in his game. He wondered how Naofumi had come across something like that… then again, he'd never known about the story quest he was on existing before. There were other differences from this game and the original he was used to playing, so he guessed it was something else Naofumi had found out. "Is your monster in the stables, or-?" He tried to ask.

"No, she's in her room since she was a spoiled brat at dinner," Naofumi responded blandly.

"Boo!" Filo voiced her displeasure from the next room over.

"Go back to bed Filo!" Naofumi yelled.

"Meanie!"

...

"Anyways." Naofumi broke the awkward silence that had formed. "I was in that tavern to see if I could learn anything about what was going on with the other heroes." He continued. "Can you fill me in?"

Itsuki nodded. "Sure. I can fill you in on some of what's happened." He said before he proceeded to fill Naofumi in on the activities of himself and the other heroes. He didn't cover much about himself since Naofumi had already seen how he was doing in the tavern.

Itsuki had met with Ren a couple of days ago in a tavern in another town. Ren had killed the dragon-like he said he would, however, it had turned out to be a ploy by the Three Heroes Church to recapture a former demi-human slave the Pope had owned. The former slave was now traveling as a member of his party. He'd been on his way to a town called Leruno to fix the major mess Motoyasu had left behind when Itsuki ran into him.

That led to another discussion. Apparently Motoyasu had been busy… busy being a complete and utter idiot thanks to Myne. She had made Motoyasu the Lord of Lute Village using a royal decree and had tried to tax the town for 1 gold coin a day to help with repairs. Needless to say, some of the villagers rebelled, and the former Lord was restored during the conflict. Motoyasu and his party had been banned by the Lord from entering that part of the Kingdom again. He wasn't sure about what happened to the villagers who'd chosen to rebel. Though the rumor that they'd escaped and formed a rebel group seemed likely.

After that, Motoyasu had gone Southwest to some ruins to unseal a 'Miracle' Seed to give to an area suffering from famine. The seed got rid of the famine. But then it mutated, and the plants overgrew everything. The people had to abandon their town since the plants forced them out. He hadn't as of yet heard how Ren was doing there.

Honestly, the more Naofumi heard, the more his already low opinion of the Spear Hero and the Bitch dropped. It turned out, the King hadn't been very pleased with Motoyasu either, as he had him called in so he could berate him himself for causing so many problems in his kingdom. Last Itsuki had heard, Motoyasu had disappeared without his party members knowing where he had gone.

"And here I was thinking Motoyasu was the King's favorite?" Naofumi said sarcastically.

"He was," Itsuki said. "But I don't think the King liked that Motoyasu has been causing him a lot of problems lately. Not that I haven't been causing my fair share either. Going around and killing the nobles who support him left and right."

"Jeez, I wonder how that wouldn't cause that piece of trash any problems," Naofumi said sarcastically.

Itsuki grinned. It was weird, but he agreed with Naofumi about calling the King trash. "Who would have thought that all the nobles in the country who supported slavery would also support that Trash?" Itsuki also said sarcastically. The two shared a laugh over that.

At this point, Raphtalia was holding the demi-human girl in her lap and was rocking the gently sleeping girl while listening to the two heroes. She smiled, seeing the two Cardinal Heroes getting along with each other. Unlike the first time when she'd seen them interact like enemies in the street before the Last Wave.

"Wait, so does that mean no one knows where Motoyasu went? Not even his party members?" Naofumi asked.

"I'm not sure, honestly. I got all that information from Ren." Itsuki admitted.

"But could that mean Motoyasu doesn't trust Bitch anymore or something?" Naofumi asked. He sounded surprised that Motoyasu might actually listen to the brain in his head instead of the brain in his lower half.

"No, I'm not sure it's that. Ren didn't get the chance to speak with Motoyasu. He only learned about what happened when the guild approached him with the emergency request. As far as we know, he might be in another part of Melromarc leveling up."

"Hmmm." _'I want to think he's actually developing some common sense... Or maybe he's just trying to be less of an idiot than before and not do anything that could cause a mess.'_ Naofumi thought optimistically to himself. It sounded like the blonde fool had made a large enough mess already. If he was in his shoes, he'd want to extract himself for a while and do something else.

"Still, I wouldn't recommend trying to find him anytime soon. It sounds like he still doesn't like you." Itsuki warned.

"Noted. Anything else I've been missing out on?" Naofumi asked.

"Nope. You already saw what I'm doing. That's everything I know about." Itsuki finished.

"... Thanks Itsuki. It's actually kind of good to know what's been happening while I've been trying to hide around." Naofumi said gratefully.

"Well I didn't have 5 silver on me since I gave all the silver coins I had on hand downstairs to those people. So I figured the information would be worth that much to you." Itsuki said, laughing a little at the end.

_'Of course. You were just finding a way to cheat me out of a potion you little piece of ****.'_ Naofumi thought sarcastically. However, he could tell that Raphtalia was glaring daggers in the back of his head at the moment, so he didn't dare say it out loud. '_How is she able to tell what I'm thinking!?'_ He was starting to think maybe it was just easy for her to read him. "Well, I'm glad you and Ren are doing alright."

"Sure you are Naofumi," Itsuki said sarcastically.

"No, I'm serious," Naofumi said seriously. "The 800 silvers you and Ren gave me really helped me out. I'm really glad you two weren't punished for helping me."

"Well, like I said before, you deserved a reward for what you did during the wave. To be honest, after we talked to the village Lord, we wondered if we should have given you more. It sounded like you'd really put yourself on the line to help out those people. All we did was fight one boss monster…." Itsuki said, sounding more sad at the end. "I know this world isn't the same as the game I played, having watched what you went through in that arena… and more so now, having seen the way some of Melromarc's slave owners treat their slaves. The NPC's here… some of what they're programmed to do..."

… Naofumi remained silent. Unsure of what he could say that would help Itsuki to feel better. He hadn't realized that Itsuki was still looking at this all as a game. "I've been struggling trying to fulfill the quest Raphtalia gave me." He admitted. His eyes looked haunted. "Sometimes, I can't help but wonder if I'm not strong enough to be a hero… I've failed so many times..."

'_The hell… why is this idiot thinking this is a game?!'_ Naofumi thought, suddenly feeling frustrated with Itsuki. However, Itsuki also looked unusually despondent in that moment. He'd never thought the Bow Hero could look like this before...

"Sir Itsuki," Raphtalia said, grabbing their attention. Maya was awake, and finished whispering something to Raphtalia. "Little Maya here has something she wants to say to you."

Itsuki looked up. Raphtalia set the girl, Maya, back on the floor. She ran up to Itsuki and grabbed his hands. A happy smile came onto her face as she looked him in the eyes. "Itsuki-Kun." She said happily. "Thank you for saving me today. I am very grateful to not be beaten by my master anymore."

…

Like the time on the wall when Raphtalia thanked him, Itsuki was once again floored to hear words of praise from this little girl. Better yet, that this little girl was calling him her close friend. The little girl continued to smile happily for him.

"B… But…" Itsuki tried to say.

"If it helps, I found out that the demi-humans here really enjoy their headpats," Naofumi whispered to Itsuki. He got a glare from Raphtalia at that, along with a fierce blush from her since it was true.

"Well… I guess I saw that in some of the anime I watched in my world… but are you sure-" Itsuki tried to ask.

"Go on, try it."

Itsuki still looked uncertain, but then he raised his hand and started to rub the little NPC's black hair between her raccoon ears. Her face lit up, and her bushy black tail started wagging happily behind her.

"Whoaaaaa…" Itsuki said in awe. "It feels so soft…"

_'Careful. Keep that up, and you might just turn into a lolicon too, Itsuki.'_ Naofumi thought sarcastically to himself.

Raphtalia walked up beside him. "Were you thinking something rude there, Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia whispered in his ear so as not to draw Itsuki out from the bonding moment he was having with this little girl.

Naofumi had to force himself not to laugh as he rubbed the top of Raphtalia's head. A happy smile came onto her face, and her tail started to wag behind her. "No. Not at all." Naofumi said.

…

Raphtalia realized what was happening, and grabbed her tail angrily behind her to keep it from wagging. However, she didn't take Master Naofumi's hand from off her head. It felt… sooooooooo gooooooood!...

…

A knock sounded on the door, and then it opened a crack, revealing one of the mages from earlier. "Sir Itsuki, your orders have been carried out." The mage said.

Itsuki looked up at that and stopped rubbing Maya's hair. "Already?" He asked.

"It has been two hours since we started." The mage informed him. "It'd be best if we left now before the Capital Knights arrived."

Naofumi finally realized how late it was. _'Wow, we just spent all this time talking instead of arguing with each other.'_ He realized. It made him feel kind of good actually. _'It feels nice getting along with one of the other heroes for a change.'_

Itsuki frowned, looked down at the little girl, and then up at the mage. "Okay, thanks for letting me know Rachel. I'll be out front in a moment."

The mage nodded. "Better hurry. Rishia's even more antsy since she burned the manor down. She won't stop whimpering about getting caught." She said, before closing the door to stand watch outside.

"I guess it's time for us to head out." He said regretfully down to the little girl. Now he'd have to take little Maya to Van, and continue on finding other nobles abusing their slaves. Nobles he'd probably have to kill because of their desire to harm and kill others...

"Just remember you're doing a great thing out here Itsuki," Naofumi said, nodding towards the little girl. "There's plenty like her that need help." He could address Itsuki about this world not being a game later. Right now, he just needed to make sure Itsuki stayed on the right path… though that ominous aura he'd felt coming from Itsuki's bow earlier came to mind...

"Yeah… I know." Itsuki stood up, and he smiled happily for Naofumi. There was no hint of that ominous aura, so maybe he'd only been imagining it. "Thanks again Naofumi."

"Don't thank me. Otherwise I might think about charging you for this conversation." Naofumi said sarcastically.

"I already told you I don't have any money left."

"Then I'll make a tab just for you."

The both of them laughed. "Go out there and do some more good for this country. I'll see you at the next wave." Naofumi told him.

"You too, Naofumi. Take care." Itsuki said before he left, bringing little Maya with him. The little girl waved back to Raphtalia and Naofumi before she disappeared with Itsuki.

…

"Well. That was all unexpected." Naofumi said, sounding more upbeat than he had in awhile.

"But it was nice," Raphtalia said.

"Of course it was," Naofumi said. "We weren't at each other's throats the whole time. And for once, he's doing something useful. I'm actually a little proud of that Robin Hood." '_I just wish he'd learn to stop seeing everything as a game. Maybe that's why he's killing the nobles. He only sees them as NPC's instead of real-life people...'_

Raphtalia sat in the chair next to him. She suddenly seemed more nervous than before. "Master Naofumi… … …"

"Yes?" He asked when Raphtalia didn't say anything after that.

Raphtalia shook her head to clear it. "Never mind. It's getting late." She said as she got up, flashing him a small smile to show she was okay. "Good night. I love you." She said quietly, before heading for the bedroom.

"Hey, Raphtalia?" Raphtalia stopped, and looked back at Naofumi. "I'm going to be a bit. I still have some medicine I need to compound… but before you go to bed… thank you for helping out that little girl while me and Itsuki talked." He said.

Raphtalia continued to smile for him. And she walked into the bedroom to cuddle up next to the now sleeping Filo.

"... that really was nice of her. But..." Naofumi thought out loud. Raphtalia had left with a smile on her face, but it seemed like it was more forced than normal…

He sat back and crossed his arms. He thought he was getting better at understanding girls. Raphtalia in particular. Yet he still found himself clueless about what went through her mind sometimes. Eventually, he yawned and decided to shrug it off. It really was getting late, and he didn't want to pull an all-nighter again. "Might as well get to compounding-" He stopped talking.

'_****! I forgot to ask Itsuki how he's able to teleport around!'_ He thought as he facepalmed himself hard. '_DAMN IT! I got so caught up in everything else! Learning how to teleport around would have seriously helped me out!'_

…

'_You know what, I'll ask another time. Right now, I really should get to compounding-' _He saw the plate of food on his desk. The demi-girl Maya hadn't been able to eat all of it. "Ugh… seriously? Itsuki couldn't clean up after her?" He said in an annoyed voice. The girl had eaten it messily, and there were crumbs all over the desk he'd been planning to use. Maybe he'd chew out Itsuki about this not being a game the next time he saw him. He really didn't want to think the kid who looked like he'd look perfect playing a piano would be such a snob.

He picked up the plate and looked around for a place to throw the rest of the food away. But now that he was sitting down he didn't want to get up. He could wipe the crumbs off onto the floor and blame it on Maya. But there was no trash bin in the room. He was in a conundrum!...

His eyes fell on his shield. '_Hmmm… this thing absorbs almost everything like a trash can...'_ He pressed the the plate of leftovers against his gemstone, and it absorbed the dish.

'_There. Problem solved.'_ He wiped the crumbs off of the desk into his shield as well. '_Now, I can finally get to compounding and go to sleep-'_

His Shield Menu flashed in front of his face. **Chef's Shield I and II Unlocked**.

'_... Wait… what?'_

He changed to the newly unlocked shield. It looked a lot like a metal cover for a pan. The shield didn't give him a defense bonus… but his eyes widened when he saw the passive effect it gave him.

'_COOKING SKILLS III and IV!'_

Yet again, he'd found another shield to turn him into an excellent butler. He could already imagine Filo crying out for seconds and thirds the next time he cooked.

'_DAMN YOU WORLD!'_

* * *

"I'm sorry we had to kill your uncle."

Fenril, the servant, let out a sigh. "It's alright Sir Bow Hero. My uncle's had issues ever since he got back from war years ago. He's only been getting worse since the first wave hit... This was probably for the best."

"Just make sure whoever takes his place isn't abusive to anyone. I'd hate to have to come back to this place." Itsuki said calmly.

Fenril smiled, albeit a little nervously at Itsuki's words. "No worries. I'll make sure that whoever replaces my uncle, he or she will be nice and won't abuse anyone."

"Good. Now go." Itsuki said blandly.

Fenril smirked confidently and turned around to walk away. A scared look appeared on his face as soon as he wasn't facing Itsuki. _'That King better not appoint another person like my uncle here! That Hero is crazy scary! I thought I was gonna die!'_ He thought as he disappeared into the forest.

…

"Sir Itsuki."

Itsuki looked down at the little raccoon girl. She had been deep in thought ever since they'd left Naofumi's room to wait outside in the forest with Rachel and a nervous Rishia so the rest of the party could rendezvous with them. "Yes, Maya," Itsuki said.

"I… I…" The little girl looked up at him seriously. "I want to join your party." She said with determination.

"Fehhhhh!" Rishia whimpered in surprise.

Itsuki blinked in surprise at that. "Wh-What do you mean? You're only just a kid-" He tried to say to the NPC.

The little girl pouted up at him. Her black hair flew with the breeze beside her. "I know I'm only a kid Sir Bow Hero! But I want to help! I want to become strong and kind like you!" She said seriously.

Itsuki continued to blink in surprise. This girl barely looked to be eleven. Yet it seemed like her experiences under her master had forced her to grow up faster than others her age. "But… I mean…" He tried to find a way to respond.

"Sir Itsuki. If I may interrupt." Rachel came forward and rested a hand on the little girl's shoulder. "The job we're doing is too much for us to handle. We've been lucky to have been able to have dealt with a handful of lower nobles and a single Lord without much retaliation. We won't be able to face those like Idol Rabier though without more help." Rachel reasoned with Itsuki.

Itsuki looked from Maya to Rachel, and then back down to Maya. It was true, he'd learned that leveling everyone up hadn't been enough. Everyone in the party except Rishia had been able to go to Zeltoble to get their class upgrades, but some of these nobles they were going to face also had class upgrades. If they really wanted to make a difference, they'd need more help. Something that could help to turn the tide. "She's only a kid though." He said again.

"I don't know if you realize Sir Itsuki. But there are reasons why Melromarc discriminates so harshly against demi-humans. One of them being they grow up differently than us humans. If you allow me to train Maya for you, I could show you in a week's time how much more grown-up she can be." She said seriously.

Maya smiled up at the nice lady mage above her. Rachel looked down and smiled back at the girl, causing little Maya to giggle as if they knew something that Itsuki didn't. Itsuki scratched his head in confusion.

"Do you know what they're talking about Rishia?" He asked the green-haired girl.

"Fehhhh!?" Rishia whimpered when Itsuki addressed her.. "I, I think it involves the way in which demi-humans grow up faster than us… I think." She answered nervously.

Itsuki still looked concerned. _'I don't know what Rachel's thinking… but none of my companions have led me astray yet.'_ Except for Mauld, but Itsuki didn't like talking about him. Based on what Van had heard concerning the noble family Mauld was a part of, Itsuki was going to have to pay him a visit soon. "Okay. I'll allow you to train Maya so she can level up, Rachel. But I'm not going to use a kid in any serious fights." Itsuki said.

"Don't worry Sir Itsuki. I'm sure within a couple of weeks she'll be big enough and strong enough to deal with any noble we come across." Rachel said. Both she and the demi-human started to smile mischievously.

"FEHHHHHHH!?" Rishia looked scared.

Before Itsuki could question Rachel as to how she could be so sure about it, or snap at Rishia for her whimpering, the rest of his party finally arrived. Leading a dozen other demi-human children with them, along with a couple of adult demi-humans, all women. _'I'll think about it later. For now, there's still much we have to do.'_ He thought as he pulled out his bow and checked his skill menu. Just as he'd thought, his cooldown for the Transport Bow skill had finally ended.

He looked around again, and, briefly, he allowed himself to smile. For once, none of the slaves had died. They'd succeeded in saving every one of them. Almost all of them were former members of Raphtalia's village. Finally, they'd had a success.

There had only been one death that night… the noble who had been abusing them all...

He double-checked his status screen to make sure everyone around him was in his party, including little Maya. Then he chose the skill he needed and pointed his bow up.

"**Transport Bow!**"

He released the string, and a dome of light formed over the group. A few seconds later, the dome faded. Everyone who had been underneath had disappeared.

* * *

In the Southwest (23 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)

**Slash!**

Ren's sword slashed through one last root, and the large plant monster called a mandragora withered away as it gave one last screech of pain. He wiped sweat from his brow as his sword stopped glowing from the last skill he'd used. The familiar experience notification appeared next to his head. His SP gauge was almost empty, along with his MP gauge. His HP gauge was close to half full. He was surrounded by the withered corpses of plant monsters.

'_Damn it, these things keep getting tougher the closer I get to the center of town…'_ He'd been going at this for the last two days. The levels started out low enough, and then progressively got higher and harder to deal with. Each time he felt like he was closing in, the monsters would become too strong and he'd be forced to retreat back to the line his party and the village refugees were holding outside of town.

He started to drink an HP potion. '_If I stop to rest for a few moments, they respawn and attack again before I can recover. Yet if I retreat and rest back where it's safe, all the progress I made gets wasted.'_ He thought in frustration. Each time he retreated he could recover all his gauges, but when he did that the plants took over everything he'd tried so hard to liberate and then some. '_Why the hell did Motoyasu have to cause all this trouble?' _

He knew based on details about the emergency quest from the guild that Motoyasu had unearthed an ancient alchemist's seed a couple of weeks ago and that he gave it to this region since it was suffering from famine. It had worked in solving the famine at first, but then the plants started to rapidly mutate, quickly overtaking the village, and eventually transforming into acidic and poisonous monsters. He thought Motoyasu might have come in to deal with this problem himself since he had caused it, but no, Motoyasu had to disappear to another part of the country after being chewed out by the King for causing a mess. Now Ren had to take this assignment from a different representative of the guild (the last one had mysteriously disappeared while returning back from Gaelion's crater along with all his friends) and clean up Motoyasu's mess.

'_That idiot!'_ He thought frustratingly. '_He just had to rely on that game knowledge of his to cause me problems?!'_

Oh he figured that was how Motoyasu had known where to find the seed. The damn idiot most likely relied on his game knowledge to find it and assumed it was safe. If he saw Motoyasu anytime soon, he was going to smack him silly with the flat of his sword. He had to exert all his effort on strong monsters that gave little experience and worthless item drops just to keep a handle on the problem while the village refugees searched their legends to try and find an answer.

'_The answer is obvious.'_ Ren thought exasperatedly. '_The main plant, the boss, is being guarded by all these other smaller plants in the center of town. It's just like any event quest like the ones in the VRMMO's I played at home. I just have to get to it and take it out, then-'_ He winced at that and became downcast. Even now, he still found himself thinking about various situations from the perspective of a gamer.

'_I can't get to the main plant. Not without help.'_ His only tank party member, Baktas, could take physical blows because of his enhanced armor. But he didn't have resistance to poison or acid. None of his party members had resistance, and it was only because of a sword Ren had unlocked from the Dragon Emperor that he had any form of poison resistance in general.

Oddly enough, he found himself wishing Naofumi could help. Naofumi might not do much damage as a shielder, but his defense and resistance to poison and acid attacks would have helped tremendously since he could have distracted all the monsters while Ren landed critical hits from behind. Oh, how he wished for Naofumi's help. But no, the Pope had reminded him while his party members were classing up that the Shield was a devil, and to side with the devil would make Ren an enemy. Shortly after that, a young nun had noticed as he was leaving that he had a demi-human party member, and had told him he should get rid of her as soon as he was able. Claiming demi-human companions were weaker than humans, and that she'd only slow him down.

He gripped his sword tightly. Like he'd listen to a word they told him anymore. It was sounding more like they were trying to order him around instead of leaving him alone and worshipping him. He'd reminded the nun of that before leaving the Church behind. Now, he really wanted to get to the bottom of whatever it was they were up to.

If he could only deal with these damn plants!

**Slash!**

Ren took care of another plant monster. A PlantRiwe. The dumb thing had been releasing enough poison pollen into the air that Ren had to cover his mouth with part of his blue scarf to keep from breathing it in. '_Couldn't Motoyasu have released something that I wouldn't have a hard time dealing with?!'_

The poison pollen cleared after a moment, and Ren started to step forward towards the center of town. He had to get to the main plant. He had to...

"Sir Ren. Me and the others have managed to hedge up the vines. They won't be growing any farther from the town."

Ren turned around in surprise. Wyndia was a dozen feet behind him, surrounded by monster corpses, and holding a wakizashi (a shortened version of a katana) in one hand. She had taken to calling him Sir Ren like everyone else in his party. But she did not speak with the same respect or awe as the others did, rather she spoke with contempt or mockery. Again, he felt like she was glaring at him even though her face was calm. It pushed the frustration away and made him feel guilty again.

He was fine with it. The respect and praise honestly grinded on him a little every now and then. He may have the title of Cardinal Hero, but Wyndia helped to remind him that he still had a lot of catching up to do if he wanted to earn that title.

"How did you manage-" Ren shook his head. Wyndia wasn't a frail little girl like he'd thought. She'd already shown on their way to the village that she knew how to fight monsters. Even Welt was impressed with her sword skills. "Good. Keep them from spreading out any farther, and use it as a chance to level up." Ren said calmly. He wasn't meaning to do things the same way he normally did before the dragon. But the others had to stay back and keep the plants in check to keep them from spreading to other villages. Plus, now that he'd changed the experience distribution, whenever he killed a monster, his other party members benefited from it.

"The other villagers received a supply of weed killer from the Capital. They can keep the plants from running amok without our help. Right now, it would be best to deal with this plant problem if the whole party assisted you." Wyndia said, her tone more calm than ice. Her dislike of the Sword Hero still showed through.

Another Madoragora sprouted behind Ren and started to roar at him, acid dripping from its maw. Without missing a beat, Ren turned, slashing his sword in a rapid series of slashes. The plant monster's roots were all destroyed, and it crumbled away to dust. "I'm doing fine. You and the others could get hurt out here-" Ren tried to say.

A second one that he hadn't seen bit down on Ren's sword arm. Cutting off his words as he cried in pain.

"**Fast Fireball!**"

Wyndia's fireball seared into the head of the plant monster, making it let go of Ren to scream in pain. "Huahhh!" Ren brought his arm back and slashed the monster in half. The monster crumpled to dust. His already battered armor corroded some more on his arm.

Ren looked to Wyndia, who stood there determinedly. Was it just him, or was this demi-girl a few inches taller than when he'd found her? And did she look like she was in her early teens before? "Sir Ren, me and the others might not be as high a level as you. We might not be as powerful. But we can still help you fight these monsters." She said with determination. "Or do you really not care about protecting the lives of the people like you told me?" She asked with a challenge in her tone.

Ren blinked his eyes as if to clear them of some image only he could see. "Some of these monsters also have poison and paralysis effects." Ren calmly pointed out. "If you were to be hit by one of them-"

"And if you were hit by one Sir Ren, who'd be there to hold the monster off till you recovered?" Wyndia impatiently asked. "Who'd be able to fight the waves then? Who'd be able to make up for killing my Father?!"

…

Ren smiled a little and shook his head in disbelief. "I guess everyone else is getting as sick of this place as I am."

"We're tired of dealing with the scout plant monsters. Please, just let us help." Was it just him, or was Wyndia pleading with him? But didn't she hate him for what he'd done...

"I hear you, Wyndia," Ren said, before facing the center of the town again. He pulled out an elixir and drank from it. "We're going to set up camp in this building. If we can fortify ourselves sufficiently from the plants then maybe we can use it as a resting point and continue towards the main plant without losing our progress. It'll get tougher as we go along, but if we work together as we get closer, maybe we won't have to retreat."

Wyndia briefly looked stunned. Then she tried to look cold again. Her tail, however, was wagging in a pleased way behind her. "I'll gather the others right away." She said calmly before she turned and ran back the way she'd come. The remains of several burnt or slashed through plants withered away as she ran past them. Enemies Wyndia had dealt with on her way to Ren.

'_How did she manage to take them all out?...' _She was obviously proficient in magic, Ren knew that much. Her Fast spells worked at full power even though she never said a chant beforehand. She'd obviously used a decent chunk of her magic and energy working her way to where Ren had been… maybe it would be best to have her and the others help him out. Gaelion had been training her before his death to defend herself. It could explain why she could wield a wakizashi and fire magic so well. Even without having used a crystal ball.

Ren sighed guiltily as he thought about the dragon. Despite his new resolve, he was still reluctant to work with his party. What if they were to get hurt by his careless loner tactics...

He wanted to keep them safe. Ren had seen how cruel parts of this world was. Itsuki had also told him of some of his exploits against the nobles. Ren knew he had as of yet to see the worst. He wanted to protect his party from that part of the world.

'_I'd rather they stayed back where I could keep them safe…'_ As he thought that, he remembered what he'd heard from the Lord of Lute Village. About Naofumi and Raphtalia. How the two of them working in sync with each other had saved the whole village.

It made him remember times from his VRMMO's back home. How he'd paired up with his girlfriend and their other friends, and how they'd been like an unstoppable force to whatever opponent; NPC or Player, that they were facing in any game. And here he was, presented with an issue where loner tactics and sheer power wouldn't work. He had to work with his team if he wanted to clear this raid boss out.

'_I promised to work together more with my party members... maybe we could use this as a chance to not only help out this town but to learn to work together as a team.'_ He thought.

He had to remember. His party wasn't a group of NPCs trying to assist him in his quest anymore. They were real-life people who were fighting to protect their homes, their families, and their world from the monsters and the waves of Catastrophe. Like him, they had desires to grow stronger and to become the best they could be. They trusted him with their lives.

Maybe he could start doing that and trust his party more.

...

Any further thoughts were cut off as three more Madoragora respawned around him at the same time. Deciding it'd be best to secure the building for them to rest in, he moved to deal with the monsters. He took the weapon experience he'd gotten from his current sword and switched to a sword he'd gotten from absorbing a part of Gaelion. The dragon who was now resting peacefully in the ground of his home. He applied the weapon experience to it, and the sword glowed with power.

"Huahhh!"

Ren jumped into the midst of the plant monsters.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I already had a pretty long note up top. I'm not going to bore you guys with another long one down here. Let's settle down and have fun with an omake.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**The Shield Butler**

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me."

Naofumi's shield had changed just like his mask shield. Instead of only covering his face, he was now covered in a get up similar to the Slave Traders. Only less fancy and exotic and more practical. "Butler Shield? What would I even use this for-" He was saying in exasperation.

"Master Naofumi, Filo made a mess in the back of the wagon. Could you clean it up please?" Raphtalia asked.

Naofumi tuned out for a moment, and then he found himself having just finished cleaning and organizing the back of the wagon. "Wait, how did I just-"

"Daddy, Filo is hungry. Can you make Filo dinner?"

Again, Naofumi found himself tuning out. Then the next thing he knew he was walking away from a happily sleeping Filo. He was carrying a large empty pot that looked to have been full of food. "WHAT THE HELL!?" He looked around, trying to find Raphtalia. Something strange was going on with this new shield, and he didn't like it!

"Raphtalia?!"

"There you are master Naofumi, we're running low on medicines? Could you compound some more please?"

"No, wait-" Naofumi tried to say.

Suddenly, he found himself finishing up a large batch of medicine in the back of the wagon. His worst fears had been realized. The new shield made him do everything his party members asked him to do as their butler. "Raphtalia!" He yelled.

Raphtalia poked her head in. "Yes, Master Naofumi?"

"Stop asking me to do stuff!" He demanded. "I'm being forced to obey because of this Butler Shield!" He said, pointing at his body.

Raphtalia... started to smile. "Ara Ara Naofumi-kun."

Naofumi paled. _'Oh no...'_

"Now that you say that, could you massage my body with your nice, firm hands?" She asked, climbing into the wagon.

Naofumi started to tune out-

Naofumi immediately woke up at his compounding desk. The Chef's Shield from earlier was still on his arm. _'NOPE! THAT DOES IT! I'M NOT GOING TO ABSORB ANYTHING ELSE INTO THIS SHIELD AGAIN!'_ He thought.

_"But Naofumi-Kun, my_ massage-" Even in the real world, part of his mind still wanted to fantasize about giving Raphtalia a massage.

_'AHHHHHHHHH!'_ Maybe it'd be for the best if he didn't try to absorb anything that resembled a Butler's outfit in the future.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	26. 26: False Voices, Lasting Impacts

**Most of what I have to say this time around is in the bottom Author's Note, so I won't bore you up here like I did the last chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _42 more Favorites, 50 more Followers (Total: 830 Favorites, 974 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _January 20th, 2020 1:10 P.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own the references/characters in other anime along with Rising of the Shield Hero._

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six:** _False Voices, Lasting Impacts_

* * *

_(19 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"Alright. You two remember the drill for exploring dungeons, correct?" Naofumi held a torch up, lighting the way for his small party.

"Yes." "Of course." Filo and Raphtalia said at the same time. Filo was in her Filolial Queen Form, her sharp eyes alert for danger. Raphtalia calmly observed the tunnel, her newest sword sheathed at her side, but ready to pull out at the first sign of danger.

'_That shopkeeper better not have been lying to us.'_ Naofumi thought to himself. He still remembered the last time he'd trusted a shopkeeper and went into a mine with Raphtalia, only to almost become food for a hungry Cerberus Dog.

There were a couple of things that needed to be explained that led up to this scenario.

Three days ago, Naofumi had gone with Raphtalia to a blacksmith to get her a new sword and some new armor. Her old magic iron sword and leather cuirass had started to lose their durability. Naofumi traded in her old sword and armor, and with some of the money they'd received selling high-quality potions, medicines, and accessories; he bought her a new magic silver sword and a leather/metal armor variant. She could still move around freely, but her vitals, boots, and shoulders had an additional layering of metal over them. Naofumi figured the ensemble would have cost around 5 Gold Coins in the Capital with a discount from Erhard. In the town they went through, they had cost around 12 Gold Coins. However, Raphtalia loved the new sword and armor, so he thought it was worth it.

Other girls appreciated jewelry, beautiful dresses, and other fancy things in life. Raphtalia appreciated new weapons and armor that didn't inhibit her movement speed, increased her stats, and made it easier to fight monsters for Naofumi. She was definitely different. In a good way.

Naofumi shook his head to clear it. That wasn't the main point. While they had been in that Blacksmith's shop, Naofumi overheard a rumor about a village a few miles away from the Capital that was experiencing an unusual amount of sickness. He thought it'd be a chance for them to make a lot of money when he heard the name.

Lafan Village. The same village Bitch had planned on taking Naofumi too before he learned she was going to betray him.

Of course, he shared his concerns about it to Raphtalia on the way. And she wisely told him these words.

"Master Naofumi. Would the Nocturnal Doctor knowingly pass by a town of sick people because of a grudge against one pig?"

Maybe it had been because Raphtalia had once more called Bitch a pig. Or maybe she'd been pointing out how it'd be suspicious for the Nocturnal Doctor to pass by a town of sick people when he had a reputation for successfully healing every sick person he came across… well, almost everyone, but that was for another time. Either way, she convinced him, and they went to Lafan Village. Where he proceeded to work his wonders as the Nocturnal Doctor.

Raphtalia and Filo sold potions and other items well into the night. Naofumi spent all his time going from house to house healing sick people with his potions and medicines. He didn't know if it was because the village was bigger than he'd thought, or if it was because people from the Capital had also come when they heard word that the Nocturnal Doctor was in the area. Either way, it had been close to 3 when the tired group left the town. Exhausted, but in good spirits after helping out a lot of people… a lot of nice people too... and they did make a bunch of money in the process.

After making camp a half-hour later, Naofumi thought he was going to sleep first. The next day or two was supposed to be nothing but traveling, so he could put off compounding and accessory making for the next day, he had been so tired... And that's when the reason they were in this tunnel now finally arrived.

* * *

_"Master Naofumi!"_

_Naofumi bolted awake. Raphtalia was pointing at the forest behind them. "What is it-" Right as he was asking, someone came stumbling out of the underbrush, making a lot of noise as he did so. He was limping towards them and the campfire they had set up._

_Naofumi instinctively went to grab his Shield which was in Mask form on his head. But then the guy collapsed. This close to the fire, bleeding claw and fang marks were visible all over his body. In the few seconds that Naofumi was shocked by the sight, a small red puddle started to form underneath the man._

_"Raphtalia, grab bandages from the wagon, now!" Naofumi quickly ordered when he recovered from his shock._

_"Right!" Raphtalia snapped out of it at Naofumi's words and ran for the wagon._

_Naofumi quickly turned the man over on his back. His front looked worse than his back had. It was like a monster had decided to use him as its personal scratching post. His wrinkled face was disfigured from the fang and claw marks. Overall, the man didn't look good._

_"As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and heal my target, _**Fast Heal!**" Naofumi quickly enchanted.

_Raphtalia ran up with a wad of bandages. A tired-looking Filo trailed behind her, also carrying more of Naofumi's medical supplies. A couple of the wounds closed on the man, but there were still far too many. Naofumi's appraisal skill showed the man's HP bar dropping steadily towards 0 in his vision._

_"Raphtalia, start bandaging his left side, I'll bandage his right-" Naofumi tried to say._

_The man's hand suddenly gripped his arm. Naofumi looked down at the guy. He looked to be quickly fading. _"_Warn the others… you have to warn… the others…"_

_It was then Naofumi realized it, just like this old man. The puddle of blood beneath him had grown larger as they'd tried to help. He knew there was a point when a patient was too far gone to be helped with any kind of treatment. This man had reached that point. It was a miracle he'd even made it to their campsite. Somehow, even though he'd only met this man, it still pained Naofumi that he couldn't save him. That he'd failed to protect someone else from harm... despite that, he forced the feeling down and calmly asked._

_"Warn who about what?"_

_Naofumi barely got one sentence from him before he passed away by his campfire. The man's dying wish._

_"Warn them... save them from… the false voices... in the dungeon... ... ..."_

_The man spoke no more._

* * *

That morning, Naofumi and his party brought the old man's body back to the village to identify who it was. It had been one of the local shopkeepers. When he'd repeated the man's last words to Lafan's Lord, he immediately gave the Nocturnal Doctor a job request to explore the dungeon (Ironically enough, it was the original dungeon Bitch and him would have explored). To locate the rest of the old shopkeeper's party, and to get them to safety. Seeing the people, most of whom he'd helped the day before, looking at him expectantly; and with the old man's dying words still fresh on his mind, he couldn't find it in himself to refuse.

And that was why they were here. In the 'beginner's' dungeon Bitch had told him about.

'_That Bitch was definitely lying about this place being a dungeon for beginners.'_ Naofumi thought to himself. They'd already come across a larger than normal Usapil at the front entrance. And several more as they'd gone down the tunnel. They'd been on average around Level 35. Naofumi had also managed to appraise the man's level before he died. He had been level 40.

This place obviously wasn't meant for beginners. Naofumi would have never stood a chance at level one. If the old man and his party had been stuck in here since yesterday, then he had to find the old man's other party members, and fast. Then he could add another excuse to his bucket list for reasons to punch Myne.

That about sums up the last few days.

"Stay together, and don't go wandering off unless I say it's okay too," Naofumi repeated the instructions over again. He had come up with these ground rules for dungeons after the Cerberus Dog experience. He'd already said them several times before they'd entered the dungeon. "If you see something suspicious, let me know. Check anything of value for traps before grabbing it. Above all, don't initiate an attack against a high leveled boss until I come up with a plan."

After saying that, another Usapil jumped out of the darkness at Naofumi. It was several times bigger than the ones outside. Its level was a whopping 42. Naofumi, however, raised his arm and took it's biting attack on it. Similar to the first one he'd encountered, he managed to restrain it on his arm, and again, similar to the first one, all he felt was a slight numb feeling where it bit. The only difference was that this Usapil rabbit was releasing some liquid that felt like poison on his arm. It wasn't hurting, but it'd be worrisome if some of it got on Raphtalia or Filo.

"Huahh!" Raphtalia took her opportunity to slice into it with her new sword. However, despite the stronger sword, it still took another two quick slices from her to finish it off. If that wasn't a testament to how much tougher the monsters in this dungeon were, then Naofumi didn't know what was.

Monsters outside of dungeons were like cannon fodder for Naofumi and his party. Yet their current dungeon experience was matching up with the few he'd had in dungeons with just Raphtalia before they'd gotten Filo. Dungeon monsters were both stronger and nastier than normal monsters. Not just in stats, but in terms of what they were capable of. Naofumi absorbed the newly defeated Usapil into his shield and unlocked another shield in the Usapil category that gave him a small resistance to poison. While these monsters were also capable of helping him unlock new Shields, they could be very dangerous to face.

If they weren't cautious, even with their higher than average stats wouldn't be enough to keep them from getting killed.

Raphtalia sheathed her new sword. It's Anti-Blood coating keeping it nice and pristine even after killing another monster. "Filo, do you hear anymore Usapils nearby?" She asked.

Filo concentrated on the tunnel in front of them. "No, it feels like they're backing off." She said after a moment.

"Alright, let's keep moving. We still haven't reached the first room yet." Naofumi calmly ordered after the whole Usapil had been absorbed into his shield.

They continued forward, staying on the alert despite Filo saying the monsters had backed off for now… Raphtalia's ears twitched on her head, listening for the faintest scuffle that wasn't from the three of them. Filo kept watching for anything suspicious…

…

"What's that?!"

Naofumi quickly pointed his torch in the direction Filo pointed to with her wing. The wall was illuminated by the torchlight, revealing… several green arrows pointing down at different chunks of metal. He sighed in relief and calmed his racing heart. It was thankfully ore. "Nothing a little pickaxe won't hurt," Naofumi said as he pulled out his pickaxe from his inventory and handed the torch to Raphtalia. He quickly checked to make sure there were no traps before he switched over to his Pickaxe Shield and swung at the wall.

The wall gave way with one strong strike.

While Naofumi gathered the ore, Raphtalia held the torch before her and stared down the tunnel. Wood beams covered the ceiling. Wood beams were also interspersed every dozen feet on either side of the tunnel, with the rock of the tunnel showing in between. "Do you think this was a mine shaft before it turned into a dungeon Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked.

"Maybe. I'm still not sure how dungeons form in this world. And it's not like we spend too much time in them." He said as he picked up a piece of ore to examine it. To be honest, the only similarity he'd noticed with any dungeon they'd been in before was that it'd either looked like an old mine shaft or had its entrance located in some ancient ruins. Not that they'd come across too many dungeons for him to make an accurate guess.

After a second, his status magic identified the ore he was holding as Gold Ore. _'That Bitch also said there wasn't much anything valuable in here. That damn liar.'_ They'd only been in the dungeon for a few minutes and here he was literally picking up gold and unlocking new shields. He was starting to wonder if she'd told him the truth at any time before he'd found out she was planning on betraying him.

Filo walked up next to Raphtalia. She looked slightly scared in the small space, unable to see past the light of the torch. "Mommy, something doesn't feel right," Filo said nervously.

"Shhhh. It'll be alright Filo. We have Master Naofumi with us. He won't let anything hurt us." She said encouragingly to her while stroking her head feathers comfortingly. Though she did find it odd for Filo to be nervous. Normally, Filo was the most excited out of the three of them about exploring a new place.

"B-But-" Filo tried to say.

"Alright, let's get moving on," Naofumi said as he inventoried the ore he'd picked up. He absorbed a small amount into his shield, unlocking a shield called the **Gold Shield**. Its stats weren't too good, but once he unlocked the shield, he'd get a small stat bonus to his defense. Every single stat bonus counted in his book.

Raphtalia thought nothing more about it and obediently followed behind Naofumi. Filo stood in her spot a few seconds more. "Come on Filo, we still have those people to find," Naofumi said without looking back.

Filo opened her mouth to say something. This place just felt… wrong to her! But she couldn't find the words to express it. "But, but dad-"

**"You annoying brat. Why can't you just listen and follow my** **orders?"**

Filo looked around in surprise.

**"Do you think you're safe just because you don't have a monster crest on you to force you to obey?"**

Filo looked hurt at those words. "D-Daddy-" Filo tried to say. The voice had sounded like Naofumi's.

"**Remember, I can easily sell you off at anytime you worthless bird. Gods, you're just a useless waste of space in this family. You can't even be obedient to orders without me tempting you with food you stupid child glutton."**

Filo shivered nervously. Why was daddy saying such mean things to her?... "I… I'm sorry, daddy." She whispered.

**"Why couldn't I have gotten that dragon instead of you?"**

Filo was unusually quiet as they continued.

* * *

A few minutes later, without any other monster incidents, the tunnel finally came to an intersection. Naofumi frowned. "I was hoping we'd come to a room first. Damn."

"Is that bad Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked curiously.

"It depends." As much as Naofumi would hate to admit it, he normally had to rely on his game knowledge for how the layout of a dungeon. And if he remembered correctly, an intersection at the beginning of the dungeon could mean two things. Either there were two side rooms with the way forward being down the third tunnel, or the dungeon was a maze with the rooms randomly interspersed. If it was the latter, then finding the old man's party members would become a lot harder. He really hated times like this when the world would show functions like a game.

Raphtalia pointed the torch down one way and then another. "Which way do you think we should go Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked.

Naofumi thought on it and then opened his mouth to answer.

"HELP ME!"

All three jumped at the sound of the scream. "SOMEBODY! PLEASE! HELP ME!" The scream echoed in the intersection.

"Where is that voice coming from?!" Naofumi worriedly asked.

Raphtalia's ears twitched "That way!" Raphtalia pointed down the tunnel on their left. Filo also pointed left but remained quiet.

"Let's move it!" Naofumi ordered as he immediately brought out his Chimera Viper Shield and started running down the tunnel. Raphtalia and Filo followed directly behind him. _'Holy hell, what kind of monster is that guy facing?! Are his screams going to attract all the monsters in the area?!'_

"HELP! HELP!" The tunnel twisted and curved in front of them. The screams echoed in the narrow space. Yet they were gradually getting louder and louder. It was the right path.

Naofumi quickly thought up a battle plan in his mind. He really hoped that the screams weren't attracting all the monsters, otherwise, they could be in for a long fight. And if they were all as tough as the Usapils… he could probably get himself, Raphtalia, and Filo out of it alive. The currently screaming nutso, not so sure.

The walls and ceiling suddenly opened up into the darkness. The torchlight wasn't enough. The cavern echoed with the man's loud screams. He had to be in here.

"**Fast Light!**"

A ball of light like a miniature sun appeared, lighting up the center of what looked like a large dome-like room. Shiny chunks of ore stuck out of the walls and ground like glitter on paper. However, in the center of the room was a person kneeling on the floor. He looked to have been surprised by the sudden brightness in the room as he had stopped screaming and was covering his eyes.

There were no monsters to be seen.

"Were you the one who was screaming?" Naofumi calmly asked as he approached. He made sure to make it look like he was holding his shield like a normal adventurer.

"Who, who are you?" The guy asked weakly as Naofumi got on one knee next to him. His voice sounded scratchy.

"Relax, your village sent me here to help." Now that he was close, he was able to see the wounds on this guy's arms. They looked like fang and claw marks, just like what he saw covering the old man. He pulled up his status screen and appraised the level of this blonde-haired, blue-eyed teenager.

He was level 35. He looked dangerously low on HP, otherwise, he was somehow fine.

Naofumi took out bandages along with a few HP potions from his inventory whilst also chanting. Raphtalia and Filo stood close by, observing the room for danger. Raphtalia's ball of light lit up almost everything except the ceiling which still appeared to be shrouded in darkness.

"**Fast Heal.** Now what caused this, and where's the rest of your party?"

The guy looked up at last, and his disheveled hair didn't hide the pale look on his face. "It... it was my party that did this to me." He muttered so softly, it almost wasn't heard.

Naofumi's hands, ready to bandage the guy's remaining wounds that his spell hadn't healed, stopped. "Explain," Naofumi said in a hard tone. If this guy and that old man had really been betrayed by his party then Naofumi would have no qualms about saving this teenager and leaving the rest in here to rot.

Screw what the village thought about it, Naofumi did not like betrayals. He could always say he came across their bloody mangled corpses.

"Naofumi, what are you thinking about this time?" Raphtalia asked with a sigh.

Damn. She was good.

The guy shivered. "Me, a few of my friends, and my grandfather went into this dungeon. My grandpa was running low on stock, and we'd heard there were some treasures hidden here." He said, sounding his best like he was trying not to lose it.

'_Treasure? With all the ore I'm seeing here, he could have made a boatload of money off this room alone.'_ Naofumi thought as he looked around the room.

"What happened after that?" Naofumi asked.

His face paled a little more. "I thought everything was going great at first. We killed a group of monsters and were celebrating. But then I started hearing whispers amongst them. Whispers of keeping the treasure for themselves, of abandoning me and my grandpa in this dungeon." He put his hands over his face. "I thought they were just joking, that they were just pulling a prank on me like they usually do… but then everything went dark. I tried to run, but one of my friends attacked me."

Naofumi looked angry at that and was about to say something when the guy continued. "Only, it wasn't him. Eren doesn't fight with claws. He fights with a sword." His eyes took on a far off look. "I remember him saying he'd attack me first, yet he hadn't made a move towards me. None of them had been moving before it went dark. I don't think any of them saw me shaking in fear as I ran away. Yet, somehow, I was attacked. I… I think we all were." His hands went over his head. He was deathly scared. "Something's wrong with this place. Something's very wrong here. We should have never come in here!"

Naofumi looked at Raphtalia. She looked visibly stunned at what the guy had said. He was too. Neither of them had ever heard of anything like this. "Do you think the monsters in here use some type of psychological attack?" He asked her.

Before she could reply, he suddenly screamed. "Oh no, I hear there voices again! My party members!" He fell to the ground. "They're coming to KILL ME!" He started to spasm while screaming incoherently.

"Hey, stop it! We're not hearing anything-" Naofumi tried to say as he tried to calm the guy down.

"Mommy, daddy! Something's wrong!" Filo finally cried out, cutting off Naofumi.

"Filo-" Raphtalia tried to say.

Raphtalia's Fast Light spell suddenly went out. Along with the torch they'd brought with them. All three of them were suddenly in complete darkness. An almost invisible purple haze appeared at the bottom of their vision. It became mass confusion for the three of them.

"Ahhhhh!" Raphtalia and Filo both yelled in surprise and fear at the light sources disappearing.

"Raphtalia! Filo!" Naofumi yelled in worry.

Their screams suddenly disappeared.

"**This is my chance,"** Raphtalia said.

"Raphtalia? What's going on?" Naofumi asked as he looked around himself for whatever had caused this.

"**Master Naofumi trusts me so completely, I could run him through with my sword at any time in this darkness."**

Naofumi looked to where Raphtalia had last been in shock. He couldn't see her in this darkness. "Did, did you just say something Raphtalia?" He asked fearfully. His companion couldn't have just said what he thought he'd heard, right? He'd just heard her screaming… how could this be her?

Over on Raphtalia's end, she could still hear Naofumi. Even though he couldn't hear her.

"What, what are you talking about-" Raphtalia was saying.

"**I'm sick and tired of being Master Naofumi's slave."** Raphtalia continued over the other Raphtalia. "**I only pretended to love him so I could kill him with my own hands."**

His eyes widened in the darkness. "No… there's no way you mean that." He said in shock.

"Master Naofumi, who are you talking to-" Raphtalia tried to say.

"**Why are you so clingy to me? Don't you realize how annoying you are Raphtalia?"**

Raphtalia stopped speaking as she heard Naofumi's voice speak in a condescending tone to her. "What-" She tried to say, stunned at his reply.

"**Gods, you're such a burden." **Naofumi continued in a bitter tone. "**You're supposed to be my sword, not my daily problem to deal with. Why did I have to buy you from the Slave Trader? You only treat me like I'm your personal punching bag and then cry the rest of the time like a small child crying for her mommy."**

Raphtalia was stunned. "No, I-" She tried to say again.

"**I knew I should have taken Beloukas's return offer. I could have had three wolf slaves that weren't stuck at level 40 unlike ugly ass you."**

Raphtalia started shaking where she was standing and fell to her knees. "No… Naofumi…" '_He couldn't possibly mean that… could he?'_ She thought, tears coming to her eyes.

"Ahh! AUGHHHHHHHH!" The nameless man on the ground started screaming again. It sounded like there was something… other people attacking him. But only she could hear it.

"Raphtalia, you have to cast some light in here again!" Naofumi found he was having to force himself to say it calmly. '_Wait, I'm not seriously doubting Raphtalia, am I?'_ He couldn't be. Not after everything they'd been through together. But the only voice he heard...

"**I can stab him clean through from behind right now,"** Raphtalia said.

A gash suddenly appeared along his side, as if it had come from a sword. It had from the direction she had been in before. Naofumi gasped in surprise from the pain of it. '_No, Raphtalia would never-'_ He tried to think.

**"Daddy is my food!"**

He gasped in pain again when claws sliced his other side. Raphtalia and Filo were the only ones capable of harming him… it couldn't be… IT COULDN'T BE!

"No, Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled in worry when she heard Naofumi gasp in pain. She tried to stop shaking and stand back up. This couldn't be real! THIS COULDN'T BE REAL! NAOFUMI WAS IN DANGER-

"**Stop being clingy to me! I'm just fine without you butting into everything you damn demi-human!"** Naofumi yelled at her.

She gasped in pain as she felt something like a shield slam into the face, knocking her back onto the ground. She was supposed to be able to see well in the darkness, but besides this purple haze, she couldn't see anything! And Naofumi...

"**I don't need you anymore! Get lost!"**

"Mommy, daddy-" Filo tried to yell at last. She was frozen in place, too scared to move. Too scared to act.

"**You useless bird!"** Naofumi yelled at her. "**Stop trying to mess things up with us!"**

"**Daddy and I were just fine before you butted into our lives you worthless bag of feathers!"** Raphtalia yelled at her angrily.

"But I… I thought you… you loved me-" Filo tried to whimper out.

"**How could we ever love someone like you!?"** They both yelled at the same time. "**GET LOST YOU STUPID LOLI!"**

"No, please stop…" Filo started to cry as she laid low on the ground. Feeling something like a shield beating her and something like a sword cutting her face and feathers. "Stop it, please!"

"**Hahahahaha!"** Both of them laughed at Filo's cries of pain. "**That's right! Feel the pain you've caused us since you were born!"** They yelled maliciously.

"Please, stop!" Filo begged through tears.

"AUGHHHHHHHH!" The man was still screaming on the ground somewhere in the darkness.

Naofumi put his hands over his ears to block everything out. Specifically the evil Raphtalia voice. He had several more gashes on him now. Another one appeared on his arm where he was trying to cover his head.

"**Die, Master Naofumi."**

"RAPHTALIA! I NEED YOU TO CAST THAT LIGHT MAGIC NOW!" He ordered loudly over the voices. He was hoping that this was all an illusion. It had to be an illusion! If it wasn't… his gemstone flashed red.

"But, but I-" Raphtalia tried to say at hearing his scream.

**"I don't need your help! Hell, I don't need your love! I'm planning on going back to my world after this is all over, so why would I bother getting attached to someone like you?! Why would I ever have a reason to love some demi-human as pitiful and ugly as you!"**

Raphtalia gasped, his words piercing into her soul. Another shield-like attack hit her across the face, throwing her farther away from the others in the darkness. Her health bar dropped from the attack. "Please, Master Naofumi-" She tried to say again.

**"You're worthless! Your whole race is worthless! I could never love a demi-human! Not when your whole race is the offspring of monsters!"**

…

...

Raphtalia's heart broke in her chest. "No… Naofumi…" Raphtalia finally started to cry.

It was true.

It had been true all along.

"CAST LIGHT MAGIC NOW!" Naofumi screamed. His gemstone flashed red again.

"**Aren't you going to try to defend yourself Master Naofumi,"** Raphtalia said mockingly. "**This is even easier than I thought it'd be."**

**"Your race is an abomination that deserves to be purged. Kneel and accept it you lowly monster."** Naofumi said spitefully to a crying Filo.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" The young man in the darkness continued to scream.

"THAT'S AN ORDER! DO IT NOW!"

Raphtalia felt slight pain from her slave crest. Shocking her out of her crying for only a second before she felt another hit from Naofumi's shield to her gut, making her double over. "**No, don't do it! I'm fine without your damn help you useless bitch! Let me take care of myself for once!"** Naofumi's voice yelled at her.

"O… Okay…" Raphtalia whimpered as she cried.

Naofumi hated her for being clingy and overprotective of him. He hated her for being worthless. He hated her for all the times she'd tried to keep him in line… he hated her for being a demi-human.

It was like she'd always known it, but she hadn't wanted to believe it. She hadn't wanted to believe what sounded too good to be true before. There was no way they'd ever get together. '_We never had a chance_-'

...

Realization hit her mind, and her tears stopped. '_Wait, I'm still feeling a little shock from my slave crest. The shock that comes when I don't carry out an order Master Naofumi gives me.'_

It had been a long time since he'd forced her to do anything. It'd been even longer since she hadn't obeyed the command... he'd set the pain for disobedience so low that it was almost nonexistent and unnecessary. But it was there, shocking at her. Helping her to come back to reality.

Another shield hit her across the face. That did more damage to her HP than what any of Naofumi's shields should have been able to do. Wait, his Shields weren't supposed to be able to attack. The only way Naofumi could do any damage was by either using counterattack methods or using the environment around him to his advantage. His punches couldn't damage her no matter how hard he tried.

"**I order you not to interfere!"** Naofumi's voice yelled at her angrily again. Yet her slave crest continued to lightly shock her into reality.

The reality that the person she'd been hearing was not her Naofumi at all.

'_It was all a lie.'_

Finally, it was like her ears were opened to the real sounds going on around her.

"WAHHHHH! MOMMY! DADDY!" Filo cried out somewhere in the darkness around Raphtalia.

"PLEASE! RAPHTALIA! GAH" Naofumi yelled in pain again. Sparks were coming from the gemstone on his shield, which was flashing red again and again. If it was really true, and if Raphtalia had only been using him since the Sacred Duel...

"AHHHHHHHH!"

"Naofumi! Filo!" Raphtalia's eyes blazed with anger. Filo, her daughter, was crying in the darkness. Something she couldn't see was hurting her Naofumi and pretending to be him! And the man they'd found earlier was still on the floor screaming! And again, whatever the creature was doing this to them had PRETENDED TO BE NAOFUMIIIIIIII!

"GET BACK!" Raphtalia yelled furiously. Her eyes blazing with hatred.

**"No, you can't-"** Naofumi's voice tried to say.

She drew her sword and slashed forward. **"Gah!"** Naofumi's voice cried out in pain.

"I don't know who you think you are, but stop pretending to be my MASTER NAOFUMIIIIIIII!" She yelled with anger and determination. She could finally tell what was around her now. She could feel it thick in the air around her. They were in the midst of some powerful illusion magic. That was why it was so dark. That was why they thought they were being attacked by those closest to them. It was all one big illusion. She was the only one there who had the power to see through it. And only she was the one who had the power to stop it.

Raphtalia moved, blocking a retaliatory strike at her chest. "**ILLUSION SWORD!**" She yelled.

"**AHHHHH!"**

Her sword blazed brightly with mana, and Naofumi's voice screamed in pain as touching the powerful current of mana burned whatever the creature was. Raphtalia promptly disappeared into her own illusion. Giving her the time she needed to gather all her magic power into her sword. **"Stop, I order you to stop-"**

'_It's time. My hard work with Filo comes down to this moment.'_ After all the time she'd spent training to apply her magic to her sword forms. All the hours she'd spent during her watch at night, sweating after infusing gemstones for Naofumi... after training herself to do something she felt was impossible.

At last, Raphtalia was ready to unleash a magic sword technique.

"**Blade of Illusion." **She reappeared jumping out into the darkness, slashing at the purple haze in front of her. ** "Light Piercing SLASH!"**

Her sword shined as bright as a star, and then a long arc of light came out from it, slamming into the darkness around her.

**Kchch!**

The darkness in the room shattered like glass, and the haze that had been surrounding everyone's vision disappeared. Finally, she, Naofumi, Filo, the young man, and their original light sources were free from the illusion.

Raphtalia held her sword, breathing heavily from how much magic the technique had used. '_It worked.'_

"Scree! Scree!" Around her, a small horde of squeaking bats along with several large ugly looking rats with long fangs were revealed by her ball of light that was still floating up in the air. One bat was directly in front of her, the one that had been attacking her. One of its wings was burned where it had touched her sword. It also had a light gash on its other one. It and all the other monsters looked surprised that their illusion spell had been broken.

"HUAH!" Raphtalia screamed in anger as she sliced the bat clean in half with her still slightly glowing sword. It didn't have the chance to Scree or flee. She then jumped forward, slashing her sword in a wide arc that decapitated several of the larger rats. Apparently, for all their attack power, they weren't nearly as tough as the Usapils when their magic was destroyed.

"Air Strike Shield!"

A green shield appeared directly over the screaming man, protecting him from attacks by the rats. "Take this! **Royal Shield!**" Naofumi jumped forward as he yelled the skill. The barrier formed right as he slammed into the large rats, who were knocked back by the force of the barrier slamming into them. Had they tried to attack it, they might have shattered it. But still reeling from the loss of illusion magic, they were pushed back away from the injured young man.

Naofumi took a position in front of the injured young man, glaring at the rats with absolute hatred in his eyes. However, the gemstone on his shield was back to normal.

"Now, Filo!" He yelled back at Filo, who had quite a few scratches on her head.

Filo swung her wings out, knocking her now visible attackers away. She got up, looking angrily at the monsters. "I'm on it! I'm going to blow you away!" She raised her wings in a criss-cross position. "**Fast, Tornadooooo!**" Filo yelled, flapping her wings powerfully forward.

A tornado formed in the center of the room. "Scree! Scree!" The bats and rats screeched in fear as they finally realized too late that the predators had become the prey. They tried to run or fly away, but the tornado sucked in every last one that had been flying or running around them into the rapidly swirling winds, before being brought harshly down to the ground in a bloody mess. Those few that survived the impact were easily cut through by one angry Raphtalia.

Within seconds, the crisis was over. Everyone in the room was safe.

Naofumi breathed in and out, doing the best to calm himself. '_It wasn't real… it wasn't real…' _He thought to himself over and over again. _'It was only illusion magic… that's all it was… it was all an illusion… one psychologically diabolical illusion...'_

…

"Get another ball of light set up Raphtalia." He said more calmly. "There might be more of them hiding in this room."

Raphtalia lowered her sword, also doing a breathing exercise to calm herself. '_It wasn't real… it wasn't real…'_ She thought to herself like a mantra. "Right." She pointed a hand up at the ceiling and focused what little mana she had left to make another ball of light. "**Fast Light!**" A ball of light appeared just below the ceiling, lighting the whole room, and illuminating a few more of the bats that had been watching from up above.

"AHHHHHHH!" Filo yelled as she jumped up to them before they had the chance to flee. Raphtalia followed right behind her. More screeches of fear came from up above as the bats were brutally massacred.

While Raphtalia and Filo worked on securing the room, Naofumi dispelled the Air Strike Shield and Royal Shield and looked closely at the man who had thankfully passed out from fear. He had a few more cuts on him, but nothing life-threatening. Naofumi sighed in relief, seeing the man would be okay. "**Fast Heal.**" He forced him to drink an HP potion after that. He then repeated the process. Within minutes, the teen was out of danger.

_'That's a relief.'_ After that was done, he absorbed a piece of one of the dead bats and rats into his shield.

'_Voice Gengar Shield (Bat form). Voice Gengar Shield (Rat form).'_ Naofumi thought as the new shields were unlocked on his Shield Menu. They didn't have very impressive stats. They did unlock a new skill called Megaphone…

Hmmm, he'd have to think about it later, because he gritted his teeth as he became aware that he was still feeling pain from the various wounds on his arms and sides. Looking more closely, he realized they were from claws instead of a sword. A sword cut evenly, but these cuts were curved. And they weren't nearly as deep as the ones Filo was capable of causing.

'_It wasn't really Raphtalia… or Filo... it was those damn bats… that explains why that old man said to warn his party about the false voices.'_ Naofumi came to the logical conclusion.

It really hadn't been real.

"**Fast Heal.**" Naofumi cast the spell on himself several times, healing the wounds he'd received. Dungeon monsters were, once more, reaffirmed to be on a different level than normal monsters since they'd managed to overcome his defense stat on his best shield. At least their own defense was so low that Raphtalia and Filo could one-shot them.

That was the only silver lining he could think of for this situation. If it had taken several blows to kill one, and if they somehow got that illusion back up before Raphtalia and Filo could kill them...

"Master Naofumi. There are no more monsters in the room." Raphtalia informed him. Filo jumped down from the ceiling, the last couple of bats were hanging from her beak.

"Good job you two. This guy is stable for now." Naofumi said calmly as he stood up to face them. Raphtalia had bruises forming on her beautiful face, and Filo's face and neck cuts were still bleeding. Their health bars were both below half.

"**Fast Heal... Fast Heal... Fast Heal…**" He cast a couple more Fast Heals on the both of them before looking around the room again.

There was the entrance they'd come in through. And another two in different parts of the dome-like room. Naofumi grimaced. '_Damn it, this place really is going to be like a maze, and I didn't even get how many other people were trapped in here from this guy. How are we supposed to find them all and protect them with bats and rats that can intimidate people in this maze?'_ He thought, trying to think of a solution to his situation. These monsters definitely weren't like normal monsters in the outside world. And after this mess, the Shields he'd unlocked had not been worth the trouble of going into this dungeon… though with all the ore in here...

He switched to his pickaxe shield. "Scout out the next two tunnels," Naofumi said to Raphtalia and Filo. "I'm just going to mine some of this ore for a sec-"

"Daddy…" Filo interrupted Naofumi.

Naofumi sighed. "What is it, Filo?" Naofumi asked the damn bird interrupting him. The ore was literally going to be the only thing that made risking their lives and going through all that psychological trauma worth it.

"You… You won't abandon Filo, will you?" Filo asked fearfully.

...

Naofumi looked up at Filo's Filolial Queen form, looking surprised at the question. "Why would you think that-" He started to ask when he suddenly realized it. '_She and Raphtalia must have heard different things than I did.'_ He'd heard them both speaking to him. Raphtalia had said she was going to betray him. Filo had said he would become her next meal… it was the last thing he'd ever expect to hear from both of them… had Filo... also been hearing stuff in his voice?...

"What did you hear me say, Filo?" Naofumi asked blandly.

Tears appeared in Filo's eyes, and she moved to cover her head with her wings. "I heard, I heard Father saying that Filo was worthless. And… and I heard mother saying how you two were better off without Filo…" Raphtalia gasped at hearing that.

Filo started to cry. "Filo is just an annoying brat who won't obey unless there's food involved!" She admitted. "Filo is worthless! Filo's sorry for causing you so much trouble daddy! Please, please don't abandon Filo here! Please don't abandon meeeeeeeee!"

Raphtalia walked up next to Naofumi, her eyes tearing up at what Filo had said. "Filo-" She tried to say. Naofumi was silent. His mind stunned for the moment.

"I swear, Filo will try to be a good girl! I'll try to be one! Just please don't leave Filo herrrrre!" Filo continued to cry while she bowed her head into her wings.

...

After a moment, Naofumi sighed. "Filo, I order you to change form," Naofumi ordered.

Filo poked her head out from under her wing to look at him. "But, but why-" She tried to say.

"Filo!-" At first, Naofumi yelled as he glared at her for not wanting to listen again. But then Naofumi swallowed down his frustration and let a tear fall from his eye. "Just... do it... please," Naofumi murmured softly… gently...

…

In a poof of feathers, Filo reappeared as a little blonde-haired kid. She looked up curiously, her eyes tinged with red from crying.

Naofumi glared down at her. "You are an annoying brat. And a child glutton at that. I've honestly lost track of the number of times I wished I could have had a dragon instead of you." He said seriously, tears slowly leaking from his eyes.

Filo wondered why her dad was crying when he was saying such mean things... Up until he dropped the glare, got down on one knee, and hugged her to him tightly. "But you're not worthless… I don't want you to leave us… and I refuse to abandon my daughter here." He said firmly, finally agreeing with what Raphtalia had been telling him before.

Filo, for all intents and purposes, was like his daughter now. He wouldn't trade this annoying little chicken loli girl for any other monster in the world.

Not even an epic fire breathing dragon.

Filo's eyes widened as if she couldn't believe it at first, and then more tears appeared in her eyes. "Wah! WAHHHHHHHHHHH!" She started crying as she hugged Daddy tightly back. Was this real?... was this really happening?...

...

"I'm not letting you go. Not ever... You got me?" Naofumi said comfortingly. His head resting on her blonde hair.

Filo continued to cry. "Y-Yes Daddy!"

It was real.

Raphtalia stood by and watched. Tears leaked from her eyes as she held her hand over her heart at how sweet the scene was. _'Naofumi…'_

...

"Well, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to join in on this family hug to mom?" Naofumi asked Raphtalia sarcastically.

Raphtalia was quick to comply. Within seconds, the two of them were on their knees, sharing a family hug with Filo.

"Thank… thank you. Mommy, Daddy." Filo cried happily in between the two.

"Of course Filo. Naofumi and I will always be here for you." Raphtalia said, before looking to Naofumi as if to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Naofumi smiled a little for her and nodded. He moved his head so he could rub Filo's hair comfortingly with one hand. "Your mother and I aren't planning on going anywhere," Naofumi said, his voice softer than normal. "Not without our disobedient little daughter."

The little girl sighed happily and relaxed in their embrace. He somehow got the feeling that she wouldn't be so disobedient in the future... though she was still going to be annoying as hell.

...

'_It's… it's finally happened…'_ Raphtalia wanted to cry even harder from how happy she felt. She didn't think she could feel any happier despite what had happened.

…

After a moment, Naofumi looked up at Raphtalia, who was now smiling as one of her hands joined Naofumi's in comfortingly rubbing Filo's hair. And a thought entered his mind.

"Whatever you heard earlier was wrong," Naofumi said, catching her off guard.

"What?" She asked confusedly.

For once, it was like Naofumi finally saw a part of the full picture. Filo hadn't been the only one hearing voices. And as much as Naofumi wondered if Raphtalia had heard Filo or not, he found it much more likely that she'd heard his voice speaking horrible things to her.

Memories came through his mind of the times when Raphtalia had shared her insecurities with him. He'd never overheard her sharing small things like that with Filo. Yet she'd practically laid her soul out for him over the time they were together, trusting him with it… and those monsters had been saying the last thing you'd ever want to hear from the person you least expected to hear it from.

He had a good guess what those monsters had said to Raphtalia.

He gripped her hand tightly. "Raphtalia… I need you too. There hasn't been a day that's gone by where that isn't the case." He said sincerely. "I'm grateful to have you at my side. I'm grateful that I chose to buy you that night when I found out I was being betrayed." Naofumi said seriously. "I'm grateful you stuck by me even after you were freed from your crest. I'm grateful that you help me try to be a better person."

Another memory passed through his mind. It was the day she'd saved him from the Monster tamer Firo…

"And... I don't care what others say. I don't care if your race possibly came from humans and monsters." He said smiling. "I don't mind that you're a demi-human. You're not an abomination. You're more human than I am... And as I told Beloukas before, I'd be crazy to let someone as beautiful and amazing as you go." He said with all the honesty and sincerity that he could muster.

He still didn't know for sure what his feelings were. He didn't fully understand why it was so hard for him to identify them... But whatever they were towards this girl, they were positive and warm. Like a ray of sunshine on what would otherwise be a bitter soul. So he knew he meant it. He meant every last word.

...

Tears touched the corner of Raphtalia's eyes again, and she leaned her head against Naofumi's shoulder as she started sobbing. She'd already known the voice from before hadn't been Naofumi's. She'd realized everything it had said had been a lie... But to hear Naofumi refute those words for real… to hear him say her worries and fears were unfounded... she continued to cry. Her tears landing on his cloak. It was... too much...

He embraced both her and Filo tightly.

"Thank… thank you... Naofumi..." She whispered gratefully.

He kissed the top of her head, and then rested his head against hers. "Let's stay like this for a moment." He suggested. Similar to the time when she'd suggested to stay in his comforting embrace a little longer in the Cerberus mine.

The three of them remained silent.

For once, no one appeared to ruin their moment.

* * *

_That Evening_

'Thank, thank you, sir."

Naofumi sighed tiredly as he stretched out his back. It had taken them the rest of the day to explore the rest of the maze of a dungeon. It had been a real hassle, but while they hadn't found any treasure besides an empty chest, they had managed to rescue the rest of the old man's original party and defeated the rest of those stupid bats and rats in the process. Turns out, that lame Voice Gengar Shield Naofumi had unlocked was actually very useful against them. All it took was Filo having to screech angrily into the megaphone the shield produced, and the bats and rats would drop to the ground like flies, dazed by the loud blast of sound for long enough that Raphtalia could run through and cut them down with her sword.

Almost all of the old man's party members had been hurt except one when they'd found them. They had all been young, ranging from their late teens to their early 20's. It was probably because of their age and higher levels that they had survived. He managed to heal them up with only a few Fast Heal's and HP Potions.

Almost all of their stories when they were found reflected what the first guy said. They'd been exploring the dungeon when they started to hear the last thing they thought they'd hear from their friends around them. Eventually freaking out and running away from each other because of how scared they became of being betrayed by their friends.

"It's no problem," Naofumi said dryly. He had his Mask Shield on. Though for once, he and Raphtalia had their hoods down while talking to a group of people, and Filo ran around nearby in her child form. She was jumping around and smiling happily like a little kid. "I'm sorry I couldn't save the old man." Once the teen had woken up, Naofumi had been able to explain how he'd found them.

The group, which consisted of the dagger group leader they'd saved, a sword wielder, a katana wielder, and several mages; bowed their heads in respect. "My grandfather was one of the best men I've ever known. And he always pushed me to go and explore the world with him." The young man managed to say before his face took on a sad look.

"Hey, it'll be okay." The sword wielder, a guy, said encouragingly to him.

The katana wielder, a girl as tall as him, slapped the sword wielder. "Ow, what was that for Mikasa?" He asked angrily.

The katana wielder, Mikasa, sighed at his reaction. "You can be so insensitive sometimes Eren."

"How am I insensitive?! You're the one who elbowed me in the side!"

"I trained hard so I could make him proud…" The two's looming argument was cut off. They looked back at their friend. "I tried… I tried so hard... but now, I'm ashamed that the moment he needed me most, I ran off, scared of the lies those monsters were saying…" The teen started to cry into his hands.

The two who had been arguing stayed silent. Unsure of what to say or do to comfort their friend.

...

One of the mages, a fire specialist with a white and black mohawk, put his hand on the teen's shoulder. "Yo man, do you really think your gramps would want you moping about his death!?" He asked his friend loudly.

The teen and the others were taken aback. "Magna, can't you at least be a little considerate of the boy's feelings?" The female mage asked with a sigh.

"Shut it Vanessa!" Magna yelled angrily at the mage, who rolled her eyes and looked the other direction. "Look, we all lose people at one point or another in our lives! I failed to save my own surrogate father, the man who changed me from a lowly street punk to the badass adventuring man I am today. But do you think he wanted me to feel sorry and stop growing after failing him!?" He asked rhetorically. He didn't give his friend time to answer. "Noooo! And I doubt your gramps would want you to feel sorry for him too, especially since what happened wasn't your fault!?"

The young man looked shocked at his friend's words. Vanessa sighed but put a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder. "He could have put it less bluntly, but I agree with Magna. For once." She added as a jibe to their friend. "Your grandfather wouldn't want you beating yourself up over this Armin. It wasn't your fault. But if you need help overcoming this, we're all here for you."

The young man named Armin blinked. "What she said," Mikasa said, agreeing with the mage. She discreetly side elbowed Eren in the ribs, getting him to quickly agree too.

"As long as we keep on going on adventures together, we're here for ya!" The last mage said happily.

"You guys…" Armin said, looking around in shock at his friends.

"Just because the world decides to throw you crap," Naofumi spoke again. "That doesn't mean you should give up. If anything, it means you can take this experience and push forward. You might not have been able to save your grandfather, but you can still get stronger. And if you have friends supporting you, nothing will stop you in the future."

Tears built up in Armin's eyes again at his words, and he looked around at his friends. They were all smiling for him, but not as largely as the loud-mouthed mage. "Those are some real man words there."

"Magna… Vanessa, Luck… Eren, Mikasa. Thank you." He addressed his friends.

"No problem kid," Magna replied for them all. "You're already more of a man than you were before we entered that dungeon."

Armin looked back to Naofumi. "And again, thank you, sir. I don't know if we could ever repay you for saving our lives."

Naofumi shrugged. "Eh. You won't have to worry about that," Naofumi said plainly. "I checked while we were searching. There wasn't any treasure in that dungeon. But we did come across plenty of high valued ore and gemstones as we went along. So you can tell the Lafan Lord my services for today are paid for."

By his count, he'd unlocked the Gold Shield, a Lead Shield, a Copper Shield, a Troni Shield, and several other ore shields beside the monster shields. He'd even had a stroke of luck finding a Jade Gemstone along with several Sapphires in some of the ore veins. He'd be set for a while with his accessory making.

"Wait, what?!" The fire mage Magna yelled indignantly. "You mean you seriously put mining ore in the way of rescuing the rest of us!? That isn't manly at all!"

"Put a sock in it, Magna. I still remember you covering yourself in flames and screaming like a little girl when you ran away in there." The last mage, the shortest of the bunch, said in an oddly happy tone.

"You stay out of this Luck!" Magna yelled down angrily and indignantly at the short mage.

Now that Naofumi thought about it, Luck had been the one oddball of the group that Naofumi hadn't found freaking out over the monsters. In fact, he'd found Luck at the end of the maze dungeon, surrounded by dozens of monster corpses. Including one that had unlocked another shield in his Chimera series. A Nue Shield. Checking its stats, it was supposed to give him medium lightning resistance. Yet this mage had claimed he took it down with Lightning magic...

He figured Luck would have been just fine on his own if he'd never found him.

"Ooh! Does this mean we get to fight each other!?" Luck asked happily. Lightning crawled up his arms as he said it. Naofumi had also noticed this teenager always looked eager for a fight, unlike his friends who sweatdropped at his words. "Those monsters tried with those voice abilities of theirs. But sensing their mana was a piece of cake! Maybe you could provide me with a real challenge!"

"Here we go again," Vanessa said, sighing at the immaturity of her two fellow mages as she pulled a bottle of vodka from her robes. Had she summoned that with magic? He hadn't noticed before, but she wasn't wearing much clothing underneath her mage robes. Magna was glaring fire daggers, while Luck was smiling happy and carefree, lightning sparking in his hair.

Armin suppressed a chuckle. He'd only met these mages several months ago when they moved to his village. Yet they'd gotten along ever since. "Best of luck to you sir," He said happily to Naofumi.

"Thanks. Just be more careful next time about exploring dungeons," Naofumi said, before looking to Raphtalia and Filo. "Come on. We still have a ways to go before we get to the next town. And to be frank, I'm exhausted."

"Right, I can take the first watch tonight!" Raphtalia said happily.

"Filo!" Naofumi yelled to the little girl. The yell was lacking the rough edge it used to have towards her.

"Okayyyyyy!" With a poof, Filo turned back into her Filolial Queen form. The transformation was so shocking, both Magna and Luck stopped yelling at each other to gawk at where the former girl had been standing. Of course, Magna had been out cold when Naofumi had found him. He'd only seen Filo as a little girl with angel wings on her back.

"So cool!" Luck said in awe. Luck, however, had already seen Filo transform once, and found the sight of her mana during the transformation amazing.

"Just what in the hell kind of magic is that?!" Magna yelled.

Naofumi and Raphtalia climbed onto Filo's back. "Where to daddy?" Filo asked.

"Hey don't go ignoring me now!" Magna yelled angrily.

"Take us back to our wagon Filo!" Naofumi ordered.

"Yayyyyyyyy!" Filo yelled happily as she took off away from the entrance of the dungeon back into the forest. Raphtalia held onto Naofumi for dear life as they sped away.

_'I finally get to go back to pulling my favorite wagon! I'm so happy!'_ Filo thought happily to herself.

"Filo! Slow downnnnnn-" Raphtalia's voice faded into the distance while she gripped onto Naofumi like her life depended on it.

The group they'd saved stood stock still, staring in awe after them. "I just realized... were we just… saved by the Nocturnal Doctor?" Mikasa asked in surprise.

"Did they have to ignore me!? And did that giant fat bird call that stupid mining guy her daddy?!" Magna asked, looking disgusted at the thought. "That's gross!"

"I kind of thought that's what your kids would end up looking like Magnaaaa." Vanessa teased the hothead mage. She already looked drunk from the vodka she was drinking. Or maybe she was always drunk and pretended to be sober some of the time.

"Screw you!" Magna angrily responded. "My kids would totally look as hot as me!"

"Which, if you think about it, means they wouldn't be hot at all!" Luck joked happily behind him.

"Ragh! That does it!" Magna summoned a… fire baseball bat in his grip? Then, one after the other, he started summoning fire baseballs which he hit at Luck. "TAKE THIS YOU LITTLE RUNT!"

"Wheeeeeeeeee! Now we're really having fun!" Luck yelled happily as his feet were covered in what would best be described as lightning boots. He easily slid from side to side, making hilarious poses as he avoided each fire baseball with ease.

"Come on Magna, you're going to need to try harder than that if you want to hit me!"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Magna continued to yell what he hoped to be a manly yell as he hit fire baseballs at a rapidly increasing rate. "**Flame Magic: Fast Prison Scattershot!**"

One of the flame baseballs he hit split into a dozen streaks of fire all heading towards Luck from different angles.

**Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!**

The explosions all hit the canyon wall behind Luck, who somehow dodged every one of them. "Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!" He continued to say happily.

"DAMN YOU!"

Armin, Vanessa, and the others chuckled nervously at their two friends getting lost in their familiar antics. "Those two will never change," Vanessa said with a sigh. "Now if only he'd put that much effort into fighting monsters."

"How long do you think it'll take for Magna to run out of mana this time?" Mikasa boredly asked Eren while checking the sharpness of her katana.

"I give him about five minutes. Ten if he's conservative with his magic." Eren replied.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Magna continued to yell. He definitely wasn't being conservative with his MP here.

"Wheeeee!" Luck continued dancing in the deadly barrage of fire.

Armin smiled. It has been weird since the day these three had found themselves lost and disconnected from their former squad when they moved here. But… "As crazy as this sounds, I don't think I'd want them to change."

After all, some things are perfect just the way they are...

...

Magna continued to scream as he tried again and again to hit the laughing Luck.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

***Sniff* I lost track of how many times I cried writing out the end of that Voice scene. It just… *blows loudly into tissue* it just makes me feel so happy! *Goes to random corner to bawl for an hour***

**You know, I wondered how hard it would be to tie in anime crossovers into this fic. Even if some turn out to be cameos. But pulling Luck, Vanessa, and Magna over from Black Clover along with Eren, Armin, and Mikasa from Attack on Titan was both really funny and really entertaining. I'd definitely want to somehow find a way of including at least the Black Clover gang down the road. Well, besides this omake scene below. But other than that, I think this one satisfies me for now on characters directly crossing over.**

**Also, since I'm sure this is going to come up, there's actually a very good reason why Naofumi is taking so long to figure out his feelings. I won't spoil it for the anime-only watchers. Just be patient with my boy Naofumi here.**

**Not to spoil anything, but the next chapter is gearing up to be a sweet one. It's a new one I'm writing out that was unplanned, but it came to me while I was editing this one. I'm still working on it with college, stress, difficulty with sleeping at night, issues, and demotivation going on. Please, I pray, I beg, help motivate me.**

**Thank you again for all your support. Enjoy the omake below. Courtesy of the show that first introduced me to the concept. As annoying as Asta can sometimes be, I wouldn't have fallen in love with omakes if it wasn't for Black Clover.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**You've got to be Kidding me?!**

* * *

"Yo seriously, this is a piece of crap!"

"What are you going on about this time Magnaaaa?" A drunk looking Vanessa asked where she was lying scantily clad on a couch in the tavern. She held a bottle of wine in both hands.

"I'm talking about the Author here ripping from all sorts of anime! Including ours!" Magna yelled angrily.

"Why is that such a big deal you dummy. Just have a drink and drown in the booze with me." Vanessa said to him childishly.

"Ugh! Did he seriously have to write you drunk too!?" Magna yelled. "He's even less of a man than I thought!"

"How is the Author stealing from other animes, Magna?" Luck asked curiously.

"Helllllooooo!" Magna said as he pointed up above at something only he could see. "Hero Clips?! It's obviously a rip off of our Clover Clips dumbass!"

"But what else is there?" Luck asked curiously.

"Oh, he's also included references to Full Metal Alchemist!" Magna started listing on his fingers. "References to My Hero Academia! References to Attack on Titan! He even included one large Freaking Sword Art Online reference that wasn't related to the Sword Hero back in Chapter Nineteen!"

"Yeah." A familiar-looking young blacksmith spoke up from behind the bar counter as he served a drink to someone. "I would have thought Algade would have been a big give away... But nobody ever pointed it out because my real name was Andrew." He said sadly.

"Like, seriously! It's obvious that's supposed to be AGIL!" Magna yelled loudly. Looking like he was about to blow a gasket. "A damn wiki search would have shown that!"

"Jeez Magna. You're starting to sound just as loud and annoying as Asta." Luck replied happily.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME RUNT?!" Magna yelled.

"I said Asta is a better character than you! At least he's actually useful for something!" Luck answered happily.

"DAMN YOU! YOU'RE JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE THAT'S HOW THE AUTHOR IS PORTRAYING YOU!" Magna again started to hit fire baseballs at his friend.

"Says the one meta knowledging everything! Wheeeee!"

"AHHHHHHHH! BE A REAL MAN AND TAKE IT!" Did Magna even realize the Author was also secretly portraying him too?

Ren, Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Naofumi who had been observing from the side sweatdropped at the scene.

"I'm really glad they never appear in our show," Motoyasu said.

"Or our light novel," Ren commented.

"Or our manga," Itsuki said.

"But sadly, they had to appear in this fic," Naofumi said with a sigh.

...

"Want to go complain to the Author about it?" Itsuki asked the group.

"Sure, why not," Ren answered. The four of them got up and started to walk away.

"By the way, what have you been doing Motoyasu?" Itsuki asked.

"I don't know," Motoyasu said with a shrug. "Maybe we'll find out next chapter."

"Are you sure you'll be in the next chapter?" Naofumi asked sarcastically. "After all, your character is also pretty lame."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME!?" Motoyasu yelled angrily.

Naofumi smirked. "Your character is nothing but a womanizer. The Author's had such a hard time trying to find a way to improve you that he's left you as is. At least the others and I are actually experiencing character growth. Your Curse Series unlock was weak sauce compared to ours."

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Motoyasu yelled angrily as he brandished his spear.

"I KNOW WHY YOU HAVE THE SPEAR NOW!" Naofumi yelled sarcastically as he took a defensive stance. "IT WAS THE WORLD'S WAY OF PITYING YOU BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU'RE PACKING FOR THE LADIES!"

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Motoyasu started attacking Naofumi, who blocked every single attack with his shield.

"Wait, isn't the author portraying them too?" Ren asked.

It was like a mirror image of what was going on behind them.

"Chaos Thrust!"

"Dog Bite Shield!"

"Meteor Thrust!"

"What's the matter, Overcompensating Spear?! Your attacks aren't doing any damage!"

"DAMN YOU!" Motoyasu yelled angrily.

The two realized it. The Author was making it so nobody would bother him at this time.

"... You've got to be kidding me." Ren and Itsuki said at the same time as both fights escalated.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	27. 27: Criminal Hero

**We have officially passed the 1000 Follower Benchmark! Yes! Thanks again for all the support and encouragement. It was thanks to that and several other things last week that I was able to write all of this out.**

**I should mention this. This chapter is the last chapter of the 2nd arc of this story. The first arc consisted of the events and time period of the 1st LN. This current arc consisted of the time period around the 2nd LN to the present. The scene starting with Itsuki's party can be looked at as a prologue for the start of the next arc. This is going to be a combination of the 3rd and 4th LN's because, let's face it, the various changes and butterfly effects that have happened thus far are speeding up a certain plot element ahead of schedule. Buckle your seat belts. We're in for quite the ride.**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _33 more Favorites, 49 more Followers (Total: 863 Favorites, 1023 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _January 27th, 2019 3:07 P.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven:** _Criminal Hero_

* * *

Three Days Later (16 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)

Naofumi and Raphtalia sat together under a tree. Raphtalia was cuddled against Naofumi's side watching the coming sunset while Naofumi worked on a gold bangle. He had one of the infused Lotium Gemstones sitting nearby in the grass for when the Bangle was done.

_'This… this feels nice.'_

Several weeks ago, just the thought of cuddling with Raphtalia had been enough to make Naofumi blush. Now, it almost felt natural for her to be at his side. Maybe it had been because of what happened in the dungeon. Maybe it was because no one was around to watch… _'I could use more moments like this.'_ Naofumi thought.

Whatever the case, it felt really nice to relax next to her while working on a small project.

Raphtalia stayed quiet, both watching the sun lower in the sky and observing Naofumi work on his little project. A calm breeze gently blew through her hair. One of her hands rested on his Legendary Shield. She looked at peace...

Naofumi finished using his tools to make the bangle with a slot for the gemstone. She thought that he would have put the gemstone in next to enchant it, but then he pulled out a different tool. An item he'd gotten selling the extra ore from the dungeon. He started carefully etching a design on the gold.

_'Why is Master Naofumi putting so much work into this accessory?'_ She thought curiously after a moment of watching.

Naofumi was taking his time etching in the design, unlike the last accessory he'd worked on for a village Lord. His movements were slow, his hand steady; like he was working on a painting instead of an accessory. '_I've never seen him put so much work into an accessory before… is he trying something new to make more money?...'_

He had a relaxed smile on his face though... Raphtalia decided not to question him about his sudden desire to put more work than usual into an accessory...

"Mommy, Daddy!"

Filo came running up to the two of them. She was holding something shiny in her hands. "Look! Filo found a cool stone!"

Naofumi paused in what he was working on and examined it. It was times like this where Raphtalia thought she could almost see his status magic his pop up in front of his face when he examined something. "Amber… where'd you find that Filo?" Naofumi asked in surprise.

"I found it lying at the root of a tree! Doesn't it look pretty?!" She asked excitedly.

Naofumi smiled as he examined the Amber stone. '_Without even trying, this girl just found a great quality gemstone lying around.'_ He thought.

He had a small project he was working on for Filo. The girl was at level 39, and would soon need the class up treatment like Raphtalia, so he was working on something to help improve her stats. An accessory she could wear while she was either a Filolial Queen or a little girl. This amber… he pictured the small project with the amber in it, and to be honest, it looked much better to him than any of the other gemstones he currently had. He just hoped Amber was on the same enchantment level as Sapphires and Jades. He'd hate for the accessory to come out with a shoddy enchantment after all the work he was putting into it.

"Do you mind if I hold onto this for now Filo?" Naofumi asked.

Filo became crestfallen at that. "But it's my shiny…" She complained.

"Don't worry. When I give it back to you, it'll be shinier than before. You got me?"

Filo still looked unsure… "You promise!?"

Naofumi nodded. "Of course. I promise you'll like it much more than you do now."

Filo thought about it for a moment more. And then she smiled. "Okay! Thanks Daddy!" With that, she turned around and ran off into the forest.

"Don't run too far!" Naofumi called after her.

"I won't!" Filo's voice faded as she ran off.

"... Master Naofumi… I think that was the first time I've seen you handle Filo all on your own without snapping at her." Raphtalia said happily beside him. She was smiling widely at seeing Naofumi acting like a real Father.

"Yeah, she still annoys me, but I think that loli is finally starting to listen to me," Naofumi said optimistically as he placed the Amber into his Shield's Inventory and got back to work on the Bangle.

_'I mean… ever since that dungeon, it's like she's different… or maybe I'm finally starting to see her the way Raphtalia sees her...'_ Naofumi pondered to himself.

He didn't know what it was. It wasn't like Filo had completely changed after that cave experience. She seemed just as loud and annoying and cheerful as ever, with the world's greatest appetite to boot… but maybe that dungeon had changed him in more ways than he'd thought.

"I'm just happy that you get along with her a lot better now Master Naofumi," Raphtalia said happily.

"Yeah, me too." He replied. "I feel a lot better now that I don't have to yell or lecture her every day."

"You didn't have to yell at her every day before."

"It sure felt like it." He sarcastically said. "But it doesn't change the fact that I prefer it like this. With all of us getting along, getting the chance to relax..."

Raphtalia sighed happily in response. He worked quietly for a while… nothing disturbing the peace besides the gentle breeze...

...

...

"Sometimes… I wish this could go on forever." Naofumi suddenly said.

"What do you mean?" Raphtalia asked.

"Well. I'm a runaway fugitive of Melromarc... the main Church wants to kill us both, and Siltvelt wants to kill you and bring me in as some sort of God figure... we still need to figure out where we're going to go after Filo reaches level 40... and besides that, we have the Wave of Catastrophe to deal with here in two weeks," Naofumi said realistically. "Then we have the one after that, and the one after that… and who knows how many more we'll have to deal with in the future…" The future seemed so complicated.

Naofumi stayed silent for a moment. "Eventually, they're going to end. And if we survive everything else long enough for that to happen…"

Raphtalia stayed silent...

"I mean, I don't know when it'll happen. Whether it'll be in two months, two years, or two decades." Naofumi continued nervously. "It's just that when they end… if they end… if I'm still alive... I don't really have any plans on…" He found it hard to continue. But why was he finding it hard to continue? '_Don't I want to go back to my world when the Waves of Catastrophe are over?'_ He thought. '_Don't I want to escape a place that wants to take everything from me?... don't I want to go back to where my life was easy?...'_

...

"Naofumi… once all the waves have been repelled… you'll probably go back… back to your homeworld, where I'll never see you again…" Raphtalia finally said sadly.

Of course, he should have realized it. With how often she read his mind. It was obvious she could guess what he wanted to say. Still, hearing her say it didn't make him feel better. '_If I left… what would happen to Raphtalia and Filo?... would I want to go back to a world where they wouldn't belong?...'_

"I understand why... so may I…" Raphtalia looked up into his face. "May I go with you when you leave?" She asked sincerely.

"... Raphtalia…"

She quickly continued. "I, I know that your world is different from mine… but I… I don't want to stay if you're going." She said sadly. "I couldn't… I wouldn't. Not after everything we've been through together. I couldn't bear to be separated from you Master Naofumi."

Naofumi stared at her for a moment… as happy as was to hear she'd whole-heartedly want to go back with him... "But… what about your friends… what about Filo…"

Raphtalia opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She couldn't think of a response to that. She hung her head, and her tail sagged on the ground behind her. In her selfish hurry to want to affirm to Naofumi that she'd want to stay with him, she forgot about her friends and Filo.

"I know you care a lot for me Raphtalia. I care a lot for you too… but if you want to come with me, there's obviously some things we'd have to take care of first." Naofumi said logically. "Besides the waves, we'd have to find someone who'd take care of Filo. And then there's your village friends to consider too… would you want to leave them in slavery?"

Raphtalia was torn by that question. She loved Naofumi… but she also loved her friends. She loved having Filo around. Everything she knew and loved was in this world. "But…" Could she really leave all of it for Naofumi?... "I…" Could she really leave her friends and world in the state it was in?… "... Right…" Raphtalia said depressedly at realizing the truth in Naofumi's words.

She still had her old friends here in this world. Friends who were probably living in slavery right now… friends she'd have to somehow save and provide a safe haven too if Itsuki didn't manage to save them... and even if they did accomplish all that somehow, there was still Filo. If both of her parents were to leave… who'd stay behind to take care of her?... even then if she managed to accomplish all that was needed, could she bring herself to leave everything behind to follow Naofumi to a completely different world?...

"I'm not saying I'd hate to bring you with me. Hell, I'd love it if you could come." Naofumi said honestly, interrupting her thoughts. "But before that, I want to make sure that you could leave this world behind without any regrets about anything," Naofumi said. '_Unlike me, who didn't have that chance when I was brought here.'_ He thought.

…

"What if we were to both stay here Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked.

Naofumi blinked at that. "What?"

Raphtalia looked down at her hands. "I know from what you've told me that you liked your world… and I know this world hasn't treated you kindly… but what if one day it did? What if, one day, we didn't have to hide, and people treated you like a real hero… would you want to stay then?" She asked.

…

Naofumi thought about it. He hadn't really put much thought into staying here before… "I mean, you don't have to answer that now either," Raphtalia said, a slight blush traveling up her face. "I know it wouldn't be that easy... But if that was all it'd take… I'd do my best. I'd try everything I could to prove to everyone that you're the Great Shield Hero."

"..." Naofumi smiled. He could still remember when she'd called him that in the duel arena. He had no doubt she'd try. "I guess we'll have to wait and see," Naofumi said.

Raphtalia smiled widely at that, and her tail started to wag fiercely behind her again. Then a blush traveled up her face again, and she quickly turned away in embarrassment.

It was highly likely that she'd been thinking of kissing Naofumi at that moment.

Naofumi, ignorant of what that reaction meant, looked down at the Gold Bangle. Without meaning to, he'd finished up the rest of the engraving subconsciously while talking to Raphtalia. He held it up to examine his work. '_Nice. I don't know if it's because of the Shield's influence or not, but it actually looks pretty good.'_ He thought as he put the tool away and pulled up the item description on his status magic.

**Good Quality Engraved Gold Bangle**

_'Though its Quality dropped from Very Good to Good.'_ Naofumi thought with a frown. Maybe his shield hadn't been helping as much as he'd thought...

He grabbed the purple Lotium Gemstone off the ground. "Alright, let's see what we get here." The quality had already lowered. He didn't have anything else to lose. Unless the enchantment failed and gave him a black broken object, then he was going to be pissed.

...

**Enchantment Successful: New Item: Great Quality Gold Bangle: Enchantments Applied: Magic Up (Small), Mana Regeneration (Medium), Max Mana Up (Slight)**

_'Holy ****!'_ This had never happened on an enchantment before. He'd either get one good enchantment that lowered the quality, a mediocre enchantment that kept the quality the same, or a mix of the two. But not only had the quality gone up, but it had several great enchantments on it too. He didn't know if it was because of the work he'd put in to engraving the metal, or because of the amount of work he'd put into cutting out the Lotium gemstone from the crystal Raphtalia had given him, or something else... but whatever had caused it, the Gold Bangle had received a very nice upgrade alongside a fine set of enchantments.

_'This is perfect!'_ This small project had turned into a great success!

"Is something wrong Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked curiously.

"No, something went really right actually." He said, examining the accessory with a wide smile. _'I wish it'd had an attack increase enchantment too so I could try it.'_ For all of his enchanting, he had as of yet to make something that could increase his attack stat_, 'But damn! The enchantments couldn't be more perfect for her…'_

He looked at Raphtalia. "Here, I want you to have it." He said, giving the bangle to her.

Raphtalia looked at Naofumi in surprise. "Are you sure? You could sell it for a lot of Silver-" She tried to say. It looked really nice. And it'd look out of place on her with how simple her clothing and armor looked.

"Raphtalia. Try it on." He insisted.

…

Raphtalia reluctantly tried it on at his insistence. It slipped onto her wrist just as easily as her old iron slave bands. He smiled, glad he had gotten the calculations right. He quickly checked her stats and found her magic stats had received a sizable boost. His small side project for Raphtalia had been a huge success. "That should help you for now since you still can't class up." He said.

Raphtalia checked her own stats and looked astounded at the bangle's effects. "First your Slave User Shields, then my equipment upgrades, and now this?" Being a hero's companion had a lot of perks. She'd never dreamed she could be so strong before in her life. "Master Naofumi, are you sure you don't prefer your women stout?" She unsurely asked.

"Why are you bringing that up?" Naofumi asked curiously.

"Every time you find a way to improve my stats. I keep on getting the feeling that I'm getting lighter, and I don't like it!" She said seriously.

Naofumi took a moment to observe her. "You still look the same as before... plus, it also looks good on you." He said.

Raphtalia again blushed. She had to admit a large part of her was grateful Naofumi had given one of his best accessories he'd put quite a bit of work into for her. However, a small part of her couldn't help but wonder if he'd been planning on giving it to her from the start or not. Before she could ask though, Filo came running back from the forest in her Filolial Queen form.

"Daddy, Daddy! I found a cute wild Filolial in the forest!" She said happily.

"Really?" Naofumi hummed in response.

"Yeah! It looked real tasty too! Filo wanted to chase after it and try a bite, but it freaked out and ran away-"

"Filo!" Naofumi yelled, interrupting her. "You're not supposed to find your own kind tasty!"

Filo looked surprised at hearing that. "But I'm hungry Daddy." She complained.

"No buts! You shouldn't be thinking about eating your own kind!" Hadn't he been happy about not having to yell at her earlier? And now she'd gone off trying to eat one of her kind?! '_She really hasn't changed since the dungeon.'_

"But you told me it's okay to eat monsters since they're evil!" Filo argued back.

Naofumi was briefly silenced by that response. Filo did indeed have a point. "Well, um…"

Raphtalia giggled into her hand. "You did tell her it was alright to eat other monsters before Master Naofumi." She reminded him.

"Who's side are you on?" Naofumi dryly asked her. She only continued to laugh cutely into her hands. '_Ugh…'_ Naofumi sighed defeatedly. "Damn it." He muttered. "Fine Filo. I'll teach you more about why you can't eat your own kind while I make dinner." That was something he never thought he'd have to teach her.

"Yayyyyy!" Filo happily changed back into her child form as she cheered.

Naofumi got up, leaving Raphtalia under the tree. "Why'd I have to unlock those Chef Shields again?" Naofumi asked himself.

"Because it gives us another reason to love you Naofumi," Raphtalia answered happily.

"Yeah, yeah." Naofumi smiled despite his sarcastic response. "Have fun trying out your new accessory." He said as he walked away.

Raphtalia continued to smile as she looked down at her Bangle. Her fingers felt along the etched lines... "**Hide Mirage.**" She cast the spell over herself and became invisible.

She checked her MP gauge. '_It's dropping a little slower than before...'_ After a few minutes, she canceled the spell. Her MP gauge stopped dropping. Then, quicker than it normally did, it started to fill back up. MP recharged much more slowly compared to SP according to Naofumi. However, the difference Raphtalia was noticing here was significant.

She smiled really widely. '_Now it'll be easier for me to practice my magic, learn sword techniques, and infuse gemstones for Master Naofumi!'_ She thought excitedly.

Raphtalia wasn't one for wearing something for cosmetic appeal. And her armor and simple state of dress didn't match up with something so fancy. But… just this once... she decided it'd be okay to wear this accessory.

"So if eating wild Filolials is bad, why am I allowed to eat other wild monsters?" Filo asked back where Naofumi was cooking.

"Filo… ugh…" Naofumi groaned.

'_Children and their damn questions sometimes.'_ He thought frustratingly to himself. Why couldn't children be like adults and understand everything about the world?...

* * *

_(13 Days before the next wave of Catastrophe)_

Itsuki sat in a tavern with his party. Almost all of them were stuffing their faces around the table happily. The patrons were all especially rowdy that night.

"Thanks to our new demi-human brat, we took down that noble and fooled those guards before they knew what hit them." Aksel, the now drunk armored knight, boasted proudly.

"I'm sorry, what did you call me?" Maya asked while glaring, her voice tinged with venom.

The drunk tank realized what he'd said, and paled underneath his helmet. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" He quickly got on his knees, begging for his life.

Maya's glare melted away back to a playful smile. "I was only kidding Aksel. Jeez, you look like you saw a ghost." She said playfully. "You don't think I'm that scary now, do you?"

Aksel, the armored knight, quickly got back up, blushing in embarrassment. "No, it's not that, it's just-" He stumbled over his speech as he tried to say something to defend himself.

"Awwww, look at that Rach," Karn said mockingly in a drunk slur. "Our knight friend here has a crush on our newest party member."

"It looks like you're right." The normally reserved Rachel smiled.

"What a pervert. She was only a little girl last week and you're already trying to make moves on little Maya." Crystal, the silver-haired spearman, said unsympathetically.

"That's Axe for ya." Marx, the blonde-haired mage said with a sigh. "Hitting on any girl no matter their age. What a lolicon."

"I do not have a crush on Maya!" Aksel roared in anger at his friends. "And I'm not a lolicon!"

"Sure, and you also weren't the one that worried the most about her safety after helping Rachel train her the last couple weeks." Crystal said sarcastically. All the other party members around the table laughed.

"You, you, argh!" He drowned his frustration in another bottle of mead. Causing Maya to giggle at his expense. Some of the other members of the party around the table laughed again.

"Those two are getting along well," Itsuki commented.

"Fuehhhh!"

"Rishia, will you please stop whimpering at everything I say," Itsuki asked her, trying to sound calm. A little frustration leaked out with his tone.

"Feh- I'm sorry Sir Itsuki!" Rishia said apologetically while bowing her head.

"I'm no lolicon! You all can just stop thinking I like this brat for all I care!" Aksel said angrily to his party.

"Awww, and we were getting along so well," Maya said as she lightly touched one of Aksel's arms.

"GAH!" Aksel tried to move away and fell backward off his seat. His armored legs stuck comically up in the air. The party again laughed at the embarrassed knight's expense. Marx sighed and left the table. He was likely going to the guild to gather information for Itsuki. He couldn't bear to watch his knight friend make more of a fool of himself.

Itsuki sighed. But what Aksel had said earlier had been true. It was all thanks to Maya that they'd been able to take down this noble.

The noble they'd killed, Donry Levald, had made a public showing of several demihuman kids the day before. He publicly whipped them, beat them, stripped them, and then burned them at the stake in front of a large crowd of people. He then told the crowd to spread the word that if this vigilante didn't turn himself in, he would kill more of his slaves the following night. Making the punishments they received before death gradually worse and worse until the vigilante turned himself in.

Rachel hadn't had to tell him any of this noble's former crimes. Or any information about him in general.

Itsuki knew that noble had to die.

There had been a few problems initially though. Donry Levald had been a man like Idol Rabier. A commander from the former war with Siltvelt. A strategist who'd been preparing for Itsuki's coming ever since Itsuki had spread the demand for Melromarc's nobility to free their slaves or suffer his wrath. And the preparations had actually been pretty smart.

When they arrived undercover at the fortress city, they'd found security beefed up in his lands. Guards were constantly on patrol in the streets for anything suspicious. The noble's already walled off property had a 24-hour watch with classed up guards and mages patrolling the walls and perimeter continuously. Alarm spells had been cast all over his property. Anyone who tried to intrude without permission would awaken every guard in the city.

Further information gathering had also told them the noble never went anywhere outside of his property. And when he did, it was usually with an escort of strong classed up loyal guards. There were supposedly some mercenaries hired to patrol the area, but they hadn't come across any of them. But with everything going on, and with only a countdown of a few hours until midnight when the noble would choose what slaves to present for a public display torture/execution, they didn't have time to gather information and come up with a solid plan. It was all because of Maya...

'_Hell. I still can't believe Maya looks like an adult now.'_ He thought in amazement. A couple weeks ago, she'd looked like a little girl with dirty untamed black hair and a shy personality. Now, she had shiny black hair held in a ponytail and her bushy tail looked well-groomed. Her brown eyes almost seemed to pierce her surroundings, yet she'd also grown a teaseful playful attitude with the other party members, quickly becoming friends with them. '_I know Rishia and Rachel told me that demi-humans grew as they leveled up. But this is insane!'_ At level 30, he would have mistaken Maya to be eighteen years old.

That was a tangent. It was all thanks to Maya that they'd managed to take down the noble and rescue the slaves...

* * *

_Under the guise of illusion magic, Maya held onto the bottom of a wagon as it rolled through the North Gate onto the noble's property. The sky up above was dark and pouring rain. 'Only two hours until the executions.'_ _She thought to herself. 'Two hours to accomplish what Itsuki-Kun wants me to do…'_

_She felt the wagon jolt to a stop. "What are you carrying in there?" A guard's voice asked._

"_Fresh produce and pastries. A gift from the noble Louie Vermoulli for the afterparty of tonight's event." The wagon driver answered._

"_Alright. Just allow the mages to perform the usual inspection." The guard replied in a bored tone. He was only a gate guard. He didn't get the privilege of participating in such events. He was forced to stay stuck out here in the pouring rain._

_A group of mages started to walk alongside the wagon and the Filolials that pulled it. They chanted spells under their breaths as they examined it… after a long moment, and after one of them checking under the wagon with the classic "Caught you!" but finding nothing trope, they waved the wagon along. "It's clear."_

"_Yeah. As if that vigilante would be dumb enough to try and sneak in on a wagon." The guard muttered to himself._

"_Our Lord really is on edge these days. Think the assassination attempts made on him during the war are finally getting the better of him?" One of the mages asked._

"_Who knows. It always seems like he's on edge about something." The guard muttered back. Wishing he could be back in the guard station so he could dry off by a warm fire._

"_Thank the Gods for Itsuki-Kun's hero abilities," Maya whispered to herself as the guard and mages talked. Itsuki had abilities because of the Bow that allowed himself to hide himself and magic from enemies by using SP instead of MP. The ability could also be used on party members, but at a higher cost. It wouldn't have worked against higher tier detection magic, but fortunately, it didn't seem like these mages wanted to waste such energy on every wagon that passed through their Lord's gates. And with the mages casting an area of effect spell that gave the driver, the wagon, and it's hidden occupant permission to enter, Maya was no longer considered an intruder to the alarm spells._

'_Now, I need to find a way to sneak in…' Maya slipped out from underneath the back of the wagon and hid in the back while keeping herself hidden with illusion magic. Itsuki would be observing and would know when to cut his skill off._

_The wagon stopped about thirty seconds after getting past the gate. Maya looked out and saw two large guards approaching the driver. Most likely to check what he had brought and, if they were nice, they'd offer to help with unloading it. Maya didn't stick around long enough to overhear as she quietly snuck behind them and entered the manor._

_After sneaking through the doors, Maya found herself in a familiar long spacious hall. Wide ornate staircases on both sides led to the upper levels. Doorways were placed evenly on the ground floor, leading to servant hallways, the kitchens, the dungeons, and many other lower-level places. The large doors at the end led into the noble's spacious dining room. Unlike the first noble Itsuki had met, this noble was rich, and looking at the paintings and everything else on display was like having how rich he was shoved into your face._

'_Right staircase. First hallway.' Maya thought. She'd been a slave to this noble several masters before her last one. She'd never thought the day would come where she'd use her knowledge of the place to come back and have him killed. And while Itsuki was one to normally scout out a place ahead of time and gather information, that wasn't a luxury he had now. It was either her knowledge worked, or it didn't and another group of demi-kids would lose their lives._

_She quickly moved along, and, sure enough, she found a few demi-human slaves in the first hallway. There were a few kids, teenagers and young adults dressed in maid outfits, hurriedly doing the evening cleaning for this section of the large manor. Working by the light of candles because of the storm going on outside the windows. She remembered the noble not having a particular schedule. Yet, for some reason, he always liked to take an evening patrol to find mistakes the other demi-humans made in their meticulous dusting so he could have an excuse to beat them or whip them on the spot. Even if there was no mistake to be found. This had led to his demi-humans rushing to finish in the evenings so they could go to their slave quarters without becoming his target. But the slaves in this hallway almost never finished in time since it was normally the first hallway the noble would check for offenders first._

_She moved further down the hallway. Drinking a small amount of Magic Restoration water as she did so since her MP was low. It looked like the slaves had just finished cleaning here. Maya made sure no one was looking. Then she dispelled most of the illusion magic hiding her. A small layer stayed over her, making it look like she was dressed in a maid's outfit. With the amount of mana she had left, she guessed she'd be able to hold her current illusion for another twenty minutes. She started to clean a familiar table with two vases resting on it. 'He should be coming this way soon...'_

_A couple of the slaves looked at Maya with dead eyes. They didn't say anything though and got back to cleaning. They'd already cleaned that area. If the master saw her first, it was likely he'd beat her instead of the rest of them for something he'd claim she missed. 'I remember when I had those eyes…' Maya thought sadly to herself. She remembered times when she'd hoped one of the other kids would fall behind in her cleaning so she wouldn't be targeted..._

…

_A few minutes later, she heard footsteps coming down the hallway. She recognized them almost immediately. She couldn't forget the times she'd heard them before leading up to some horrible beatings she and her parents had endured, and she unintentionally tensed. One of her hands almost moving to grab one of the daggers she had sheathed under her illusion at her side. 'No, I have to make it believable, otherwise, illusion magic won't work.'_

_The footsteps got closer and closer. Maya forced herself not to look at who was approaching and cleaned the vase she was working on. All she had to do was wait for him to grab her. To point out something she'd done. She could then make a show of resisting. Then-_

_The footsteps stopped. "Careful with that. It's a priceless heirloom. Worth far more than a mangy creature such as yourself." A condescending voice spoke behind her._

_Maya looked back. Donry Levald was a tall noble. He wasn't built like a bodybuilder, but he wasn't fat either. While he adorned his mansion with all sorts of riches, he didn't adorn himself like the other nobles. He was dressed like a retired military officer. His face might have been handsome in a past time. A hideous scar, however, ran along the left side of his face. From his neck up to below his left eye. He always seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face. This time was no exception._

"_Y-Yes sir," Maya stammered involuntarily before she got back to cleaning the vase._

_The noble continued to scowl and moved on. 'Wait, he was supposed to confront me. Itsuki's whole plan hinged on me distracting him and letting Itsuki know where he was.' Maya thought in realization. She'd been so sure that by being a little in front of the group of slaves that her former master would target her first. But that was out of character for him to just pass the first slave over… did he possibly realize that she wasn't one of his slaves? Had he checked his status magic as he approached her and-_

"_You, what is this!?"_

_Maya turned her head. The noble had stopped in the middle of the group of slaves. He was gripping a small demi-girl covered in hair like a mole by her arm. She squeaked in terror._

"_No, not her! Please, anyone but her!" One of the older slaves, another girl covered in hair like a mole, begged as she got on her knees. It was possible she was this demi-girl's sister._

_The noble pulled a whip almost as if out of nowhere, and cracked at the tile in front of the slave. Causing her to fall back. "You all were warned about the price of displeasing me!" He said angrily. "Are you saying the rest of you want to join the execution with her!"_

_The demi-girl shook with terror at the murderous look in the noble's eyes. And that was when Maya realized it. 'He's picking the demi-humans he's going to execute tonight.' That was why he'd passed her. He wasn't going to execute a young adult. No, he was going to execute someone more innocent. Someone that'd draw the vigilante to him. Someone that couldn't fight back._

_He was going to execute children._

_"Now, you're coming with me-"_

_**Crash!**_

_The noble and all the slaves in the hallway turned their heads. The remains of a shattered vase rested at Maya's feet. "I'm sorry, did you say that was priceless?" She dryly asked._

_**Crash!**_

_She rather purposefully shoved the other vase off its pedestal onto the ground. "Ooh, that's going to be tough to clean up," Maya said in a disappointed tone as she surveyed the damage. The noble looked shocked at such a bold display._

_Maya crushed a large piece of vase under her 'maid high heels.' "I'm so sorry. It's just so hard to tell what I'm cleaning since it's so dark outside." She approached one of the windows to lookout. "I mean, if only this storm didn't make everything so dark. I wouldn't have made such a silly mistake. Sorry about that sir."_

_She turned to the side to look at the noble. His eyes were dilating with rage. He was completely focused on her. "Sir? Did I do something wrong?" She asked curiously, pretending naivety at her action. 'And…'_

_He moved so quickly, she almost didn't react in time. The noble grabbed 'Maya' by the throat, and slammed her head back into the window, cracking it. 'Maya' looked caught off guard by the action. "Do you have any idea what you've just done!?" He yelled furiously. His whip flailing at his side._

"_Sir, what did I do wrong-"_

_The noble slammed 'Maya' into the windowpane again. "You know what you did you miserable mutt! You know exactly what you did!" He yelled furiously._

"_But I don't know-"_

_The noble slammed 'Maya' into the window one more time, and then started to choke her. "I know. I'll use you alongside some other kids for the main demonstration today. You're old enough, so I can torture you in ways I couldn't do to mere brats. You can be an example of what happens when worthless slaves think they can do whatever they want and get away with it!" He screamed with rage._

'_Maya' went along with the choking. Looking like she was on the verge of passing out. The noble was smiling cruelly… up till Maya got a bored look on her face. "You know, if I'd known breaking the vases would cause you to drop your guard, I would have started with that." She said normally._

_The noble looked confused. "What-" And then the illusion spell disappeared. The noble found himself standing alone in front of a brightly lit wide-open window. Rain battered at his surprised face. He was facing the west wall._

_Before he could react, an arrow covered in a sinister aura sailed over the wall and went through his forehead. It was an incredible shot only possible because of three factors. A skill Itsuki had that allowed him to see what was going on from fifty feet above him. A ball of light, the signal Maya had set up above the noble's head. And an ability Itsuki had brought with him from his homeworld. An ability that helped him to naturally increase his accuracy._

_The noble's head fell back, his face frozen forever in shock. The ball of light dispersed. The rest of his body fell forward. Out the window, and down onto the wet ground below. Right next to a patrolling guard._

"_What the!" The guard jumped in surprise. Then he gasped loudly when he recognized the noble. His glassy eyes staring at nothing._

"_Sound the alarms! Sound the alarms!" A male voice yelled from the open window. The guard quickly looked up. "The vigilante killed nobleman Donry Levald! He's fleeing to the South! Quick, let us avenge him before the murderer gets away!"_

_Pretty quickly, many of the guards and mages down below roared in anger and ran to the South Gate. None checked to see if the voice they'd heard had been fashioned from an illusion or not. Maya yelled a few more encouraging things to them in a guard's voice, just in case. Then finally turned to look at the shocked demi-human slaves. They were all staring at her, wondering what had just happened._

_Maya smiled reassuringly. "You don't have to worry. There will be no executions for anyone else tonight."_

"_Who… who are you?" One of the slaves asked. It was the sister of the demi-girl that the noble had chosen to execute._

"_I'm a friend of the Bow Hero," Maya answered. "And he's here to help every slave escape this place."_

_After that, there wasn't much else to tell. The token force the guards had left behind to protect the manor had easily been defeated, knocked out, and tied up by Itsuki's party members before they entered. By that point, Maya had managed to gather all the slaves from their quarters. All Itsuki had to do was add them to his party and then he used Transport Bow to teleport them all to Van's estate._

_There'd be no executions tonight._

* * *

"We really couldn't have done it without Maya's help," Itsuki said to himself.

'_Maybe we'll finally be ready to take on Idol Rabier. The end goal of this quest.'_ He thought. '_If he goes down, then the rest of the nobles will surrender... We'll finally be done with all the torture... We'll finally be done with all the killing...'_ Even now, looking at those he dispensed justice upon, he could still see the face of his best friend haunting him… it was almost like she was asking him if he was sure he was doing the right thing…

He shook his head to clear it of the thought. '_This is only a game. There are times it feels real, but I can't forget what this is.'_ He thought. It was only Dimension Wave, his favorite game of all time. Sure, there were times it was different, but he couldn't forget that. He'd already been blessed with being summoned to his favorite world after dying so pathetically in the real one. He couldn't let something like the memory of his best friend drag him from his duty of being a minister of justice.

Besides, it looked like his party members were having a good time. It wouldn't do good to look down now.

"Sir Itsuki." Itsuki was dragged out of his thoughts by Marx. He'd just reappeared at the table. "I was at the guild getting information about what was going on in the kingdom, and the Guild had a message for you from Ren."

The guilds had a system that allowed them to send messages between each other. The technology was still relatively new, and fairly expensive to use. Not many people could afford it. "What did he say?" Itsuki asked.

"He and his party managed to kill the plants in Leruno. He wants to meet up with you soon after he goes to the Capital. It sounds like he might be willing to help us with our next target after he looks into something." Marx said seriously.

Itsuki looked surprised. The first time back in the Capital, Ren hadn't really cared about what Itsuki was doing. The last time he'd seen him, however, Ren had been genuine on wanting to know how he was doing. For him to now be saying he wanted to help Itsuki with taking down Idol Rabier…

Itsuki cheered up at the news. "That sounds great. We'll have to gather some funds, but then we can send a message back to Ren that we could meet up-" Itsuki stopped speaking as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A couple of hooded figures had just walked into the tavern. The patrons all around stopped talking and went silent at their appearance.

"Wait a moment," Itsuki whispered to Marx. The young mage had sensed it too. Something didn't feel right.

The hooded figures walked up to his table. All of the patrons were looking at his party now. Itsuki checked himself. He still had the sheathed sword on his side and a normal bow on his back. He shouldn't have been recognizable.

The cloaked figures stopped in front of Itsuki's table and turned to face him. "Um, who are you?" Itsuki asked.

"Are you Sir Itsuki?" The lead figure asked, holding up a rosary in front of him.

Itsuki recognized these men. They'd appeared with helpful information at times before the First Wave. He hadn't seen them since then though… "... I am," Itsuki answered. '_Why are they here now?'_ He thought confusedly.

The rest of his party had gone silent like the rest of the patrons. Aksel looked to have sobered up pretty quickly and moved part of his body to shield Maya from view. Did they know something he didn't know-

His eyes slightly widened when he realized what the man was holding. '_A Three Heroes Church Rosary!'_

He remembered some of the nobles he'd killed in the last few weeks. How they'd justified their actions with their religion. How, when they realized he was the Bow Hero, they'd acted as if one of their Gods had fallen from grace. Believing the only way their God could be redeemed was by killing their God's enemy, the demi-humans. He'd thought that was the NPC's way of being cruel. The way the game system could justify such a horrendous act to be committed.

"You are a hard man to track. We almost thought we'd never catch up to you with your teleportation skill." The Church Shadow turned his head to look at where Maya was sitting. She looked curiously at the man, who then turned to face Itsuki again. "Have you anything to say in your defense, fake Bow Hero?"

These men were part of the same religion as those nobles. They were from the same group that had ambushed Naofumi in the forest.

"Pretty strong words from a lowly grunt," Itsuki said calmly. "Don't you see how I'm the one that wields the Legendary Bow-"

"The real bow Hero wouldn't parade around as a lowly vigilante." The Church Shadow cut him off. "The real bow Hero would be out in the world, helping the people, hunting down strong monsters threatening our villages, solving famines, making his powers known to all; all you've done is kill our leaders, burned down their property, left the people defenseless, and led these miserable abominations to their freedom." The Shadow said calmly, condemningly, condescendingly.

"But it was your leaders who were corrupt!" Itsuki responded, the Church Shadow's words riling him up. "These people you call abominations were being tortured, raped, murdered, and worse by them! How could I not help them-" Itsuki tried to say.

"You are an imposter." The Church Shadow continued. "You are scum, an abomination, a criminal worse than the demis. And as a criminal, you shall be dealt with accordingly. Your words mean nothing." The Shadow said solemnly. He pulled out a long steel sword from his sheath.

Itsuki froze up at hearing those words. '_What… the hell…' _"How am I the criminal here! Those nobles were committing terrible acts in my name! I was only trying to stop them-" Itsuki again tried to say.

"Silence! **Fast Ice!**" One of the Church Shadows behind the main guy launched ice magic at Itsuki. He raised his bow over his face to protect himself, and the ice covered his bow.

"Sir Itsuki!" Itsuki's party members moved between himself and the Church Shadows. "Why, why are you attacking the Legendary Bow Hero!?" Rachel demanded.

"Have you no shame?!" Karn demanded.

"The imposter Hero has been going around, performing criminal acts against our beloved nation and religion. He has killed our leaders and burned their lands. He has hurt countless people who have suffered from bandit attacks and other low lives that the nobles protected them from. Worst of all, he has committed the greatest sin and deserted over to the demi-humans just as the Shield Demon did long ago." The Church Shadow calmly replied. Yet that calmness seemed to hide a fanatic inside. "This is no real Hero. He is only a criminal. And he shall be punished as one."

'_No… I'm not the criminal here! I'm not the one in the wrong!' _Itsuki thought. He couldn't be the criminal! He was supposed to be the harbinger of Justice! He was supposed to be everyone's hero!

"Now, stand still, and face God's judgment-" The Shadow ordered.

"No, it is you who shall be judged."

A war ax was leveled at the throat of the Church Shadow. Aksel stood between him and Itsuki. His helmet was down, hiding his face. "I will not stand Sir Itsuki being treated so harshly by scum like you."

"Knight Aksel, stand down-" The Church Shadow tried to say calmly.

"No." Crystal appeared beside Aksel. Leveling her spear at the lead Church Shadow. A couple of the other Church Shadows stepped back in surprise at Crystal's glare. "My friend may be a pervert, but he has his reasons to defend Sir Itsuki just as I do."

Marx and Rachel flanked Itsuki's sides. "I have a fiance at home to protect." Rachel said calmly.

"I have friends Crystal and I still need to find," Marx said passionately.

"Fehhhhhh!" Rishia whimpered, but stood in front of Itsuki, unsurely holding a sword. "I… I have a debt to repay for Sir Itsuki's kindness in saving me."

"And I have a knight in shining armor waiting for me." Maya teased, taking up a position with daggers in front of Rishia and behind Aksel.

"Seriously? You're going to tease me now!" Aksel angrily asked.

"Isn't it always time to tease you?" Maya asked curiously.

Itsuki broke the ice covering his bow and pulled back the string, pointing it at the Shadow who remained silent. "Who do you think you are, threatening me and calling me the criminal here," Itsuki calmly asked. These Shadows were only NPC's, just like his friends. But unlike those Shadows, these NPC's cared for him in a way that almost felt real. He wasn't going to let them down. "You're obviously the criminals. If you're going to act just like all those nobles, claiming that such atrocities can be committed because of your beliefs, then I will punish you, here and now." His bow started to emit a sinister aura again.

...

"I guess we have no choice. But to consider your whole party traitors as well." The Shadow calmly said.

All around, the former patrons pulled out their weapons. Bows, axes, shortswords, pikes, and other weapons appeared. The tavern owner slammed down a lever, and gates fell down around all the exits. Itsuki's party looked around in surprise, seeing that they were trapped. With the dozens of armed patrons inside surrounding their group.

The Church Shadow moved quickly, easily deflecting both Aksel's and Crystal's weapons away from him. The two stepped back and took up a defensive stance. "Crap." Aksel muttered.

"You can say that again," Crystal muttered. They'd barely kept up with the Shadow's speed and jumped back in time to avoid being skewered.

"Now, with the pleasantries out of the way, do you have anything to say in your defense before me, my friends and these mercenaries all apply God's Judgement to your worthless defiled souls?" The Shadow asked. The others took a confident step forward.

Itsuki frantically looked around. They were trapped and surrounded. '_But how… why didn't the people warn us this was going to happen?... why do they want to think that I'm the criminal here!...'_ Couldn't their programming help them logically deduce what was happening!? Didn't the system have any sense of right or wrong that the NPC's had to follow!?

...

Itsuki came to the realization. '_The people were also in on it. That noble did what he did not as a warning, but as a calling card to draw me and my party here.'_

The noble probably hadn't wanted to sacrifice himself. The Shadows had probably assured him that he'd be kept safe. But no, all they'd really cared about was cornering the imposter Hero and dumping the sins of all the nobles he'd killed on him. So he and his party would be cornered. It had been the perfect trap.

'_No, they wouldn't! I'm not the criminal here! The system can't be that corrupt!' _"**Transport Bow!**" He tried to activate the skill. It had worked earlier in transporting the demi-human slaves to Van's estate. But now, he was receiving a notification on his status screen that someone was interfering with the skill. He couldn't activate it.

"Don't bother using that portal skill of yours. We are well trained in the knowledge of the Hero's weapons and what they are capable of. You will not be escaping God's judgment," The Shadow said. "You, nor the abominations you've saved."

There was no running away. Not from the Shadows in front of him, or the bitter truth Itsuki was being forced to face.

"Also. Thanks for revealing where you were transporting those abominations all this time. After we're done here, we will lead a force to the Reichnott Estate and destroy it, before burning the place to the ground. After all, that is the only way the Gods would forgive such foolish sinners." The Shadow said mockingly, condescendingly.

Itsuki was the criminal here. He hadn't saved anyone. He'd led them all into a trap. And one of the only nice men he'd met in this world was going to be killed because of his foolishness.

"Now, enough talk. Let's dispense God's justice upon these sinners." The Shadow said.

The mercenaries all cheered. Finally, they were being given the order to attack.

"Sir Itsuki!" Rachel yelled worriedly. What did he want them to do?!

Itsuki stood frozen. Unsure about what he could do. The sinister aura on his bow faded. A look of despair plastered itself on his face. He could see his best friend's face again, looking at him sadly.

It was too late to run. Too late to hide.

Itsuki Kawasumi was going to die.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Sorry Motoyasu, doesn't look like you made it this chapter. I think we'll be seeing him next chapter though. I won't spoil anything. Hope you all have a great week! And enjoy the omake!**

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_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**Worthless Attack Enchantments**

* * *

**Enchantment Successful: New Item: Good Quality Jade Necklace: Enchantment Applied: Attack Up (Medium)**

"Yes! Yes yes yes yes YES!" Naofumi cheered to himself. He'd finally done it! The random enchant Gods had worked in his favor to give him the greatest of all blessings.

"Master Naofumi…" Raphtalia yawned loudly. "It isn't morning yet."

"Raphtalia!" Naofumi said excitedly. "I did it! I finally got an enchantment that'll increase my Attack Stat!" Naofumi cheered as he held up the necklace.

Filo yawned cutely next to the sleeping Raphtalia. "Mommy. Why is daddy being so loud?" She asked tiredly.

"Daddy thinks he's found a way to increase his attack stat Filo," Raphtalia replied while tiredly rubbing her eyes.

"Again?" Filo tiredly complained. "Didn't Daddy claim he found another way a week ago…"

"Just you watch! This one will work! I'm sure of it!" Naofumi said as he put it on.

Surprisingly, no shock came from his shield. He'd braced himself to feel a shock as his jealous shield would no doubt have knocked out another way for him to attack. But it didn't. It stayed on. Even better, he received a notification on his screen saying applying the enchantment had been successful.

"Yes! It worked!" He cheered. Filo and Raphtalia looked up at that.

"It did?" They both asked in surprise.

"Yes, I can't believe it finally wor-" He opened up his stat menu, and his mouth opened in shock. "What, it only increased my attack by one!?" He asked furiously. He'd gone from a measly 3 to a 4! "It had Attack Up Medium on it! How the hell did it only increase my attack by 1!?" He angrily asked.

Raphtalia yawned tiredly again. "Good night Master Naofumi." She rolled over to cuddle with Filo again, who had already rolled over to go back to sleep. It looked like his latest plan to increase his attack stat again had failed. Again.

"Alright, Shield! You asked for it! If these accessories will only increase my attack by one! I'll just make a bunch of them to wear! Then all the bonuses will stack up, and I'll finally be able to kill a balloon in one hit!" Naofumi yelled while laughing like a crazy mad scientist.

"Why is Daddy so weird Mommy?" Filo tiredly asked.

"I don't know, he's always been weird." Raphtalia tiredly replied.

"Hey, I can still hear you you know!?" Naofumi angrily said.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	28. 28: Outmaneuvered and Outplayed

**Sorry, not going to be as long a Chapter. I have Midterms this week and was kind of busy trying to write this out while working on several business projects last week. On the bright side, a huge winter storm is hitting right now, so I was able to finish up most of this chapter. What I didn't finish I decided to include later. Next week's chapter is already written, so I shouldn't have a problem with getting it finished and passing my Midterms. Thanks again for the support, and I hope you enjoy today's chapter!**

**Also, to the Guest who said last chapter reminded him of Order 66. I think you'd agree even more after this chapter :).**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _31 more Favorites, 34 more Followers (Total: 894 Favorites, 1057 Followers)_

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**Updated:** _February 3rd, 2020 2:47 P.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Eight:** _Outmaneuvered and Outplayed_

* * *

(20 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)

"This is an outrage!"

"This is disgraceful!"

"To think Melromarc would sink so low!"

The current scene is set in a large, stone-walled, roundtable conference room at the top of the Siltvelt Palace. Around the roundtable were demi-humans of different races. Almost all of them looked very angry after hearing the surviving Hakuko's report.

The lone Hakuko Elite Guard wasn't looking too good. She had bandages wrapped around parts of her arms and legs. And another one around her gut. She looked like she had gone through hell and back to make it to Siltvelt to give her report on what happened in Bellona Village and stood there silently while the Council members yelled and growled.

"The Shield Hero must be saved at once!"

"We must prepare our armies for war!"

"We'll burn Melromarc to the ground for its sins against the great Shield Hero!"

Amid the calamity of voices, one raised itself above the others. "Please, calm yourselves!"

After a little while, the shouting and growling calmed down. All the different representatives in the room looked to the one who had called for order. "Elite Guard Chen, is there anything else you have to report?"

"No sir, that is all." The hakuko, Chen, responded tiredly.

"You are dismissed then. Please visit the court wizards immediately to get treated. Then you may have time to arrange funerals for your comrades."

"As you wish, Counselor Werner." She painfully bowed and then left the room.

"Now, my fellow Council Members, this shouldn't surprise us." The demi-human who had been speaking was a Shusaku male. He had red hair and flashy red feathers on his arms and shoulders. Unlike Filo, his hands and feet were somewhat birdlike in his human form. He had a large pair of red wings connected to his back. He had a face that made him look young like he was in his 20's despite being older. He was dressed in a black collared robe. With a red and gold symbol like an upside-down water drop on his chest. Overall, Werner's physical characteristics were like a mix of human and the Japanese Vermillion bird. "The Queen of Melromarc already informed everyone at the Council of Nations that she was dealing with a dark faction in her kingdom. It shouldn't be a surprise that this dark faction is seeking to kill our Great God."

"Werner." A deep voice growled from a demi-human therianthrope that looked like a mammoth. "Did you forget that Hakuko told us that dark faction is our enemy. The Church of the Three Heroes. Do you not care that they seek to destroy our God?"

"Yes, I do care counselor Tusk, but that shouldn't cause us to panic," Werner, the shusaku, said in a politically neutral tone. "We already feared the worst when none of our representatives were allowed into Melromarc to meet with the great Shield Hero shortly after his summoning. Hearing now that our fears our confirmed shouldn't force us to act rashly." He reasoned.

Some of the other demi-humans muttered to each other. But it seemed his words had reached them. "Fine then. Let us calmly approach this matter." Counselor Tusk said as he sat in his massive seat again.

One of the demi-humans, a lion therianthrope, chuckled to himself. Werner cast a glance at him. The representative of the lions didn't speak up.

"First, we know that the Shield Hero is currently an outcast in Melromarc, and we know that it is by the doing of the Three Heroes Church," Werner said. "However, the Queen of Melromarc has politely asked us and the other nations not to intervene. She has told us she is doing her best to help him, and that our interference could drive the figures seeking to kill our God underground, and allow them to resurface later to harm him again."

"And do you really believe the lies of the Vixen of Melromarc, Werner?"

Werner glanced at the lion therianthrope. "Jaralis. Need I remind you that you and this council voted that I attend the council of nations after the long prophecied Waves of Catastrophe appeared? Would you rather we take a vote to have you go and hear those words from the Vixen of Melromarc herself? I can tell you from experience the coldness of her gaze is not something I'd like to experience again."

The lion, Jaralis, growled, but didn't speak more for the moment. He was tall in his therianthrope form. His dark brown mane was like his hair and beard. Looking impressive with his tan-colored fur. He was dressed in a military uniform.

"And regardless if I trust her or not." Werner continued. "I know that going to war will not help our situation. We lost one war with Melromarc already. The Staff Hero that defeated us last time is now Melromarc's King. To go to war against them now would be suicide."

"Then what do you suggest we do Werner?" A woman spoke from the other end. She had long blue hair and yellow eyes. Her features were mainly human, but there was a hint of Asian Dragon to them despite her not being in her therianthrope form. The leader of the Aotatsu. Or the Blue Dragons.

"I am suggesting not to do anything rash Nielsoon," Werner said in his neutral tone. With the leader of the Genmu away on personal business, he and the leader of the Aotatsu, Nielsoon, were the main influential players on the Grand Council. "We can't go to war during the Waves of Catastrophe. We especially can't do something that could drive our main enemies underground only to have them resurface later to harm our great God."

"Like I care what'll happen anyway," Nielsoon said indifferently. She'd never been one to have much faith in the Shield Hero. She currently had eyes for only one hero. "Ever since the last war, my people have been moving to Shieldfreeden. I was merely curious to hear this report before I left to join them."

She received glares from many of the other Council members. Siltvelt was a demi-human nation that honored purity of blood over everything else. Hence their intense discrimination of humans and anyone who was of mixed blood between humans and demi-humans. Shieldfreeden had detached itself from Siltvelt a hundred years ago to make a home for demi-humans and humans alike regardless if one was pure or a mixed breed between a human and demi-human species.

They still worshipped the Shield Hero. But Siltvelt didn't like their neighbor very much for accepting humans and for disregarding the purity of race. Yet, even with their leader leaving for Shieldfreeden, the Aotatsu remaining in Siltvelt would continue to hold one of the three positions of influence afterward when their new representative was chosen.

As for why... That's politics. Who really knows why when you have such a confusing mess to sort through.

"That doesn't answer the question. What are we going to do about this?" One of the other council members, a werewolf therianthrope, growled out.

"We can't just sit around and do nothing while our God is in danger." Another council member, a kitsune, said seriously.

"It's obvious what we should do!" Jaralis slammed his fist on the table before Werner could respond to the two. "I say the vixen of Melromarc can't be trusted! For all we know, she and the Staff Hero are in on the Three Heroes Church's plans to kill our great God!"

"Jaralis, that is ridiculous-" Werner started to respond. The Queen was trying to help the Shield Hero, not kill him. And if the Staff Hero was in on killing Naofumi too, he wouldn't be wielding one of the seven vassal weapons, whose purpose was to protect the world and aid the Holy Heroes. And if he was, Siltvelt's Vassal Wielder or another Vassal Wielder would have been called to stop the Staff Hero just like how the Staff Hero was called to stop the Claw Hero from accomplishing his evil goals of world domination two decades prior.

"Melromarc has stepped all over the pride of the demi-humans ever since the defeat of our last King! The great Claw Hero Tai-Lon!" Jaralis continued over Werner's calm neutral voice of reason. "He set out to conquer the world! He set out to place us demi-humans at the top of the food chain, where we would never be looked down upon or discriminated again! But then Melromarc and it's Staff Hero cut him down before he could ever accomplish that glorious triumph!"

Werner was surprised how Jaralis spoke of the past King with such fervor. '_I thought he hated the Hakuko. He never even liked King Tai-Lon!... Is Jaralis planning something?-'_

"We can't just sit back and watch them commit one last disgrace in murdering our beloved Savior. We must bring him back where he'll be safe! Or we will forever be a disappointment in the eyes of our God!" Jaralis roared out proudly.

The other Council Members besides Werner started to applaud at Jaralis's speech.

"Yes! You're right!"

"Death to Melromarc!"

"Death to the vixen and her squire!"

"Save the Shield Hero!"

"Save our Great God!"

Werner glanced around, his eyes frantic. In the space of a minute, he'd already lost the support of every other Council Member. They, like Jaralis, were now calling for war.

'_No, this was the very thing Queen Mirellia warned not to let happen.'_ He thought inside his mind frantically. Keeping a calm political facade on the outside.

He couldn't recall in clear details what the Queen had said at the council of nations. However, he did get the paraphrased meaning of her message. The other Heroes had chosen to stay in Melromarc for the meantime. And while she was dealing with a rogue faction in her kingdom, if anyone attempted to interfere with her kingdom's affairs, they'd be squashed underfoot. Damn the waves.

"Even if we go to war." Werner started again when it was calm enough that he could be heard. "Melromarc has heavy defenses posted along their border with us. We'd suffer serious losses before we even pierced Melromarc's defenses." He tried to reason with the council.

"You're right." Jaralis agreed.

Werner was slightly caught off guard. "I am?"

"Of course. Invading from our country would be suicide, and would accomplish nothing. The Wise King of Melromarc saw to that." Jaralis started to smile. It was a cunning smile. One that Werner caught the meaning of too late. "Fortunately, he believes us to not be on good terms with Shieldfreeden. Thus, Melromarc's border with Shieldfreeden is lightly defended. And we have one of Shieldfreeden's new leaders here with us to give her country's permission in allowing our armies to move through their territory." He looked triumphant at those words. "We'll be able to break through and march on the Capital before Melromarc, the Staff King, or the Three Heroes Church knows what hit them!" He finished triumphantly.

The rest of the Council cheered/roared/growled loudly at the plan. And instead of looking at Nielsoon spitefully like they had before, they started to look at her in a new light. Like they were looking at the key to their plan in rescuing the Shield Hero from the clutches of evil.

"I guess I could pull a few strings." She said nonchalantly as if it didn't really matter to her. However, a small, barely noticeable smirk rested on her face.

Werner finally realized it. '_I've been played… by Jaralis… and Nielsoon.'_ He'd wondered why the two had entered the room together earlier before the Hakuko gave her report. He'd wondered why Jaralis was throwing aside his hatred for the Hakuko now… he'd wondered why Nielsoon had wanted to hear a report on Melromarc when she had shown no interest in the Shield Hero in the past.

It all made sense now. He'd been cleverly outmaneuvered and outplayed before the meeting had even begun.

"Let us take a vote on the matter," Werner said calmly. It was his last chance. "Who here votes that we listen to what Queen Mirellia Q. Melromarc asked of us and let her resolve the rebellion going on in her country so we don't risk her or the Staff Hero's wrath once more?"

Werner raised his hand. All the Council members went silent. Despite the plausibility of Jaralis's plan succeeding, most of them suddenly looked unsure. They were in the middle of the Waves of Catastrophe. And there were other factors at play that had to be considered, like the other nations allied with Melromarc, the Staff Hero... or Queen Mirellia herself. Some of them had negotiated with her in the past, and the Queen was no soft figure. No, she was fierce and cunning, not to mention, deadly… she was one person besides the Staff Hero they were afraid to piss off by disobeying her wishes...

Still, after only a moment, only two other Council Members raised their hands in support of Werner. A minority.

"All those who want to use Shieldfreeden as a path to invade Melromarc and rescue our Savior and God before the Three Heroes Church can kill him?" Jaralis asked, mockingly mimicking Jaralis's neutral tone as he raised his hand.

The other six remaining council members, including Nielsoon, voted for the affirmative. Two of them looked unsure but had decided this was the path to go. Their faith in the Shield Hero mattered much more than any Queen's or Vassal Wielder's wrath.

Werner grimaced as Jaralis smiled triumphantly. "Should we not wait for the representative of the Genmu to arrive and give his opinion on the matter-" Werner tried to say. If he had the third most influential member of the Council backing him up, he could sway enough votes to avoid a costly war.

"We already have a majority, Werner! You know what that means by the laws of our nation!" Jaralis interrupted with a loud roar. "Now, are you with Siltvelt and our great God, or are you a traitor to our nation and our God?!" Jaralis growled while pointing a sharp-clawed finger angrily at the neutral politician.

Werner grimaced. Not only his loyalty to his own country, but his own faith to his God was being called out. As much as he wanted to avoid a war, as much as he didn't want to face the wrath of the Queen… as much as he didn't want to repeat another catastrophic loss against the Staff Hero... he had no choice but to cave in.

"Then we will follow the voice of the majority." He said defeatedly as he lowered his hand. The two other council members, the mammoth, and the lizardman bowed their heads as they also lowered their heads.

"Our claws and our fangs have been sharpened for this day!" Jaralis roared in support of the rest of the Council. "Now, let us prepare! The time has come for us to rescue our God and Savior! The Mighty Shield Hero!"

The audience chamber broke out into applause. Several of the demi-humans rose from their seats to applaud, along with the Guards surrounding the room.

'_I can only hope this doesn't lead us to our graves…'_ Werner thought regretfully.

The Staff Hero had already beaten his people once before... he hoped against hope the same tragic loss that happened before wouldn't repeat itself again.

* * *

_Middle of the Day (13 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

**Ksch!** "Ragrrrrr!"

A guy; dressed in a red sleeveless tunic and beat up silver armor jumped back from the large tree ent's retaliatory swipe. A line of trees was leveled from its swipe like toothpicks. He jumped forward again, a determined look on his face.

"**Chaos Spear!**"

A dark-coated spear thrust over and over again all over the massive tree ent. The tree ent shrieked in pain at the onslaught. It continued to scream in anger as it moved to bring both of its long tree arms down on the figure.

"**Air Strike Javelin!**"

A green-colored lance flew into the mouth of the screaming tree. It's scream suddenly cut off and an explosion happened inside its mouth. The massive tree ent swayed side to side in confusion.

"Now, time to finish this!" Go, **Meteor Thrust!**"

A blue portal formed over the swaying monster. And then a blue orb of SP and MP came flying out down at the monster.

**KaBoom!**

The earth shook from the impact and the following shockwave. A dust cloud formed over the area of impact, blotting out everything from view…

...

It took a moment, but then the heavily breathing figure finally reappeared. Leaning on his spear. "Did… did that do it?"

The dust cleared in front of him. The tree ent laid on its side in a crater made from the skill. Breathing faintly.

"Damn it! Just die already!" He drove his spear one last time into the tree ent's body. It sputtered, and then it finally died. An experience notification finally appeared next to Motoyasu's head.

"Finally." He started absorbing the large monster into the Legendary Spear. Now that he wasn't moving around dodging attacks, it was easier to see how beat up his armor looked.

His red sleeveless tunic was torn in places. His silver armor looked dull and had cracks along the arms and chest plate. His blonde hair which he normally kept in a ponytail was down and wild. Lastly, his orange eyes looked dull. Motoyasu was a mess...

He finished absorbing the tree ent, and his spear changed shape. "Damn it." It had good stats. But… "I knew I shouldn't have wasted the last of my ore smelting that other spear." He muttered. He'd gotten a new spear a few days ago, and had used the last of the ore he had on hand to smelt it and make it stronger.

He switched to his most powerful spear and checked the monster's drop items in the hero's inventory menu. "Damn it." There hadn't been any good drops either. Nothing he could use to Status Enchant his new spear with anything good. And he didn't have enough monster souls to spirit enchant his new weapon either. He was still stuck with the same spear he'd been using to kill monsters over the last week.

"Why isn't this working?... I came out here to get stronger! This is supposed to be one of the best farming spots in this world?!" He raised his head to the sky. "WHY AM I STUCK! DAMN IT!" He screamed so loudly his voice echoed off the mountains.

"Ergh."

"Rrrgh."

At his yell, two large mounds rose up a hundred feet in front of him. Two more massive tree ents who had been awakened from their slumber. They started to lumber towards Motoyasu, annoyed that someone had come to disturb their slumber.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAYYYYYYY!"

Motoyasu ran forward into another fight.

…

A couple of hours later, Motoyasu sat by a fire at his makeshift campsite. He had a half-tent set up between two trees. A pot nearby was preparing a stew made from monsters he'd killed that day.

'_Damn it…'_

He'd finally gotten enough monster souls to Spirit Enchant his new spear. However, it had only received **Attack Up (Slight)**. After hours of farming, he'd gotten an item that, when he used as a Status Enchantment on the same spear, had given it **Strength Up (Small)**. He hadn't found any of the ores he used to Smelt his weapons to a higher grade. And unless he moved to an area with weaker monsters, he wouldn't be able to use the new spear and use his main upgrade method to make it stronger. Weapon Mastery.

The more he used a weapon, the more its stats would increase as he became familiar with it.

'_Damn it all…'_

"_I wouldn't call someone like you a Hero," Albert said as he calmly approached... "You didn't protect our village during the Wave of Catastrophe. You didn't help to clean up your mess after the wave was over. You haven't even done your job as Lord. You've done nothing heroic…"_

'_Get out of my head…'_

He couldn't get the scene out of his mind. The scene of where it'd all gone downhill. Where his time in another world had strangely ground to a halt.

"_All you've done is hurt us since you got here... You may hold the Spear of Legend, but you aren't a hero to us."_

"_Are you trying to make me look like a fool!?"_

'_Urgh!'_ Motoyasu got up and started to pace his campsite.

He couldn't forget the look of anger on the King. He couldn't forget the disappointment emanating from that NPC. He couldn't forget all the fair maidens he'd seen looking out from their windows, scared of him. He couldn't forget.

'_I'm supposed to trust my friends! I'm supposed to trust Myne… ... ... ... but... but all I've done is hurt others... every choice I've made with Myne has only led to hurting others... but if I can't trust her... then...'_

Most of all, his final departing thoughts from before he left the Capital hadn't left him. No matter how many monsters he slew. No matter how many nights he spent by himself in the mountains… no matter how many travelers he protected… no matter how many fair maidens he saved from bandits… no matter how much he focused on becoming stronger... nothing helped.

He still didn't feel like a hero. He still didn't feel like he was getting stronger… he still didn't know if trusting his friends would lead him to become a hero or not.

His party settings showed the girls in his party. Elena, Barbara, Myne... and some girl named Rino. The name was oddly familiar. She'd only been a party member for a day before disappearing. The rest of his party claimed that she couldn't handle it.

Either way, he didn't really care. They weren't receiving experience since he was so far away. Without his help, they'd had to work on their own to raise their levels from the 40's to the low 60's. They must have been working hard, just like him who was close to 69… at one point he would found it a funny joke to share with them. Now, even though they were fair maidens, he wondered if he could ever trust them enough to work with them again?...

He could have kicked them out at any time… he could have gone solo and forgotten that he'd ever been friends with them... yet he couldn't. For some reason, despite everything that had happened, a part of him still held out hope. A part of him still held out that trusting his friends was the right thing to do…

And yet, another part doubted them. And another part doubted himself. Were his friends really that trustworthy, or was he the untrustworthy one? Were all those mistakes they'd made, taxing a town into revolt, failing to guard relief supplies against bandits, unleashing a cursed plant on a town… had it all been their fault? Or had it been his fault because he wasn't strong enough?...

_"Don't try to pin your blame on my daughter… To think you'd go off and lead her to do such incredibly foolish acts in the name of royalty!"_

Motoyasu hung his head. The Wise King's words rang in his ears. '_What can I do_…'

…

Motoyasu's head jerked up. "Who's there?!" He stood up, holding his spear in front of him.

…

"Relax, Sir Motoyasu." A figure dropped lithely from the trees. She was dressed in black robes. A rosary hung around her neck. He recognized her. She'd been among several who'd given him information about what was going on in the kingdom before he'd disappeared.

"How'd you find me here?" Motoyasu asked.

"We've known you were here for a while Sir Motoyasu. However, we did not feel the need to interrupt you in your quest to become stronger before now." The Church Shadow answered.

"You mean, you've known where I've been at all this time, and you never even thought to help me out while I was struggling!?" Motoyasu angrily asked.

"We didn't feel it necessary to interrupt your training. Have you not greatly improved since your self-imposed exile without our help?" The Church Shadow asked.

The Shadow did have a point. Motoyasu might have been naive at times, but he was no idiot. While he had been focusing on upgrading his weapons, he'd also focused on becoming more familiar with them and improving his techniques. He wasn't an expert spearman yet. Yet he wasn't the same hopeless loser he had been before.

"I don't care if you're a fair maiden or not," Motoyasu said ill-temperedly. While he might have gotten better, he was still mad. "You can stay the hell away! I'm doing fine all by myself!"

The Shadow remained silent. "I'm trying to get strong enough to get back in the good graces of the King, the people, and all the fair maidens in this land! And if you're just here to observe, then you can back off! I'll do it all by myself if I have too! No one will hold me back! No one!"

"But aren't you the one holding himself back?" The Church Shadow asked.

Motoyasu opened his mouth to reply, but nothing would come out. He scowled instead and turned away. "I don't have time to listen to this." He hefted his spear and started to walk for the forest again. Monsters were tougher at night. But they normally gave more experience and better drop items too. He'd rather do night hunting then have to listen to some Shadow.

"We located the Shield Demon."

Motoyasu stopped. '_... Naofumi…' _Those villagers had looked to Naofumi as a hero… Ren and Itsuki had supported Naofumi after he lost his duel… and that girl he traveled with… genuinely loved him despite how evil he was!

It pissed him off. Naofumi was scum! And yet, Naofumi had been treated more as a hero than he had! It filled Motoyasu with envy that a demon such as Naofumi could have the true love of a beautiful maiden and the appreciation of a town of people while he had nothing.

Maybe that was the reason why the townspeople had revolted against him. Maybe that was the reason he'd abandoned that food cart to bring the seed that ended the famine... Maybe that was why the seed had mutated and caused so much trouble! Naofumi must have used the powers of his shield to mutate the seed himself. He must have used his shield to persuade Ren and Itsuki to stop talking to him! Of course, that had to be why this was happening to him. Why he was forced to live in exile and live on his own! It had to be why he was doubting his friends! It was all Naofumi's fault!

A sinister aura started to hover around Motoyasu's spear.

"We aren't entirely certain. But we believe we might have found someone matching his description southwest of the Capital. Several squads of knights are on standby, but they need a hero to lead them if we want to have hope of ending the Shield Demon's influence. Will you help us, Sir Motoyasu? Will you help us capture the Shield Demon once and for all, and become the true hero of Melromarc once more?"

… Motoyasu's fist clenched around the haft of his spear. … "Let's go." He angrily said.

It was time to settle the score. It was time to pay Naofumi back for everything he'd done... and to show how much stronger he was compared to him. All his power-up methods had been geared towards increasing his strength and attack. If Naofumi still thought his immovable shield could hold it's own against his irresistible spear, than he had another thing coming.

* * *

_Night-Time (12 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"Is this the place?"

"Yes, Sir Ren," Farrie responded. "Come, help me Tersia." She called back to the other mage.

'_So even though this isn't a game, there are still some things that remain the same.'_ Ren thought to himself as he faced a brown wall of the Three Heroes Church. There were triangles engraved on it, each one smaller and inside the others. He was facing the smallest one, which was just a little taller than him.

Farrie and Tersia stood in front of Ren and raised their hands up. A glowing pentagram with symbols on it appeared in front of their hands, and the wall before them glowed with light. After a moment, the light faded. The two smallest engraved triangles on the wall had disappeared, showing a passageway that led down under the Church.

Normally, in his game, this had led Ren to a secret archive where he'd take up a quest from the librarian to find rare lost books in return for gold pieces. However, he was coming here for a much different reason. He and his party started to descend down the stone steps.

"I can't believe the time we spent as kids training to be nuns came in handy," Farrie commented.

"We could have still brute-forced the entrance," Bakta commented.

"But then we'd attract everyone with all the noise it'd make," Welt commented.

"And this is supposed to be a stealth mission. Not a 'look at me, I'm a noisy noble idiot' mission." Tersia teased.

Batka grumbled but didn't respond back to the jeer.

Wyndia remained silent as well as Ren. Wyndia held a hand on the handle of her new sheathed weapon. A full-sized katana.

At level 38, Wyndia looked to be around 15 to 16. Her light brown hair was still in the same style as when Ren had taken her in. However, she did not look anything like the small weak child she had been before. She was just a couple inches shorter than Ren. She was dressed in light metal armor similar to Welt's that was enchanted to increase her speed and dexterity. She'd traded in her small wakizashi recently to obtain a full-sized katana. She was becoming very good at swordsmanship training under Bakta and Welt along with magic training under Farrie and Tersia. If Ren had still been treating this as a game, he would have put her in the middle between the swordsmen and the mages since her abilities allowed her to fight either on the front lines or the back depending on where she was needed.

Ren, however, didn't seem to notice any difference. Despite her physical maturity, he couldn't get past seeing her mentality as the same little girl who had looked at him with such anger after killing her adoptive parent. And whenever they fought monsters, Wyndia was normally ordered to be in the back of the group casting magic. If she was displeased with it, she hadn't voiced her opinion.

…

After a moment of silence, Ren and his party reached the bottom. Then, after walking down a short hallway, they came out into the Church Archives. A large room lined with bookcases on both sides. The librarian's desk at the end was empty.

"It's time we find some information about what the Three Heroes Church is hiding," Ren said, before looking to his party. "Spread out."

"Yes, Sir Ren." His party members separated to the various shelves.

Ren approached one shelf and grabbed a random red bound book with a symbol of the four Cardinal Weapons on the cover. He opened it and grimaced when he saw the unfamiliar characters. '_Maybe I should have Farrie or Tersia teach me how to read in my spare time.'_ He could still remember the first time he'd seen a sign in Melromarc's language. It hadn't really bothered him since he could remember his favorite game like the back of his hand. Now, however, it was really starting to bug him. He set the book in his inventory. It had the four Cardinal Weapons on it, so it might be important.

"Hey, I think I found something interesting here."

"What is it Bakta? Did you find some dirty magazines or something?" Tersia teased.

Bakta gave a dirty glare in her direction. "No, it's something about a replica weapon or whatever."

"Why do you sound unsure? Can't you read it and find out?" Tersia asked curiously.

"Hey, I'm the fifth son of a noble. I focused more on training instead of reading and writing since I thought it was more likely for me to be in the military instead of inheriting and running my Father's estate." He said in his defense.

"But as a noble, you could have become an officer. And then you'd have to read reports and send messages." Tersia said.

"Well, um, I..." Bakta didn't seem to have a comeback to that.

"Sigh, you're so worthless sometimes," Tersia said with disappointment.

"Excuse me for not thinking reading wouldn't be important!"

"Cut the chatter. You're going to wake up the whole Church at this rate." Welt said at a different bookshelf before Ren could intervene. He was looking flipping through book after book trying to find something important.

"Here, at least let me see it," Tersia said as she approached Bakta.

"Alright, but I don't want to be teased about my poor reading skills in the future-" Bakta was saying.

A book dropped to the floor. Everyone looked in the direction immediately. Wyndia was standing by one of the last bookshelves. Her normally reserved face held stunned surprise. "No…"

"What is it Wyndia?" Ren asked worriedly as he approached. The rest of the party also approached

Wyndia quickly composed herself. "I… I found something." She picked the book up off the ground.

"What is it?" Ren asked curiously. There were no characters on the book's cover binding.

Wyndia began to read the paragraph she'd left off at.

"... The first Shield Hero came from another world with the Bow Hero during the Waves of Catastrophe alongside several of the vassal weapon wielders. With the new heroes came a new ally for humanity and new hope in fighting off the waves of Catastrophe... Yet alongside them came mankind's greatest eternal enemies... the demi-humans."

"What is this?" Welt asked, sounding surprised.

"It sounds like some hidden history or something," Farrie said to herself.

"It's not any history I've read before," Tersia commented.

"History, that sounds boring," Bakta said boredly.

**Slap!** "Ow!" Bakta held the back of his head where Tersia had slapped him.

"If you don't want to be slapped, either stop with the dumb comments or put your helmet back on," Welt told him.

"A helmet won't stop a magic-user," Tersia said.

Wyndia continued. "Their ability to age according to their levels presented a major threat to our way of life even greater than the Waves of Catastrophe themselves. With such an ability, they could raise an army of soldiers twice as fast, maybe even thrice as fast then humans ever could. If left to grow, they could pose a serious threat to our very way of life. However, with their numbers small from the destruction of their world, we thought we would be able to easily eradicate them. The Bow Hero seemed willing to ally with the Sword Hero and the Spear Hero in our cause… however, we learned the Shield Hero was different."

No one commented anymore. They all stared as Wyndia continued in a serious tone. "The first Shield Hero claimed to fight to protect everyone. However, when he learned of our plot to eradicate the demi-humans, he showed his true colors. He tricked us, saying he'd lead the demi-humans into our trap. However, he instead led the demi-humans away under the guise of night. Using the power of his shield, he helped the whole population to escape. By the time we learned of his treachery, it was too late. The demi-humans were beyond our reach, and soon grew to become the nation of Siltvelt."

It was silent in the room…

Wyndia closed the book. "To paraphrase the rest, while many humans in different nations looked at the Shield Hero's actions as a means for helping the demi-humans to establish themselves in our world, those who eventually formed the Three Heroes Church branded the Shield Hero as a devil for ruining their plans. And they have spread the false doctrine that demi-humans came as abominations from humans mating with monsters ever since. That is the real history of what happened. The history the Three Heroes Church has been hiding from the world."

...

Ren thought on what Wyndia had read. '_I wasn't expecting a history lesson… but it answers why the Church hates Naofumi so much.'_ "It sounds like the Church has been hiding things from its followers," Ren commented. '_This gives answers, but now I have more questions. How could the first Shield and Bow Hero come from another world? How were demi-humans not originally part of this world?'_ He thought.

"Let's take this with us. Maybe if the people hear about this, they'll realize that the Shield Hero isn't the devil-" Wyndia was saying.

"**Fast Fireball."**

A fireball hit the book in Wyndia's hands, causing her to drop it. The old dry pages burned so quickly that it was like it incinerated instead of burned. Ren and the rest of the party turned in surprise.

"My, it is unfortunate we didn't decide to burn that history book sooner." Pope Balamus commented. He had a retinue of Church Knights and Mages with him that quickly moved to surround Ren's party in the corner of the room. He himself calmly approached, holding a strange glowing gold sword in one hand. "After all, it was filled with old blasphemies."

"Uh oh," Bakta said.

"I told you you were too loud," Tersia whispered to the party's tank.

Before they could argue, Ren held up his sword. "**Transport Sword!**"

A notification popped up on his status magic. **Cannot portal due to outside interference.**

"But… how?" He said in surprise.

The Pope calmly smiled. "Melromarc has entrusted the Three Heroes Church with the nation's Dragon Hourglass for generations. Did you really think we wouldn't have learned how to keep false heroes from escaping using its power in all that time?"

Ren held his sword up in a defensive pose. Welt and Bakta took up positions beside him, while Wyndia stood next to Tersia and Farrie in the back. Ren did his best to remain calm while hiding his frustration. '_Damn it, that was my only backup plan for if we were caught.'_ In his game, there'd been special areas where he wasn't allowed to teleport. He'd never thought that it was something that the Three Heroes Church would know how to control.

"It's too bad really." Pope Balamus said with a smile. "Out of all the Heroes, you seemed like the most capable Sir Ren. You killed a Dragon Emperor. Resolved the plant crisis in Leruno. You've even taken down several squads of bandits. I was hoping you'd continue to be useful... But alas, it seems that you have proven yourself to be just as false as the late Bow Hero. A disappointment really."

Ren's eyes slightly widened. "What did you do to Itsuki?"

"The false Bow Hero has been taken care of. As of now, they are but corpses to society. And you and your party are nothing but walking corpses in our eyes. A mere afterthought in God's grand design for this world."

Ren's calm facade cracked a little. If Itsuki had been killed… "You won't get away with this!" Welt said angrily.

"Now now, walking corpses aren't supposed to talk. Please stand still and allow us to purify you." Pope Balamus said as if it was a joke. "Before we get to purifying your souls however, I would like to thank you for returning my property to me." He said, pointing his sword to Wyndia. "I'll make sure she doesn't run away again. After all, as an abomination, it is required that she receive extra purification if she ever wishes to be able to see the face of God."

"**Meteor Slash!**"

Ren sent the high powered skill flying at Pope Balamus.

He raised his own weapon. A glowing gold sword. "**Reflect Slash.**" He said calmly. His sword glowed brighter, and, with ease, he knocked Ren's attack to the side.

The Meteor Slash skill slammed into a bookcase, destroying it.

Ren looked stunned at how easily one of his strongest attacks had been deflected. And by something he recognized as one of his own skills. "But... how…"

Pope Balamus continued to smile and held the glowing sword at his side. "It is a simple explanation really. But I've wasted enough time as it is."

Ren noticed the Pope's sword was glowing less for some reason. Before Ren could think more on it though, Pope Balamus held his sword at his side and calmly gave the order to his knights and mages.

"Kill them."

With a loud cry, the Church Knights charged forward.

* * *

**Pope Balamus might as well have said execute Order 66 for all that matters.**

**Not only do we have actions going on in Melromarc now, but we also seem to have activity brewing in Siltvelt. With a war brewing, two of the heroes in danger, and the third heading towards a confrontation with the fourth, this leaves me wondering how this will all spark together. I guess before that, however, I'll have a little omake down below. Besides the funny OOC aspects, you can consider it canon why the Pope wouldn't just kill Ren and his party himself.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**How to Bluff**

* * *

_A few minutes ago_

"Pope Balamus, I spotted the Sword Hero entering the Church Archives."

Pope Balamus looked up from his desk in surprise. "What?! Why didn't you stop him?!" He asked the nun.

"I... I thought that he'd been given permission to go down there, but I went to you just in case-"

"Of course I didn't give him permission! Do you think me a fool?!" He angrily asked. "Get me the Replica Weapon!"

"But, what are you planning-" She started to ask in fear.

"Get me it, and have every follower start to contribute their mana to it immediately! We'll need every ounce of mana we can get if we want to stop a catastrophe from happening!"

"Yes, your Holiness!" The nun quickly bowed before hustling out of the room to fulfill his orders.

Pope Balamus sat in his padded ornate chair, thinking to himself. _'I wasn't expecting the Sword Hero to do this. If he's in our Archives, my doubts must be correct in that he's aligned himself to help the Shield Devil. Now I have to take extreme measures to make sure he is eliminated. But the Replica Weapon is the only thing powerful enough to face him. And it requires the mana of many followers to use even once... I doubt I would even be able to swing it more than once with the amount of followers currently in the Church... what to do... what to do...'_

Eventually, an entourage of Church Knights came with the Replica Weapon in hand. Pope Balamus took it and went down with them and several Church Mages into the Archives, still trying to think of a plan.

_Present_

"But... how…"

Pope Balamus continued to calmly smile and held the glowing sword at his side. _'Yes! It worked! There was just enough mana for me to deflect his skill!'_ He thought with relief. He'd been trying to hold the picture of calmness the whole time but had inwardly worried there wouldn't be enough mana in the weapon for him to use it. Now, he looked super awesome and bad*** after deflecting one of Ren's most powerful skills.

"It is a simple explanation really." Pope Balamus said calmly.

"What is that explanation then?" Ren demanded.

_'Oh, er, um...'_ He kept the calm mask plastered to his face. Checking the weapon over, he saw there wasn't enough mana for him to use another skill like that again for a long while.

"Kill them." He ordered the knights.

"Aren't you going to answer my question?!" Ren angrily demanded. "You can't just show up with an OP weapon and not have an excuse for how it works-"

"You are but walking corpses." Pope Balamus calmly said. "An explanation of this weapon's properties would be wasted on you." He bluffed.

_'Now, quickly, take him down while he still thinks I'm a major threat!'_ The Pope thought fearfully as his knights and mages attacked. Because if Ren realized that he was bluffing, he'd be in serious trouble.

* * *

**T****ill Next Time**

**Allen**


	29. Arc 3: 29: Facing the Spear Hero

**Hey readers! I released an unplanned Shield Hero one-shot last Saturday. If you've ever wondered what would happen if the Sacred Duel went down Yu-Gi-Oh style, read Let's Duel! to find out how it'd go down.**

**Now, enough with all the fluff, world-building, character introductions, etc. I'm ready to start bouncing Naofumi back into the action. Hold on to your seats. This ride's about to get a little bumpy for the Shield Hero.**

**Before that though, I do want to clarify a few things to a Guest. No, that isn't where demi-humans came from. The breeding system is not like Goblin Slayer at all. What I said from that history book last chapter (sorry for the spoiler anime fans) is literally what's been revealed in the LN's. The demi-humans were introduced to the world of Melromarc because of their two separate worlds being fused together (if you want to understand what that means, get to reading the LN's) and not because of breeding with monsters, either in this world or their former world. Sorry to shoot that down, but just, NO!**

**As I also explained, Siltvelt prides itself on keeping it's bloodlines pure (raccoon demi-humans mating with raccoon demi-humans, lion demi-humans mating with lion demi-humans, it's simple, they breed among their own species of demi-human) while Shieldfreeden has way more mixed demi-human and human/demi-human families. That's all there is to it. It's not more complicated than that. Don't try to add more than that. Please.**

**I'd explain Nielsoon too, but this note is getting long. Sorry, after reading that review, I realized I'd have to put a few things bluntly here since people read the review section and I don't want them thinking that the Church's propaganda actually holds a grain of truth to it. I'll end by saying you're way off the mark with Nielsoon and suggest you read the LN's or the Reprise novels. Specifically, LN 16 if you want to understand what Hero she was talking about. Now let's get reading!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _38 more Favorites, 42 more Followers (Total: 932 Favorites, 1099 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _February 10th, 2020 3:56 P.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: **_Facing the Spear Hero_

* * *

11_ Days before the Wave of Catastrophe_

Naofumi calmly sat in the front seat of the wagon. Holding the reins to Filo as she went at a brisk pace down the road cut into the side of the cliff face. The slope on their right was steep and dotted with trees near the top. On their left was a steep drop that flattened out around 75 feet below.

'_This area looks... familiar.' _Raphtalia was napping in the back of the wagon, having fallen asleep after a night of keeping watch and training. Filo was humming a tune to herself as she happily pulled her favorite wagon along.

'_Where I have seen this place before?' _Naofumi had lots of alone time to sit and think as he tried to remember why this road looked familiar...

He looked up above. '_Ah, now I remember.' _He had taken this route once before with Raphtalia back when they were first making their way towards Dragon Village. '_We kept to a path up above, but it allowed us to view if any knights were patrolling the road down here. It's funny how long ago that seems now with everything that's happened.'_

He moved the **Mask Shield** to his arm before changing it to the **Book Shield** so he could look around at the familiar surroundings. It was the first time since Lute that he recognized a place he was traveling through. _'Being an outcast has forced me to flee all over the place… I think this is the first time since Lute that I've revisited a place.'_

…

Filo started to hum a familiar tune in front of him. He couldn't place where it was from. But her humming brought his mind to the present reason why they were traveling by his and Raphtalia's old stomping grounds.

'_Filo hit level 40 last night. With the Wave of Catastrophe eleven days from now, we either need to find somewhere to get our class ups or make sure we can get all our equipment up to date...'_

He pulled up Filo and Raphtalia's stats on his status magic screen while he was thinking. He was at level 41 since he didn't have a level limit as a hero. Both Raphtalia and Filo were level 40 and had stars next to their names, indicating they'd need a class up before they could continue progressing. He then pulled up his help guide and looked up the information on class ups.

_'According to my help guide, one of the requirements for obtaining a class-up is by using a Dragon Hour Glass. We won't be able to get our class ups here because of the Church's hostility. But if we were within traveling distance of another country's hourglass, maybe we could get our class-ups there before the Wave hit... but if it turns out we can't reach another country's dragon hourglass in time, maybe Jerry would be willing to go ahead to the Capital or another city to get the gear we need. I could lend him my Barbarian Armor to see if the old man could improve or not while we hid in the nearby forest and prepared for the next wave.'_

He planned out what he'd say to Jerry in his mind. '_Hell. While I'm there, I could also ask Jerry if he has any Shields in his shop that I could copy. I haven't found many different shields at other blacksmith shops in smaller villages since leaving the Capital.'_ Naofumi grimaced. Hell, he'd be hard-pressed to think of a blacksmith that sold a variety of shields outside of Erhard's Capital shop since the state religion affiliated the Shield with the devil. Thus, many of the blacksmith's he'd visited in other villages hadn't had many, if any, shields for sale. '_Would Jerry even have something in his shop that I didn't already copy from Erhard? I mean, he doesn't sound like that good a blacksmith if he had to smuggle me and Raphtalia into the Capital so Erhard could upgrade our equipment.'_ He thought.

Raphtalia lightly snored in her sleep behind him. "Why are you insulting that nice man Master Naofumi?" She talked in her sleep.

_'Too bad she's asleep. That mind trick doesn't count if she can't remember it.'_ He thought with a wide evil grin.

"Daddy, are you thinking something mean?" Filo asked without looking back.

"Of course not." Naofumi dryly said. "Why would you ask that?"

"Daddy has that evil smile on his face. The one he normally gets when he's thinking about doing something rotten."

_'... Damn, am I really that easy to read?'_ Naofumi thought. "You're imagining things Filo. Go back to humming." Naofumi said calmly.

_'I mean, _one of the main reasons I want to see _Jerry is to learn what country is by the border near Dragon Village. Copying more Shields is secondary to that… although I have managed to unlock all the stat bonuses from the copied shields I can access at my level. The bonuses don't amount to much when compared with my Chimera Viper Shield. I need to unlock more bonuses if I want to improve my overall stats while we can't class up.'_ That meant either hunting down new monsters or copying shields he hadn't copied yet. And copying shields would be a lot easier short term then hunting down new monsters.

"Okay daddy." Filo went back to humming.

'_Besides, with all the money we've have made running our peddling and Night Doctor business, I'm sure I can pay Jerry for the chance to copy some of his shields. Along with Erhard for all the Shields he let me copy last time I was in his shop.'_

His mind wandered to another possibility with Jerry. '_If there is another Dragon Hourglass in our ten to eleven-day time window, maybe Jerry could help smuggle us out of Melromarc using Filo and her wagon.'_

There was only one thing other than time that could ruin that plan… if the country east of Dragon Village was Siltvelt. For reasons, Naofumi refused to go there. And it wasn't just because the few demi-humans he'd met from there had wanted to kill Raphtalia. So his plan all depended on the distance to the eastern border, and the countries that were northeast, east, or southeast of Dragon Village.

'_Damn it, I won't know for sure what we should do until we meet with Jerry! And that's if he is at Dragon Village right now or not!'_ Naofumi berated himself for putting so much thought into possibilities that might not even end up happening if Jerry was away on business.

Naofumi was so lost in thought about the matter, he didn't hear Filo for a few seconds…

… "Daddy? Daddy?"

Naofumi finally shook himself from his thoughts. "What is it, Filo?" He asked with some annoyance in his voice.

"There's someone up ahead. He looks tired to Filo." Filo pointed with one of her wings. Up ahead, there was a person slowly jogging in the middle of the road. He was dressed in normal clothes. He looked to be carrying a vial in one of his hands.

Naofumi changed his **Book Shield** to his **Mask Shield** and put the mask back over his face. "Slow down. Let's see what's going on with him."

Filo slowed down as she approached the jogging man. Then he stopped and collapsed in exhaustion as she was about to stop by him. "Hey, are you alright?" Naofumi cursed in his mind as he jumped out.

The man couldn't answer. He looked very worn out. As if he'd been running several marathons all in a row.

"Hey, are you okay? Do you need a hand?" Naofumi calmly asked as he shook the guy.

...

"Please, kind stranger, could you give me a lift in your carriage?" The man said in a worn-out, pleading voice.

"First, I need you to tell me why you're running yourself to exhaustion," Naofumi said calmly as he gave the man a container with water. Despite all his peddling, he'd had as of yet to transport someone from one village to another after the incident with the Accessory Merchant.

The man took deep gulps of water in between ragged breaths. Then he took another moment to calm his breathing to a manageable rate. "I have to get this medicine to the village. The one just past the mountain. It's urgent, I beg you." The man said tiredly. He held up the clear vial of medicine he was holding.

Naofumi pulled out his map. "Is this the village you're talking about?" He asked, pointing to an area north of where they were currently at.

"Yes, that's the one!"

Naofumi inwardly grimaced. It was off the path they were taking to get to Dragon Village. They wouldn't get to Dragon Village until late that night or early the next morning if they did this. "Tell me. How urgent is it?" Naofumi calmly asked.

The man looked up at Naofumi as if he was his last hope. "It's… it's my mother." He admitted. "Her health has been going downhill ever since the last wave. I got the right medicine the first time, but I accidentally dropped it on my way back. I've had to make this trip several times since then trying to find the right medicine for her. The last time I left, she was… she was..." Tears started forcing their way from the man's eyes. "This is my last chance to help her out. Please! I beg you!" He pleaded.

Naofumi looked at the vial in the man's hands. Its item description showed up on his status screen, and he was briefly stunned when he read the description. '_Yggdrasil medicine!'_ Naofumi thought in astonishment. His medical grimoire had mentioned it in a footnote as being one of the most powerful medicines in this world. And the hardest to make. '_How the hell did this man even manage to afford this?!'_

"Please, can you help me?" The man begged again. His eyes shining with tears at the thought that he would honestly lose his mom.

Naofumi wanted to say no. He wanted to say no so badly since they were on a time crunch. But If this man was desperate enough to buy legendary medicine and risk traveling by himself with it... his hero side got the better him. "Fine, we'll help you get to your mom." He said.

The man beamed with happiness on the ground. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!"

Naofumi climbed onto the wagon. "Raphtalia. Wake up." He shook her sleeping form with one hand to wake her up. "Filo, how quickly can you get us past that mountain at full speed?" He asked.

"Not too long. Maybe an hour. Filo could probably get us there in fifteen minutes if Filo left her carriage behind." Filo said optimistically.

"*Yawn* Master Naofumi, is something going on?" Raphtalia asked tiredly as she transitioned back to the land of the living.

"We have a man here who needs help getting to his village. I need to leave the wagon behind. Can you safeguard our possessions while I'm gone?" Naofumi asked.

"Thank you! Thank you for doing this!" The man continued to thank Naofumi.

"Don't thank me yet. We'll have to see if we get to your mother in time." Naofumi said dryly to the man.

Raphtalia was blinking in surprise, now trying to comprehend the situation she had just woken up to. "What do you mean Master Naofumi-" She tried to say.

"Don't worry. I'll be back as soon as I can." Naofumi said in an attempt to ease her worries.

Raphtalia was still worried. She still didn't fully understand what was going on, but she quickly realized whatever it was had to be important. "Right. I'll make sure nobody tries to steal our supplies." She said.

"Thank you." He gave her a quick hug. "I'll let you drive Filo with me once we get back."

Filo pushed the wagon to the side of the road and then moved away from the wagon. Naofumi climbed onto her back, holding onto the reins with one hand as he pulled the guy up to sit behind him. "Is this safe?" The man asked.

"Yeah, just make sure you hold on tight," Naofumi said dryly. "Filo, let's go!"

"Righteo," Filo said happily before she burst forward along the road in a blaze of speed.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" The man behind Naofumi screamed in surprise as they hit speeds no human in this world had ever experienced before. Leaving a dust trail in their wake behind them as they disappeared down the road.

Raphtalia watched them leave from the front seat of the wagon. She was still a little surprised to have been left behind the way she had. But the tiredness was fleeing from her mind, and she was beginning to understand what had happened.

"Hopefully they'll get back from treating that patient soon." She said to herself.

Raphtalia jumped off the wagon, pulled her sword out, and started to go through sword forms again.

* * *

"Mother. I got you the medicine."

The man Naofumi had picked up earlier stood at the foot of his mother's bed. Holding the vial of medicine unsurely. His mother stirred and weakly opened her eyes to look at her son. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then she started coughing.

"Oh, I really hope I bought the right medicine this time." The man said sadly to himself. "I've never had a good appraisal stat for examining items." His mom looked like she was on death's door. But the son still felt her burning 'Don't be a wimp' gaze striking into him. And as weird as it was for this man to admit it, he'd give anything if it meant his mom would have the energy to berate him again.

Naofumi saw how nervous this man looked and sighed to himself. "Listen, go boil some water. I can give the medicine to your mother." Naofumi said calmly, much to the man's surprise.

"But, but I-" The man started to say.

"Relax. I'm doing this part for free." Naofumi replied calmly, easing the man's worries. "Bringing you here was free too since I'm betting you already paid a lot for that medicine."

The man looked down at the vial. Then he sighed, already knowing it'd be better for this man to give the medicine to his mom. Knowing himself, he'd probably find some way to accidentally mess it up. Just like he had the first time. At least it'd be hard for him to mess up boiling water. He gave the vial to Naofumi and then left the room.

Naofumi took a few seconds to appraise the medicine in his hands. As he thought, he couldn't identify a single ingredient. All he could get was the name. It was so high class that only a master apothecarian could have made it. Which made him wonder again how this man had managed to afford it.

The old lady in bed rolled over and started coughing again. Naofumi threw the thought away and focused on his patient. "I just need a moment," Naofumi said calmly as he used an appraisal skill. After a moment, his status magic screen only showed the lady's almost empty health bar. Her level appeared as **? **next to it. '_What the hell?'_ He hadn't run into this problem before. Normally, by using his appraisal skill, he could pull up somebody's HP bar, level, sickness, and sometimes other health issues. It was his main way of identifying what sickness or ailment the patient was suffering from. But he was getting no information now.

'_Either this woman has a stealth stat or something similar to it that's higher than my appraisal level... or she's way above my current level… Yeah right, like that's the reason why.'_ He thought sarcastically. It was most likely some stealth stat she'd worked on in her early days. There was no way this frail old lady could have been a much higher level than him.

Naofumi pushed the sarcastic thoughts from his mind. This lady was dying. He had to help her. He was going in blind about what her sickness was. But he figured, he was currently holding the most powerful medicine in the world. If this didn't help her, then it was likely nothing would. "Okay. I need you to lie on your back for me now," Naofumi said calmly.

The old lady complied and rolled on her back. "Good. Now all you have to do is drink this." Naofumi said as he raised the vial to her lips. She gave him a weak nod, and then he lifted the vial. Slowly allowing the contents to go down her throat.

When she finished, her body gave off a soft glow. She visibly sighed, and her pale skin started to regain color at a quick rate. Naofumi's stat screen showed that her HP bar was slowly starting to fill up again.

Naofumi sat back, sighing in relief. '_Thank goodness, it worked.'_ He thought. He had no idea what sickness she'd been suffering from. But whatever it was hadn't stood a chance against the top tier medicine he'd used. His job was done…

... '_I'll watch until the son gets back from his task. Just in case.'_ He couldn't leave until he felt sure that this old lady was out of the danger zone.

…

_A few minutes later_

"Ow! Ow ow ow ow ow!" The man dipped his burned hand into a bucket of cold water. The boiling water he'd prepared was all over the floor because he'd accidentally tripped.

"How could I mess up boiling a pot of water?" He said depressedly. It was no wonder why he was still living in his mom's house. He couldn't even accomplish a simple task like that. Unlike his mother.

After a little bit, he gingerly grabbed the handle of the pot. It still had a little hot water in it, but not a lot. He dumped the remainder into a small cup. '_I hope the man treating my mom is better than me.'_ He thought depressedly. He couldn't even prepare a pot of boiling water without messing things up.

He walked into the room holding the cup, half expecting to be chewed out again-

"Thank you so much."

The man stopped in surprise. "Mother, the medicine… it's helping already?" He asked in surprise.

His mom was sitting up in her bed now. For the first time, her face was relaxed and not twisted in pain. "Yes, the pain went away in an instant." The mother responded. Sounding a little more energetic and relieved with each word she said.

"Oh, thank the Gods." The man had to quickly set the cup of water on the stand next to him. Because he fell down on his knees right after doing that and started to bawl that the medicine had actually worked.

"Thank you, good sir… tell me, what is your name?" The old lady asked curiously, finally beginning to recognize that she didn't know the Masked Man who had given her the medicine.

"My real name is unimportant," Naofumi said calmly. "Nowadays, I go by my title. The Nocturnal Doctor."

"Well whoever you are, you're a godsend." The lady said thankfully, before sitting back in the bed. "I'll be okay now, thanks to both of you."

Naofumi calmly nodded his head. "That's good to hear." He turned to walk towards the exit.

"Wait, Nocturnal Doctor!" Naofumi turned around. The man had managed to get back up off the floor. He then surprised Naofumi by giving him a respectful bow. "I don't have anything to give accept my utmost gratitude and respect. But please, if you stop by our town tonight, feel free to use my house as a place to rest from your journey." He said gratefully.

…

Naofumi studied the man behind his mask for a moment, gauging in his mind if he was being sincere or not. But he was quick to tell the man was being absolutely and honestly sincere. A smile worked its way onto his face, and he turned to leave again. "If we come by this town, I'll keep that in mind." He said, waving a hand over his shoulder at the two of them.

The man said a silent prayer to the Gods. Thanking them for putting the Nocturnal Doctor in his path.

"And who gave you permission to allow random strangers into my house?" The mom calmly asked from her bed.

Her son immediately straightened. "Gah, um, I'm sorry mom! I didn't know what else to do to thank him-" He tried to say, thinking he had messed up again.

The old lady laughed, feeling delighted that it no longer hurt her to do so. "It's okay, my son. The Nocturnal Doctor seems like a good man to me." She opened her eyes to softly smile at him. "I'm so proud of you, my boy." She said genuinely.

The man's eyes widened. He couldn't remember the last time his mom had ever said such words to him. The way she'd been raised and all…

"Now go wipe that look off your face! If we're going to have guests at our house tonight, then I want to make sure this place is clean!" She snapped at him. "Gods know how dusty you've left it wasting all that time trying to purchase the right medicine after you dropped the first one all over my floor!"

"Sorry, mother! I'll get right on it!" The son said, bowing quickly to his mom.

"Don't just stand there blabbering you idiot! Get cleaning!" The mom ordered.

The son quickly ran out of the room, heading for the cupboards with all the cleaning supplies. "And there's the mother I know and love." He said under his breath. Yet he was still smiling as he said it.

He'd missed having his mom around.

* * *

_A few minutes later_

"Dad, is everything okay?"

Naofumi pulled himself out of his train of thought to look up at Filo. She was still running down a mountain path back to the road their wagon was on. She had turned her head to look back at him.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Naofumi asked curiously.

"Daddy hasn't said one word to Filo since we left that weird man's house. Did something happen inside that Filo isn't aware of?" Filo asked.

Naofumi chuckled a little bit and started ruffling her neck feathers. "No, nothing bad happened. In fact, they offered to let us stay the night in their home. I've been wondering if I should take them up on their offer or not." Naofumi responded honestly.

"Were they nice?" Filo asked.

"Very nice. Nicer than other people I've met." Naofumi said, feeling more uplifted than he had before.

"Then let's go there after we pick up mommy!" Filo said happily.

"Well, the problem Filo is that we were planning on going somewhere else. And…" Naofumi stopped as he thought over what had happened to himself.

It still felt nice to help other people out. And it wasn't like that man and his mom were the only ones in that village. It was a lot closer than Dragon Village currently. They could get there just after sunset, do business as usual, and stay in the man's home for the night. "You know what, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea." He said.

"Yayyyyy! Filo saw all sorts of fun places she could run around and explore in!" She said happily while running.

A free night would be more than enough in payment for helping out that man and his mom. And based on what he'd seen, he'd have a decent kitchen to cook breakfast before they left for Dragon Village. '_Yeah, I think both Filo and Raphtalia would appreciate that.'_ Naofumi thought sarcastically. But already, he was liking this idea more than just traveling through the night to get to Dragon Village. '_I'll ask Raphtalia and see if she thinks if it's a good idea or not.'_ He decided.

Almost on instinct, he checked the corner of his status screen. Though he couldn't see how Raphtalia was doing, he could see her HP gauge and MP gauge. Seeing both of them full let him know she was doing okay back at the wagon.

'_I could see her agreeing. And it'd be nice, getting time to relax in a house instead of a crowded inn or the back of a wagon-'_

Naofumi's thoughts cut off. Raphtalia's HP gauge had just lowered slightly. '_Raphtalia?'_ He leaned forward in the real world, focusing on Raphtalia's status bar.

He saw her MP gauge go down a little bit. But her HP gauge didn't go down again. '_I guess Raphtalia was just ambushed by a monster and now she's taking care of it-'_

His eyes widened as he saw her HP gauge drop again, but by a larger increment than before. Her MP gauge also took a rapid plunge. Raphtalia never allowed a monster to get more than one hit on her. And for her to plow through MP that quickly meant the situation she was in had to be life or-

Realization hit him. "Filo! We have to get back to Raphtalia now!" Naofumi yelled.

* * *

"Huah!"

Raphtalia deflected the sword of the Knight away and then kicked him hard in the stomach, causing him to keel over. She lithely backed away. Parrying the blade of another knight before quickly closing in again and headbutting the poor sap, dropping him to the ground.

"Hah!"

Raphtalia jumped far back, avoiding the spear that dug into the ground where she'd been standing. Motoyasu pulled his spear back out. He was dressed in the same armor as before. Now, however, his previously beat-up silver armor looked cleaned and polished, and his red worn out underrobe had been replaced with a fresh one.

"**Mirage Sword**!"

Raphtalia disappeared into her illusion magic.

"**Chaos Spear**!"

Motoyasu unleashed his skill in the area she had just been standing. Instead of just keeping it to that area though, he quickly spread his quick thrusts outwards around him. Turning his piercing attack into an AoE attack. His strategy worked.

Raphtalia reappeared from her illusion to the side of him. She quickly backed away while gasping in pain. She held a hand to the new bleeding thigh wound she'd received from Motoyasu's skill. She had another bleeding gut wound to worry about too. She kept one hand gripping her sword, however, to defend herself.

"Why, why are you doing this Spear Hero!?" Raphtalia asked angrily.

The knights fighting with Motoyasu gathered behind him. There were several squads of men. Myne was nowhere to be seen. Behind them was the wagon she was supposed to protect. The Knights were ignoring it for now, but it cut her off from any HP and MP potions that could have helped her with this fight.

Motoyasu grimaced but held to his spear tightly. "I don't want to hurt you anymore Raphtalia. I just want to know where Naofumi is." He said calmly.

"Why?! What did he ever do to you?!" Raphtalia asked angrily.

"Naofumi raped the royal princess!" Motoyasu said stubbornly. "He has to answer for his crimes-"

"How can you still believe that pig! After all the pain she's tried to cause to Naofumi!?" She yelled at him. He again clutched his spear tightly. "Please, Sir Spear Hero! A part of you has to know that the Princess has been lying to you! That she's been lying to everyone around her for who knows how long-"

Motoyasu spun his spear. "**Meteor Thrust!**"

Raphtalia gasped in surprise and tried to jump back from the skill that came out of a portal above her. However, the wound in her leg impeded her jump, and she didn't jump out of the way in time.

**Boom!**

Raphtalia was caught on the edge of the explosion. It sent her flying back several dozen feet before she impacted hard against the rocky ground of the road. She coughed and felt blood in her mouth. She had bitten her tongue when she hit the ground. A small pool of blood was forming beneath her from her now screaming wounds.

Had that attack hit her head on, she realized she wouldn't have survived.

When the smoke cleared, it showed a large crater in the road. Along with one angry-looking Motoyasu. "I don't believe you!" Motoyasu yelled angrily. "My friends would never lie to me! There's no way that would happen! It's all Naofumi's fault!"

Raphtalia held her side and thigh, forcing down whimpers of pain that wanted to escape. She looked up again, only to gasp in surprise at the crazed look in Motoyasu's eyes. They weren't the same as before. No, they were filled with some emotion. Was it envy, but that didn't feel right. Was it that he was in pain? Then she realized that it was a mixture of both.

It was like a part of him knew that Myne had lied to him. That the King had lied to him. That, even now, what he was saying was a lie. Naofumi was the real hero and he was not. But believing a lie felt better than believing the truth. Because the truth would have meant that he had been the bad guy all this time. And because of that, he envied Naofumi for having everything. For having people who respected him for being a hero despite being an outcast. For doing something heroic that saved the lives of many fair maidens in Lute. And for having a beautiful fair maiden, who, even now, was sacrificing her own life for his sake.

"Sir, Sir Spear Hero-" Raphtalia tried to say.

"I'll give you one last chance! Where is Naofumi!?" Motoyasu angrily demanded while pointing his spear threateningly at Raphtalia. He didn't care now. Raphtalia was in his way. He had to get Naofumi and make him pay for everything he'd done. "Tell me, or I'll end you right now Raphtalia!"

...

Raphtalia painfully stood up. Her body was wracked with pain. She felt like passing out, but her eyes glinted with determination as she raised her sword. She glared at the Spear Hero and the Knights behind him.

Her bad leg strained to hold her up, and the pain was almost overwhelming. But she stood, defiantly. "You will never have him." She said, each word sounding colder than ice. "I won't let you."

...

Motoyasu scowled. "Have it your way." He raised his spear to launch another skill.

"**Air Strike Shield!**"

Before Motoyasu could react, a green shield slammed into his stomach. Spittle flew from his mouth as the force of it sent him flying back between the knights. "Huh?" "What?" A few of them started to say in surprise.

"**High Quick!**"

Suddenly, a large, familiar owl-shaped bird started appearing and disappearing in the midst of the knights. Kicking out left and right, and swinging her wings in between each appearance. Filo sent one knight after the other flying.

"Raphtalia, are you okay?!"

Raphtalia quickly turned, collapsing on her bad leg as she did so, but Naofumi caught her under her shoulder before she fell. "Master Naofumi. You made it." She said, her eyes shining with happiness.

"Of course I did," Naofumi said, flashing her a small smile. "I told you I watch your HP gauge when I'm not around."

"N-Naofumi," Motoyasu growled as he got back up.

"Hey Motoyasu, did you do this to Raphtalia?!" Naofumi angrily asked.

"Of course it was me!" Motoyasu said angrily. A large bird that had been busy beating up all the knights gasped when she heard that. "And now, I'm going to do the same thing to you for-"

"You were the one that hurt Filo's mommy!" Filo yelled as she appeared in front of Motoyasu, stopping him in his tracks.

"Yep, that's the Spear Hero for you Filo," Naofumi said sarcastically. "Always trying to find some way to hurt us."

Motoyasu was momentarily confused by this large fat bird and the fact that this bird was saying he'd hurt her mommy. Quickly looking around showed there were no other birds like Filo anywhere nearby. _'What the hell is this big fat bird talking about-'_ He was so distracted he didn't notice what was coming until it was too late.

"Spear guy is a very bad guy for hurting Filo's mommy!"

**Whack!**

Naofumi had to slow down what happened next in his brain so he could fully capture the kick Filo had just delivered to Motoyasu.

Filo had been in a ready stance, which meant she was able to use the full strength of her leg as she kicked. The kick itself first parted the bottom part of Motoyasu's robes as he was trying to figure out who this bird was talking about. His eyes began the process of widening as his brain rapidly ignited, letting the body know the danger it was in. But even with all those synapses firing off saying to jump the hell back, it was already too late. The kick connected. Filo's foot looked to sink in as far up as Motoyasu's gut. And as Motoyasu flew up into the air, he came to understand in part the pain a woman in labor felt. His insides contracted. Pain, unbelievable pain, lanced up his spine into his skull. His second brain felt like it had been crushed along with his crotch.

In short, Motoyasu was sent flying into the air from a kick to his crotch. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!" His screaming in extreme pain sounded on a pitch that would have sent dogs running and made opera singers envious.

Naofumi, as well as the rest of the knights, stared in shock. '_Whoa…' _He started to smile widely. '_Filo,__ that one kick made all the effort of raising you worth it.'_ He thought. He finally understood what it meant to be proud of your kids for doing something great. 'Oh man, y_ou're going to eat good tonight Filo. I'll see to that myself.'_

"Are you thinking something rude Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked.

"Are you seriously asking me that in the middle of a battle?" Naofumi glared at Raphtalia for ruining his thought process. Was it bad for him to enjoy Motoyasu getting his just deserts?

Filo set her foot back down and harrumphed. "Did I do good kicking the bad guy Daddy?" She asked.

"Filo, you did so good that you earned yourself an all you can eat buffet," Naofumi said proudly.

"Yayyyyy!" Filo cheered.

"Naofumi! You shouldn't be rewarding our daughter for kicking people!" Raphtalia argued. She was badly hurt, and the knights were watching them in stunned amazement. Yet, she was still worried about Naofumi raising their daughter incorrectly.

Speaking of the knights, they finally seemed to come to their senses. "Grab him!" "Take down the Shield Demon!"

They charged at the three of them. Filo took a stance next to Naofumi. "Shall I deal with these bad men too Daddy?" She asked.

Naofumi was about to answer when Raphtalia's other leg gave out. She looked exhausted and pale. There was another small pool of blood gathering beneath her. '_Damn it! I was so entranced by Filo kicking Motoyasu that I forgot to heal Raphtalia!'_ He thought in a panic.

"Filo! Get mom to the wagon!" He threw Raphtalia onto her back and then held his shield up.

Both Filo and Raphtalia looked to Naofumi in surprise. "But, but what about you?" Raphtalia asked.

"I'll distract them while you get the wagon! Don't worry about me! Get to the wagon, find my HP potions, and bandage up whatever they can't heal!" Naofumi's shield changed to the **Chimera Viper Shield**. "Now, **Shield Prison!**"

Several of the Knights in the middle of the charging group were suddenly surrounded in a ball of chains and plates. "Go!" Naofumi ordered.

Filo quickly secured Raphtalia on her back with her wings. Then she ran to the wall of the cliff face, latched onto it with her claws, and started to run sideways over some of the Knights. "Stop that bird!" One of the Squad Captains yelled.

"**Fast Tornado!**" A tornado of wind burst from Filo, kicking up dust and clearing some of the knights that charged for her out of the way.

"**Air Strike Shield!**"

Naofumi pointed, and three charging knights tripped over a shield that appeared in front of their legs, tumbling them to the ground. Naofumi then pointed at the Shield Prison as it was about to disappear. "**Change Shield. Animal Needle Paralysis Shield!**"

Screams of pain came from inside as porcupine needles suddenly lined the interior of the Shield Prison. Then the ball of plates and chains disappeared, dropping the paralyzed knights onto the ground.

"Oof!" A knight tried to tackle Naofumi from behind, but Naofumi's high defense stat made it feel like the Knight had just tried to tackle a brick wall.

Naofumi gripped the knight by the top of his chest plate and lifted him up. "Thanks for volunteering to be my balloon,"

Before the Knight could make sense of that, Naofumi turned and threw the knight with surprising force at the three knights who'd tripped over his shield. Instead of being hit by Naofumi's attack stat, the men were hit with the force of a flying knight in armor. The four went tumbling, almost rolling over the cliff face.

"Huahhhh!" Motoyasu finally came running in, screaming several octaves higher than normal as he used his spear to try and thrust at Naofumi. He, however, was still very much in pain from a hit that had almost nearly incapacitated him. And the attack didn't have as much strength behind it as it should have.

Naofumi blocked the spear with his Chimera Viper Shield. "My name is Motoyasu Kitamura! And I'm not letting you get away this time Naofumi!" Motoyasu roared angrily.

Naofumi narrowed his eyes. After Filo's kick, he figured he could handle Motoyasu easily. "**Hook!**"

The viper detached from Naofumi's shield and bit down on Motoyasu's arm in between his new armored greaves. "Ahhhhhh!" Motoyasu yelled angrily. "You think one bite is going to stop me!?"

Naofumi was surprised. Then a burst of energy came off of Motoyasu, sending Naofumi tumbling back.

Naofumi grimaced. '_What the hell?!'_ He could have sworn the ability that had freaked Motoyasu out last time in their duel would hurt him more. And now Motoyasu looked really angry and was holding a new sinister looking spear. "I'm taking back everything you took from me!" He yelled angrily.

"What are you blabbering about now-" Naofumi was asking when Motoyasu jumped at Naofumi with such speed that Naofumi barely raised his Shield to defend himself in time. The Legendary Spear slammed into the Shield with more force than anything else Naofumi had blocked before. A shockwave came out from the hit, which almost sending Naofumi flying again. '_Holy hell! Wasn't he just incapacitated because of Filo's kick!?'_ Naofumi thought as he jumped back, avoiding another strike from the crazed Spear Hero. The strike made another crater in the ground.

"Ha!" Another knight tried to slash at Naofumi from behind. But the sword broke at the hilt when it against Naofumi's armor. Naofumi then jumped out of the way and watched as Motoyasu's Spear barely missed impaling the stunned knight.

"Get out of my way! Naofumi is mine!" Motoyasu grabbed the knight by his collar and threw him at the cliff face so he could continue fighting Naofumi. The knight hit the rock wall so hard that an indent crater was left behind, and he collapsed unconscious.

'_What's gotten into Motoyasu-' _Naofumi thought. Actually fearing for his life now.

"**Air Strike Javelin!**" Motoyasu yelled out a skill. His spear glowed and released a familiar green javelin at Naofumi. He remembered what had happened last time he'd tried to block it with a skill and instead used his own shield to block the impact.

Naofumi was knocked back by the explosion. His health gauge shrunk a little even though he'd managed to successfully block Motoyasu's skill. "Master Naofumi!" Naofumi looked, seeing that Filo had managed to grab the wagon, and Raphtalia was waving for him to run.

Motoyasu charged forward again, yelling as he prepared to unleash another assault on Naofumi. It was then that Naofumi saw he wasn't seeing things. Motoyasu was moving around faster than normal, and he'd definitely powered up. He couldn't face him in a head-on fight without getting himself killed.

"**MegaPhone!**" Naofumi quickly changed to the Voice Gengar Shield using the voice command and brought it to his mouth. "**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**"

Motoyasu stopped in his tracks and covered his ears. Naofumi's voice was nowhere near as loud and shrill as Filo's when she yelled into it. But it did amplify the scream, and Motoyasu was close enough that it hurt. With Motoyasu not moving, Naofumi quickly put his last-ditch ploy into play.

"**Air Strike Shield! Lasso!**" Naofumi quickly shouted one after the other.

A green shield appeared behind Motoyasu, and then rope burst from it. In one quick move, Naofumi had Motoyasu wrapped to the Air Strike Shield, struggling to move his upper body. "Damn it! Stop it with your stupid tricks!" Motoyasu yelled angrily as he tried to free himself. His awkward position, however, made it hard for him to maneuver his spear to cut the rope.

_'Something is definitely wrong with him! But hopefully, this should distract him long enough.'_

He ran away from the fight. Filo ran, using more wind spells to clear the knights out of her path that were dumb enough to think they could stop a few hundred-pound chicken pulling over a ton of weight behind her. She jumped the crater Motoyasu had made in the road earlier, and Raphtalia held on for dear life as the wagon jumped the crater with Filo.

"Master Naofumi!"

Filo was running past on his right. Raphtalia reached out from the back of the wagon to grab his outstretched hand.

Just as Naofumi's hand was about to grab hers. A loud shout came from behind.

"**METEOR THRUST!**"

Naofumi's eyes widened. Motoyasu had been tied to the Air Strike Shield, but he could still launch that skill from a portal by spinning his spear!

The portal formed in the air above and behind the wagon. '_No… he's… he's trying to destroy our only chance of escape!'_

He knew from experience that his Shield Prison couldn't stand against the skill, even before Motoyasu had powered up. His Air Strike Shield was already in use. He was still a couple of levels off from being able to use the Meteor Shield. And if Motoyasu could injure Filo and take down the wagon, with Raphtalia still hurt and unable to run…

Naofumi reacted instinctively. Instead of grabbing Raphtalia's hand. He jumped in front of the portal, right as the biggest, bluest blast of energy he'd ever seen came barreling out of it at him.

**Boom!**

What happened in the few seconds after that was a blur. He could remember himself flying, longer than he'd ever flown before. His arm was numb from blocking the force of that blast. His HP Bar had also dropped a good half from the power behind the hit. It was a miracle he had even survived. In his spinning and flailing when he couldn't tell what was up and what was down, he couldn't think straight.

"OOF!" Naofumi suddenly slammed into the hard ground. Like a car slamming into a brick wall. He had just fallen 75 feet and flown a good distance from the road up above.

"Naofumi!"

Naofumi's eyes cleared a little, and he saw Raphtalia up above holding to the wagon. The back covering of the wagon had been burned away, but the rest of the wagon was still intact and being pulled by Filo. Both of them were looking down at him in horror.

"I'm fine! Get out of here before Motoyasu launches another skill!" Naofumi yelled up to them as he stood back up. His HP gauge had fallen another fourth from that fall. Much like long ago when he'd jumped from the second story of the inn onto the streets of the Capital. Leveling up his defense really had done wonders for him. But now he was at around 25% health.

"But-" Raphtalia tried to say.

"Now!" "Take down the Shield Hero while he's weak!"

A squad of five knights that had been hiding out down below just in case Naofumi tried to escape that way burst from their hiding places. All five tackled Naofumi back down to the ground. Raphtalia gasped in shock up above.

"Don't worry! I'll catch up! Get out of here before Motoyasu kills you both!" Naofumi yelled up at them from under the Capital Knights. A few of which were trying to hack at him with their swords. Had they been working together as those Church Knights had long ago in the arena, they could have combined their defense skills and outclassed his defense in a grapple move. They had worked together to tackle him down. But each was swiping one at a time, and they weren't even giving him a paper cut. Barely an itching feeling on his skin. And without all five working together, they were finding it very hard to force him into a grapple effect.

"**Hook!**"

One of the knights trying to hold a leg down screamed as he got bit.

"Huah!" Naofumi deflected a Knight's sword at just the right moment, causing it to instead slash into the armor of one of his compatriots.

"Augh!" The Knight who got slashed screamed in pain as he let go of Naofumi's arm.

Up above, Filo was still running, but looking down below as the area where Naofumi was fighting disappeared from view. "We have to do something, Mommy!" Filo yelled in worry.

Raphtalia was in the back of the wagon, trying to find where Naofumi had stored his various potions in the crates. She needed to use several HP Potions to recover now so she could help! But the explosion had made a mess in the back of the wagon. And looking back down the road, she saw Knights on horseback trying to pursue them. "Filo, run as fast as you can! Try to find the closest path down to Naofumi up ahead!" Raphtalia yelled to Filo.

"Okay! I think I remember one up ahead mommy!" Filo said determinedly. She started running harder than ever, and the knights chasing them on horseback fell behind, and then out of sight.

Raphtalia kept on looking but glanced through the back of the wagon down at the forest below where Naofumi was fighting the Knights. '_Please, just fight for long enough so that we can find you.'_ Raphtalia thought in worry. She finally found and grabbed an HP potion from a crate that had been stuffed away in the bottom of the pile, and began to drink it.

* * *

"**Lasso!**"

Naofumi thrust forward with a thing of rope at one of the remaining knights that tried to back away. Roping him around the chest. "Ah! Ahhhh!" The Knight screamed in terror.

With a mighty tug, Naofumi swung the Knight through the air into the last standing knight.

"**Shield Prison! Change Shield! Animal Needle Paralysis Shield!**"

In quick succession, the last two knights were encased in the infamous Shield Prison, and Naofumi felt almost the rest of his SP get used as he punctured the knights inside with porcupine needles dripping with paralysis venom. The Shield Prison dissipated, and the two knights dropped to the ground. Unable to move. Around Naofumi, the three other knights were either unconscious or trying to take anti-venom for their bite wounds.

'_Alright, now with them out of the way-'_

"Naofumi!"

Naofumi turned just as Motoyasu slid the rest of the way down the cliff face, digging his spear into the wall to slow him down enough that he took no fall damage when he hit the ground. He stood awkwardly and still spoke an octave higher than normal, but he still looked angry and willing to fight. His spear was still cloaked with a mysterious sinister aura. "It's time we end this!" He said, raising his spear at Naofumi before he charged forward again.

Naofumi grimaced and held up his shield in a defensive pose. He didn't even have enough SP for one more Hook move. He barely had the SP for an Air Strike Shield. And after Motoyasu's last attack, another Meteor Thrust would very likely kill him. "Damn it Motoyasu!? I haven't even done anything bad since our last duel-" He started to say.

"Shut your mouth Naofumi!" Motoyasu said angrily as he slammed his spear into Naofumi's shield again. Naofumi's already numb arm burned from the force behind the attack. "You've done plenty of bad things! You turned the people of Lute Village against me! You took the miracle I gave the town of Leruno and mutated it into a monster! You made me doubt my friends and live in exile for a long time! Everything is your fault!"

"What the hell are you talking about Motoyasu?! I wasn't even near Lute when all that crap went down. And I've never heard of a town named Leruno before-"

"Shut up!" Motoyasu slammed his spear into Naofumi's shield again, and Naofumi flew back into a tree. "The Shadows already told me you'd try to lie to me again so that you could brainwash me into letting you rape and pillage your way to Shieldfreeden! I won't allow it!"

_'Shadows? Does he mean the Church Shadows?'_ Despite the thought, Naofumi felt himself getting pissed. He'd imagined his next meet up with Motoyasu being somewhat better than this after his experiences with the other heroes. "Are you trying to act like an idiot!?" Naofumi asked Motoyasu angrily. "I don't know how to mutate something into a monster! I haven't raped or pillaged from any towns! Hell, I've been traveling around as a freaking night merchant! Selling medicine to those who need it! If you had only looked in the back of my wagon you would have seen the truth-"

"STOP LYING TO ME!"

Naofumi was stunned by the force in Motoyasu's voice. He was clutching his spear angrily, and his eyes looked even more crazed. "You're a monster! A horrible monster! You're brainwashing poor Raphtalia into loving you! You're the one who turned my friends against me! You're brainwashing everyone you meet to turn against me, and I'm going to stop you!" Motoyasu yelled with determination, taking on a fighting stance. "I'm going to turn you in and take everything you took away from me back! My friends, my honor, my status, my money, everything!"

Naofumi grimaced. '_What the hell?'_ This was different. Motoyasu had always seemed like more of an easy-going skirt chaser. But his tone, his stance, his eyes, everything was different. Everything about him screamed that he genuinely thought that Naofumi was a monster. _'Why is he acting like this? Bitch isn't around to control him or anything. So why?'_

"... Motoyasu, do you really think that I'm a monster?" Naofumi asked seriously.

... Motoyasu looked a little confused by Naofumi's question. "What?" He asked.

"Think about it. If I'm raping and pillaging. If I'm going around killing everyone I meet... if I'm brainwashing Raphtalia... to love me…" He had to pause to say that last part, because of how cruel it sounded. Did Motoyasu really think he'd sink that low? "Then why did I protect her from that skill of yours? Why didn't I use it as an opportunity to escape? You can see how much that cost me. I have no SP, and I'm at low health. So why? Why did I do it Motoyasu?! Is that the action of a monster?!"

...

Motoyasu looked unsure how to respond to that. In his opinion, Naofumi hadn't needed to use his own shield to block the skill. He could have let his two party members get hurt in the blast so he could escape. And yet he hadn't. He lowered his spear, which lost some of its sinister aura. "No…"

"Then please, just listen to me for one moment-" Naofumi started to say. Maybe he could still somehow reason with him.

He felt something slightly prick his neck, causing him to gasp in surprise.

"Good job Spear Hero." A familiar-looking nun came out of the underbrush. A pair of Church Shadows flanking her. "You distracted the Shield Devil perfectly."

"M-Motoyasu-" Naofumi's voice started to slur.

Motoyasu's thoughtful look was replaced with a sad look. "I'm sorry Naofumi. It has to be this way." He said, sadly holding his spear to the side. "I can't fail again. I need what you have back."

Naofumi dizzily felt at his neck and pulled out a familiar-looking dart. A little drop of his blood was on the tip. It had barely pricked his skin because of his defense stat. But the concealed, high-leveled Church Shadow's attack stat, combined with the minute (pronounced min-ute) sharpness of the single tranquilizer dart had been enough. It had pierced him, and it had delivered its contents into his system.

His eyesight starting to dim, and he staggered as he tried to stay standing. "You bastard… I didn't do… anything wrong..." Naofumi drawled, feeling tiredness encroaching on him.

"You've done plenty wrong Shield Demon." Altara said accusingly. "And now, the time at last has come to make you pay."

Naofumi stumbled forward, reaching for Motoyasu.

Motoyasu backed away, letting Naofumi fall to the ground. "I need to bring you in Naofumi. I need you to fall if I ever want to rise to what I was before."

Naofumi couldn't keep his eyes open. The tranquilizer quickly putting him to sleep. The sinister aura disappeared off of Motoyasu's spear as he turned to speak with the most hateful nun Naofumi had ever met.

'_Damn… I should have seen this coming... I'm sorry Raphtalia… Filo… I won't be… cooking that all you can eat buffet for you two… after all…'_

Naofumi felt cuffs being placed on his wrists, and then he passed out.

* * *

_Thirty Minutes Later_

The wheels of the wagon rattled against the rocks on the ground. The cliff face of the road passed high on their left. On their right, the trees of the forest reached out to the sky. Thunder boomed up above, and rain started to fall.

Raphtalia sat in the driver's seat despite the falling rain. She clung to Filo's reins like a lifeline. Her injuries had all been healed up thanks to Naofumi's potions, and her MP bar was almost full. '_Naofumi… please be okay…'_ She thought in worry.

It had taken them longer than she'd hoped to find a path down the cliff into the forest. It'd also taken them some time to find a route through the trees that their wagon could fit through. And with Filo pulling the wagon, the extra weight slowed her down. The mud forming from the rain would only make things worse if they didn't get to Naofumi soon. _'Please, please let him be okay.'_ Raphtalia prayed as she kept a lookout for Naofumi and for danger.

The trees thinned out into a small clearing, and Filo stopped. "Filo, what is it… No…" Raphtalia whispered at the end.

"Daddy…" Filo whimpered.

Damage had been done to the trees all around because of Naofumi's struggles with the knights. There was a Naofumi shaped impact crater filling with rainwater. Bark and branches littered the ground alongside bits and pieces of armor. Their owners were long gone. The area was empty. Except for the broken soldier's armor and weapons, and one other major thing.

"They… they took daddy…"

Raphtalia jumped out of the wagon and ran up to what was lying on the ground. "No, Gods please no!" Left to rust/rot away in the weather was Naofumi's Barbarian Armor. His breastplate, his arm guards, his leg guards, all of it. Discarded by the people who had captured him. The intent was obvious. Naofumi would no longer need them where they were taking him.

"No… NO!"

Raphtalia picked up the breastplate, tears appearing in the corner of her eyes as she saw her own sad reflection staring back at her. The rain continued to fall against it, blurring her image with the small droplets of water. She hugged the breastplate close. "NAOFUMIIIIIIII!"

She'd failed him. The moment he'd needed her the most, she'd failed him… if only she hadn't gotten herself hurt. If only she hadn't been taken by surprise when Motoyasu attacked. If only a million other things she could have done had happened, then maybe this wouldn't have happened.

...

"Mommy…"

…

"Mom!"

Raphtalia looked up, and saw Filo looking at the ground. She sniffed, not having realized that she'd been crying the whole time. "What is it Filo?" She asked, wiping away rain and tears from her face.

"Mom! We can't give up now! Daddy still needs us!" Filo yelled. Her eyes flamed with determination and indignation that Naofumi had been taken away from their family. "Dad never gave up on us! Now we can't give up on him!"

Raphtalia blinked in surprise at Filo. This Filolial, who thought of them as her parents… Raphtalia's face hardened with her own determination. "You're right. We can't give up now!"

She grabbed Naofumi's armor and placed it in her inventory. She'd hand it back to Naofumi herself, even if it was the last thing she'd ever do. She then jumped into the driver's seat, and grabbed Filo's reins. "Filo! We're going to the Capital!" She ordered Filo.

"Okay!… …" Filo didn't move.

…

"Um, mommy, where is the Capital?" She asked.

…

Raphtalia had a facepalm moment. '_Filo's never been there before… and Master Naofumi held all the maps of Melromarc.'_ She realized. She knew where they'd been before. She could remember the Capital being northwest of them. But she didn't know where since they had only gone there twice, and the first time was while they were smuggled away in the back of a wagon.

"First, let's head back to the town you and Naofumi visited to get directions." Raphtalia took the more logical approach. "Then, we'll go save Master Naofumi!" She said determinedly.

"Okay!" Filo yelled with more excitement. She turned the wagon around, and then booked it at high speed back the way they came. Raphtalia held tightly to the reins. Despite the sense of loss she felt, she smiled. The reasons why being: one, she was glad that she wouldn't be impeded by motion sickness for the ride that was to come. And two, because she was determined not to give up on Naofumi. She was going to break into the Capital, rescue him, return his armor, and, if she was forced too, she was going to fulfill the promise she made back in the duel arena after standing up for him.

'_Those knights are dead.'_ Raphtalia thought, determination shining in both her and Filo's eyes. If they had inflicted any kind of harm on Naofumi…

Well, she'd repay them in kind. Tenfold.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**You know, for some reason, I kind of like moments like what happened here at the end the best. Moments where realization hits, and what seemed like a simple task turns out not to be so simple. Kind of like life giving the characters a slap to the face.**

**So Naofumi has been captured and is being taken to the Capital. Where a long-awaited trial will finally commence. Ouch, it's going to suck to be him. At least we'll have a character introduced the next chapter that I hinted at a while back. Let's hope all goes well in the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed this one!**

**Also, the following omake was inspired by Shield Hero Abridged on Youtube. If you haven't seen the first Episode for it yet, I'd recommend watching it to understand the punchline.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**My Name is Motoyasu Kitamura**

* * *

"My name is Motoyasu Kitamura! And I'm not letting you get away this time Naofumi!"

Naofumi blocked Motoyasu's attack. "I don't know. Don't you think that introduction sounds a little too villainous for a hero?" Naofumi asked while blocking the Spear.

...

Motoyasu thought about it. "Yeah, you're right."

The two took a step back from each other to think the issue over. "Now that you say it, that kind of introduction doesn't sound very heroic to me." Motoyasu said.

"Yeah, it seems to… edgy." Naofumi said.

"I need to think of something else to say… Wait, I got it!" He leveled his spear again. "My name is Motoyasu Kitamura, and I'm going to avenge my friends!"

"Have I been hurting your friends lately?" Naofumi asked curiously.

"Ugh, no, you're right. That isn't it either." Motoyasu said as he relaxed his stance and got back to thinking.

"Maybe drop saying your last name. It makes the introduction sound too long, and maybe it'll help make it easier to think of what to say next." Naofumi suggested.

"Alright, I'll give it a try!" Motoyasu readied his spear again. "My name is Motoyasu, and I'm the one that's going to take you down!"

"A little better. But I still think it needs some fine-tuning." Naofumi said blandly.

"Damn it!" Motoyasu repeated his pose. "My name is Motoyasu the Love Seeker, and I'm gonna-"

"Love Seeker?" Naofumi interrupted.

"Sorry. My spin-off got to me for a moment there." Motoyasu apologized.

"Try again."

"My name is Motoyasu! And… um… damn it! I can't think of something good to say after that!"

"Try thinking about this. What has been your greatest desire since coming to this world?" Naofumi suggested tiredly. How much longer was this going to go on? Was it really that hard to come up with a nice introduction? "Then put it into words when you introduce yourself."

"My greatest desire… Alright! I've got it! This will blow everyone away!" Motoyasu took an offensive stance. "My name is Motoyasu and I'm going to make love to this spear!"

…

Naofumi was stunned. Actually, scratch that. Human words wouldn't have sufficed the shock he felt at Motoyasu saying such a thing.

"Huh, don't you think that's like the best introduction ever?" Motoyasu asked. "Sometimes, I imagine my Spear being the embodiment of some cute angel waifu, and with much I'm into angels..." Motoyasu trailed off while dreamily looking at his Spear.

"... yeah… I'd like to order a mind wipe before the next chapter please Author." Naofumi said while facepalming.

Some things just weren't meant to be said... or remembered.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	30. 30: Bound In Chains

**Is anyone else as happy as I am right now? No classes. A fresh chapter. Raphtalia won the Best Girl Award! Yes! Yes yes yes yes YES! And Naofumi's VA got the best Voice Performance in English award. Oh man, this was a good weekend.**

**Sorry, today's chapter is shorter than usual. I'm still working on the latter part of it for next week. Still, I hope you all enjoy today's chapter! And I hope that, as some of you predicted long ago, you'll enjoy a character introduction that has been waiting to happen for 29 whole chapters!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _38 more Favorites, 33 more Followers (Total: 970 Favorites, 1132 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:**_ February 17th, 2020 12:00 P.M._

* * *

**Chapter Thirty:** _Bound In Chains_

* * *

_10 Days before the Wave_

"Ugh… My head..."

Naofumi blinked as he slowly blinked open his eyes. He had the mother of all headaches going on in his brain. He could tell he was lying down on something hard, but he couldn't tell what it was. '_Ow… What happened…'_ His vision was clouded with tiredness and pain. As he slowly sat up, he heard a strange clinking sound. When he tried to rub his eyes, he felt something on his wrists weighing them down.

'_What the hell-' _His eyesight cleared enough that Naofumi sprung to awareness. He was only dressed in the clothes he normally wore under his armor which was missing, and he had chains on both his wrists and his ankles. He was sitting on a stone bed in a dark dungeon cell. The only light came from a small window in the door to the room. He couldn't see anything beyond arm's length with how dark the room was.

'_Damn…'_ Naofumi groaned and clutched his forehead. The pain was spiking from his movement. 'W_hat the hell happened… I remember trying to reason with Motoyasu, and then that stupid nun appeared with those Shadows… and…'_

After a moment, his mind finally cleared enough to help him remember what had happened earlier that day.

* * *

_Oof!_

_Naofumi was thrown roughly against the ground. The impact caused him to groan and stir from his slumber. The front of his body felt sore from the 75-foot drop he'd done earlier that day. His Shield arm also felt sore from the powerful attacks he'd had to block. He tried to move, only to feel he was chained up and restrained like an animal. 'The hell?!'_

_He opened his eyes and found himself laid on a red-carpeted floor. Looking up, he found he was in the same throne room he'd been led to back when he was first summoned to Melromarc. A line of chandeliers hung on both sides of the ceiling. Around him, standing guard in lines were several squads of heavily armed Capital Knights and a few Shadows. Outside on the outskirts of the throne room, watching from between ornate pillars were some of the country's nobility along with advisors and Church Representatives. There were noticeably fewer nobles than before._

_'What happened?! Why am I here!? Where's Raphtalia and Filo!?'_ _Naofumi thought frantically._

_He saw one of the Church Representatives, a nun, grinning ear to ear. Malice written in her eyes along with her smile. It was Altara. Here to see the great Shield Demon brought to justice._

_It only took a second and Naofumi remembered what had happened. His blood boiled at the sight of the nun. He might have been inflicted with a sleep status effect (something he didn't have a resistance to since he hadn't found the appropriate Shields yet), but he couldn't forget her. Not when this nun had been plotting with Bitch!_

"_So, you finally wake up, Shield!"_

_Naofumi looked up. The red carpet led up to a small series of steps that ended at a platform with two thrones on it. Sitting on the left throne was none other than the Trash King himself. An arrogant smile was on his face as he took in the sight of his most hated enemy bound in chains before him. One of his ministers was behind him on his left. "How does it feel, knowing you can't run from your crimes anymore, Cursed Shield?"_

_The arrogant smile brought anger to Naofumi even greater than what he'd felt for the spiteful nun. He struggled against the chains binding him to no avail._

"_Air Strike Shield!" He tried forming a shield close to his body to break the chains. A thin-looking green shield flickered in front of him for a second, and then it disappeared. "What the hell…" A notification had just popped up on his screen, telling him he couldn't use the skill due to _**Outside Interference**.

"_Try all you like. These chains were especially enchanted by mages from Faubley long ago to bind powerful criminals. They can bind even a Cardinal Hero when necessary!" The King yelled, victory lacing his tone. "You can't get out of them unless I say so!"_

'_What?' Naofumi thought in surprise. 'No, it's not possible.'_

"_Your Majesty, I managed to bring Naofumi in as you requested," Motoyasu said. Further catching Naofumi off guard as he appeared from the side. He bowed to the King._

"_Good work, Sir Motoyasu." The King said calmly._

"_Motoyasu! You, you bastard!" Naofumi yelled at him. He thought Itsuki told him that Motoyasu cut off his attachments to the King. That the two of them had had a falling out or something. Did that mean Itsuki was wrong or … had he been lying to him about Motoyasu?_

_Motoyasu didn't look at Naofumi when he yelled. He just stayed in his bow until the King spoke again. "You made some mistakes in the past. But I can see how you have refused to let them define you." Aultcray said proudly as he stood up. Opening his arms as if he was welcoming a prodigal son home. "You are hereby redeemed from your self-punishment and shall be entrusted with the care of my daughter and her friends once again. You may return to your room now. Your funds and your party members will be waiting for you there." The King responded to the Spear Hero, sounding genuinely happy and proud of him._

_Motoyasu looked… was it just Naofumi, or did it seem like Motoyasu was uncertain for a second? Did he have second thoughts about his actions? But it quickly passed as if it had never happened and Motoyasu stood back up. Bowing his head respectfully to the King. "Yes, your Majesty. Your kindness and forgiveness are much appreciated." Motoyasu responded formally, before turning around to leave._

_"I hope it's worth it Motoyasu," Naofumi said bitterly as Motoyasu passed him again. "I hope you enjoy being the hero that everyone else wants you to be instead of the hero you should be."_

_He didn't get a reply from Motoyasu or see if Motoyasu had heard him or not. It didn't matter to Naofumi either. He was still the same naive idiot who did whatever he felt was right, no matter the consequences. 'I should have never tried reasoning with that blonde fool. I should have just run while I had the chance-'_

"_Now, Shield, the time of your trial has come at last!"_

_Naofumi focused on the King again, who was looking down on him as if he was the filth of the world. "First, in your long list of crimes, you attempted to rape my daughter, the first princess Malty Melromarc, and fled the Capital!" Aultcray's voice boomed authoritatively._

"_I did not rape that Bitch." Naofumi immediately refuted._

"_You will not call my daughter by such a foul term!" The King yelled over him._

"_Also, I ran away from a plot to have me killed. It wasn't because I tried to rape anyone." Naofumi could already tell he was going to get a guilty verdict. This wasn't a trial. It was a sham. So he spoke dryly, refuting the King._

_"And do you have evidence that what you say is true?" The King mockingly asked._

_"Why? You wouldn't believe me if I had any." Naofumi coldly replied. All he had was his word. There was nothing else solid to back him up._

_The King continued as if Naofumi hadn't interrupted. "You broke into our holy Church! Brainwashed a 'demi-human' to serve by your side! Committed various crimes and atrocities in killing the nobility across my country! And worst of all, you are responsible for the disappearance of the Holy Sword and Bow Heroes!-"_

"_BULL****!" Naofumi finally yelled._

_He had broken into a Church, yes, but saying he had brainwashed Raphtalia to serve him was rubbish. Saying he was the one killing nobles was also rubbish. That was Itsuki, not him. He was curious about what he meant with Ren and Itsuki disappearing, but he was far too angry with Aultcray to ask. "YOU'RE REALLY PILING THE RUBBISH ON NOW YOU PIECE OF TRASH! I GUESS IT FITS YOU THOUGH SINCE TRASH AND RUBBAGE GET ALONG SO WELL!" Naofumi continued to yell in anger. Even in chains, defenseless and powerless, there was an intimidating air around Naofumi. One that made Trash pause for a moment._

_Naofumi stood up in his chains. "Yes, I broke into the Church! But before that, I asked the priests nicely to let me register for the wave! They were the ones that forced me to break in since they wanted to keep me from fighting! An action that would have cost the lives of all the people who'd been trapped in Lute Village!" Naofumi said, gesturing angrily with his head at Altara and the other Church Representatives._

_"Secondly, I didn't brainwash anyone!" Naofumi continued. "If I could do that, I wouldn't be in this situation right now! Actually, I would have brainwashed Motoyasu so I wouldn't have to be here!"_

_"Lastly, how can I kill a noble when I have no ****ing attack stat?!" It was one of his best qualities. It still took him four and a half minutes to punch a level one balloon into oblivion. There was no way he himself could actually kill someone unless he used his Chimera Viper Shield's skill. And he still had as of yet to manage to seriously hurt someone or something with that poison._

_"Are you quite done yet." The King said rudely._

"_No, I'd like to say you're full of **** while I'm at it!" Naofumi said angrily. "YOU CALL THIS A TRIAL?! NO! BULL****! THAT'S WHAT THIS IS! THERE'S MOUNTAINS OF EVIDENCE THAT GO AGAINST WHAT YOU JUST SAID BUT YOU WON'T CARE SINCE YOU BELIEVE I'M THE DEVIL HIMSELF! IF YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH THIS CRAP BECAUSE YOU'RE A ****ING KING THEN YOU HAVE ANOTHER THING COMING YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF TRASH!" Naofumi could have sworn the gemstone turned red on his shield while he was yelling. It was only thanks to these chains and the knowledge that he had no attack stat that he didn't run up to the King to deck him in the face._

_..._

"_I see." Aultcray stood up. "You want evidence of your crimes, then fine. This trial will be put on hold so we can gather it!" He slammed the end of his staff authoritatively on the ground. "In the meantime, Shield; I, King Aultcray Melromarc the XXXII, pronounce you to be held in the Castle Dungeons until we've gathered all the evidence!" The King yelled dramatically. "You shall not be let out, not even for a wave! You will sit in a cell and rot like the scum you are until the evidence you are looking for has been gathered and you are inevitably found guilty of the crimes I listed!"_

_What!?" Naofumi yelled. "But I'm supposed to fight in the waves! You can't keep me from fighting in them!"_

"_I can, and I will!" The King yelled angrily. "You want evidence of your crimes and yet you refuse to abide by our laws! You truly are a demon!" He yelled authoritatively. "This trial will now be on hold until the Shield Demon's request is fulfilled!"_

_Cheers erupted from the people on the sides. Altara the nun looked ecstatic at the Shield Hero's fate. Of course, there was no evidence, the Church especially knew this. But now Naofumi would never be allowed to see the light of freedom again. His scourge on their country would be eradicated in the dungeons._

_Naofumi had seen some pretty twisted things before. But this, this took the cake._

_"You… you're insane!" Naofumi clenched his fists angrily. "Do you even care about the lives of your people?!" Naofumi accused him. "If I don't fight in the coming wave, it'll be much stronger than usual! It'll already be stronger if Itsuki and Ren have disappeared! You can't just throw everyone's lives away-"_

_"Take him to the dungeons," Aultcray said dismissively. Not addressing Naofumi's accusations. "I don't want to see his face again until the evidence is gathered."_

_"JUST HOW STUPID ARE YOU-" Naofumi tried to speak, to say something, but he felt something prick his neck again. Was it just him, or had it pricked him more easily? Looking down, he saw his shield, covered in chains, in its default form. In other words, one of his lowest defense rating shields. "No… Filo… Raphtal-"_

_Naofumi fell forward, the tranquilizer already taking effect. He might have had a resistance to poisons, acid, and other things. But he had no resistance to attacks that inflicted sleep. "Take him away!" The King yelled to the soldiers._

"_Yes, your Majesty."_

"_You… bastard…" Naofumi faintly whispered before he blacked out._

* * *

Naofumi returned to the present. '_Oh, I remember now… there wasn't anything I could do… that piece of Trash threw me in here to rot.'_ Gather evidence, yeah right. It was more like the King had been looking for any excuse to keep him locked up for all eternity. It hadn't been a trial he'd seen back there. It was a sham. It was one big, twisted, ugly sham meant to keep him imprisoned.

Well, he'd show him. One way or another, he'd get his payback on the King.

...

Naofumi still felt like he had a major headache. It was likely a side effect of the tranquilizer that had been used on him to knock him out. He hadn't fully slept it off yet.

'_I just… I don't get it.'_

How could so many people in this world hate him this much? That they'd lock him away even if it meant losing their own lives. Was it because of people blindly believing in their religious leaders? Was it because people in power abused their authority? Was it just because people hated the Shield Hero that much that they wanted to accuse all the problems they were suffering from on him? Was that all he was, a scapegoat in demon form?

And Ren and Itsuki… the King had blamed him for their disappearances… did that mean something had happened to them that he wasn't aware of?

'_You know what, forget it. I need to figure out what I can do and find my own way out of this mess.'_ He was alive, but his party members, the people he trusted, were still out there, waiting for him. There was a wave coming that he had to fight. If he didn't, many innocent people would die! He had a painful headache, and he was exhausted, but he couldn't take this lying down! He had to fight back!

_'Let's go over options.' _He checked the timer on his menu. The red hourglass showed there were only ten days until the next wave. He estimated it had been almost a day since he'd been captured, meaning it was evening outside. _'I could wait the ten days out and then be teleported to wherever the wave was happening to escape..._ _but I get the feeling that the chains I'm wearing will restrain me from teleporting. And I'd rather not wait ten days. So that option is out.'_

_'What else can I do?' _He focused on the status icon in the corner of his view, hoping that his status magic wasn't restricted. He sighed in relief when he found he was still able to open the icon, and he was further relieved when he immediately saw Raphtalia and Filo's stats appear under his own. Even though they'd locked him up, they hadn't been able to remove his party members. They were at full bars of HP and MP. Since he could see their stats, that meant they were still alive and doing well...

Naofumi quickly checked his own stats. There was a notification to the right of his stats saying his shield was locked in its default form. He still had a high defense stat due to stat boosts he'd unlocked from some of his other shields. However, with being locked in his weakest shield, and because he was missing his Barbarian Armor… his defense stat was about less than a fifth to a fourth of what it normally was.

...

Just to check and make sure, he tried accessing the Shield Menu from his status screen to see if he could change shields that way.

**Unable to Access. Locked due to Outside Interference**

'_So I can access my status magic, but I can't change to a stronger shield to break out from these chains… 'Damn them.'_ He thought in frustration. That option was also out.

He opened a tab in his menu and checked his Shield's Inventory. All of the maps, coins, potions, and other items he'd been carrying before being captured were still in there. Apparently, even if he was a criminal, they didn't have the power to access any of his **Peddler I and II Shields **and take away all his stored money and items. They could only take away the armor he wore and keep his shield stuck in its default form.

'_So besides my armor, I still have everything else. That means if I can just get these chains off, I can switch to a shield with higher defense and get the hell out of here.'_

He tried to pull out one of the crafting tools he normally used to shape gemstones from the gemstone of his shield. His current plan was to use its sharp blade to saw through the chains. Then use it to saw the hinges off the door, and improvise from there.

He found, however, that he couldn't pull the Jewel Saw out. He could see it in his inventory, but he couldn't access it. _'Alright, time for a different approach.'_

"Jewel Saw."

By saying the name of an item in his Shield's Inventory, Naofumi could summon the item from his Shield into his hand. It was a skill that used SP, but it'd come in handy when he didn't have time to look through his inventory before.

…

…

…

…

After a long pause, nothing happened. "Jewel Saw." He said more forcefully.

Again, nothing happened. No tool appeared in his hand to help him cut through the chains. _'Come on!? Just how many things can these chains manage to block me from accessing?!'_ He thought angrily.

"Jewel Saw. Jewel Saw. Jewel Saw!" Naofumi yelled at the end in frustration. '_Damn it! I thought I'd found a loophole to these blasted chains!'_ Naofumi thought angrily. There went yet another option to escape.

_'What else can I do?! These chains can't just keep me bound here?! I'm a freaking Cardinal Hero damn it! This Shield must have some type of power that'd allow me to escape-'_ He was thinking angrily in his frustration.

"It's no use. If magic worked here, I could have escaped long ago." A feminine voice said opposite him.

Naofumi looked up in surprise. Because of the low light, he'd thought he was the only one in this cell. However, after having been given some time for his eyes to adjust, he was now able to make out the outline of another stone bed at least a dozen feet across from him. Someone was laying on it. "I'm sorry. Who are you?" Naofumi asked.

The woman, for Naofumi, had deduced by this time that it was a woman lying on the bed, sat up. The faint torchlight fell over her, and he was genuinely surprised. Unlike himself, dressed in the clothes of an adventurer, she was dressed like a noble. She wore a mostly blue outfit, with gold colors on the shoulders, the collar, and the center of her outfit. A series of light metal diagonal squares were spaced evenly throughout the center of the gold-colored part of the outfit like buttons, traveling up to a red jewel holding the collar together. Looking closely at it, the jewel kind of resembled his shield. He at first thought it was a dress, but then he realized that it wasn't a dress. It was more like the chainmail he'd first worn, only fancier and made from better materials. It was the coolest armor he'd ever seen so far in this world.

"And why are you here?" Naofumi finally asked. This was the last place he'd ever expected to meet someone that struck him as a noble. No, it wasn't just her armor, but even chained up, this woman held an air of authority around her.

She lifted her face to look at him. She had long strawberry-blonde hair and startling blue eyes. In the faint torchlight, her face could have rivaled Raphtalia in beauty... if it wasn't for the scruffs and cuts on it. Along with the look of hopelessness in her eyes that had come from her time in prison.

"I am here awaiting a trial that will never happen." The woman said calmly. "For a crime I never committed."

"... Well," Naofumi said. "I wasn't using magic. I was trying to do something else to help me escape."

"Even if you weren't using magic, it'd be impossible to break those chains." The woman said defeatedly. "They keep magic users from accessing their MP."

_'There goes the only other option I could think of.'_ Naofumi thought. Not that it'd help him much since he didn't know any magic that could destroy anything.

"These chains are enchanted to prevent prisoners from accessing anything other than their status magic." The woman continued, before looking down at the shield on his arm. "That would include access to SP and any other powers possessed by the Cardinal Heroes."

…

"I take it you know who I am then," Naofumi said dryly.

"Of course I know who you are, Shield Hero." She said. "After all, I signed up to become a member of your party when you were first summoned to my world long ago."

… Naofumi was confused at what she'd said. Or maybe it was the pain of his headache clouding his mind. _'She signed up to join my party? I don't remember anyone other than Bitch joining me that first day...' _"I'm sorry. I don't know if you already said it... But… who are you again?" He asked confusedly.

The woman let out a defeated sigh. She hadn't expected her first meeting with the Shield Hero to be here, chained up as cellmates in the Castle Dungeons. But…

"My name is Eclair Seaetto." Eclair introduced herself. "I am the daughter of the late Lord Seaetto. And I am a Knight of Melromarc."

* * *

"Thank the Gods you're alright."

"I can say the same to you."

"Were you and your party also attacked?"

"Yeah, we barely made it out alive."

"Same here. My party… it isn't good. I almost killed one of them."

"You what?"

"I..."

"..."

"..."

…

...

"It doesn't matter now. You heard what Motoyasu did, right?"

"... Yeah, I did."

"Do you think he realizes what the Church is twisting him to do?"

"I doubt it."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"They tried to kill us. If I learned anything down in those Archives, they'll try to kill Naofumi while he's jailed up."

"Then we need to rescue him."

"Right. You have the closest waypoint saved to your weapon. Mine were erased somehow by the Church."

"The closest I have is a day's journey away. We'll have to move quickly."

"Gather your party members. And any other volunteers who want to help us. We can't let Motoyasu's mistake kill Naofumi."

* * *

**Again, sorry for how short this chapter is. I wasn't planning on cutting it so short, so there won't be an omake in this chapter. There will be an omake for the next chapter though. And it is going to be hilarious. I hope you all enjoy your week and keep up with the Support!**

**I can't wait to hear what you guys want to see now that Eclair has been added to the mix.**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	31. 31: Backstory of Luge Faubley

**Alright. Not much to say here. I got some interesting comments that made me smile over the last week. I think a good amount of questions or comments that have been asked about the King before will be answered here.**

**Sorry again anime-only watchers for the LN Spoilers (as we get closer to Cal Mira, expect them to pop up more often, and then just expect them after the Cal Mira arc altogether). This in no way makes up for the King's behavior. But this does serve as a means of answering why Eclair is in the dungeon and why the King (and if you look closely enough, a lot of the nobles mentioned in the past) act the way they do. Now, let's get on to today's chapter!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _40 more Favorites, 37 more Followers (Total: 1010 Favorites, 1169 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _February 24th, 2020_

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-One:** _Backstory of Luge Faubley_

* * *

Naofumi was confused for a moment. The Knight Eclair stared at him from her bed while Naofumi's mind processed what she'd said.

'_... Wait... knight… Seaetto...'_

Though his head still ached, Naofumi's brain finally began to connect the dots. Remembering part of a conversation he'd overheard between Bitch and the nun long ago.

"_... some knight from Seaetto... wanted to help him. The knight has already been arrested and jailed in the castle dungeons for crimes she didn't do..."_

Naofumi looked at Eclair. "... You're... the knight who was falsely imprisoned by that Bitch Princess for wanting to help me," Naofumi said.

Eclair nodded. "Yes." She confirmed.

Naofumi looked stunned. "And you've been here... ever since..." It had been over two months since that day. "... Ever since the day I was summoned?"

"... Yes." Eclair said sadly after a pause. "You are the first person in months that I've seen… other than the knights tasked with bringing me my meals."

'_Wow…'_ If he'd been forced to live alone for that long… if he hadn't had Raphtalia to help him, he had no idea where he'd be right now. Physically, or mentally. "How has no one else been able to see you? Family… friends?" Naofumi asked.

"My father was the only family I had left before the Wave killed him," Eclair said. "And since we're likely in the lower levels of the Castle Dungeons... where royal brats can keep people like me hidden away so their schemes aren't interfered with... it's likely none of my friends know that I'm here." She said bitterly.

Did the King even know one of his knights was being held down here? Or did he not care because Eclair had wanted to help Naofumi. He clenched one of his fists. '_That bastard.'_

Eventually, Eclair sighed and rubbed a hand to her head. "I'm sorry, Sir Shield Hero." She apologized. "I'm not normally this bitter."

"It's Naofumi." He said. Sir Shield Hero reminded him of what Bitch had called him. "And you don't have to apologize. I'm plenty angry myself." Naofumi said dryly. He was angry with 'never my fault' Motoyasu. He was angry with the stupid Trash King. He was angry with the knights and religious fanatics of this kingdom. Oh, and he was angry with Bitch. He couldn't forget that. He was always angry because of Bitch in one way or another.

"And anger won't get us anywhere." Eclair said.

'... _Ugh…'_ Eclair had a point. Getting angry about being able to do nothing was only making his headache worse. He almost wanted to sleep it off and see if that'd help or not.

Eclair curled her legs up and hugged them. "I never imagined this would be how I'd first meet you Sir Naofumi." She said.

He barely took notice that she wasn't dropping the Sir title. "You never thought that we'd meet as prisoners, chained up, sharing the same cell?" Naofumi asked sarcastically.

She nodded. "Yes. Growing up, I'd always wondered what it'd be like to meet the great Shield Hero. Would it be on the field of battle, or would I meet him as he went through a field hospital helping the injured? I pictured a thousand different scenarios where I'd be lucky enough to meet him… but I never could have imagined our first time meeting each other would be in some dark, lonely cell."

"You... did you say you grew up wanting the chance to meet me?" Naofumi asked in surprise.

"I did," Eclair affirmed.

_'According to my knowledge, the people of Melromarc worship the Three other Heroes. Why would a knight ever want to meet me, much less, help me?'_ He still had a headache, but he put it to the side for the moment. It was time to get some answers. "Why?"

Eclair took on a nostalgic look. Thinking about a time from long ago. "It's because I grew up in Seaetto instead of somewhere else in the Kingdom. When I wasn't training with a sword at my Father's manor, I was in Faubley training to be a knight or visiting Rurorona Village to spar with some of the demi-humans there. In both places, they respected and worshipped all the heroes equally. But Rurorona did tend to focus their worship on the Shield Hero... Because of them both, I didn't grow up indoctrinated to think of the Shield Hero as a Devil. Instead, I was taught to look at him as a true hero. That's part of why I wanted to meet you. I wanted to see what a real hero looked like."

Naofumi had several more questions forming in his mind. Was Faubley another country or a city in Melromarc? Were there actually places in the world that worshipped all four heroes equally? Had she ended up here because she wanted to meet him? However, the last question was the main one bothering him. "Was Rurorona Village the demi-human village hit by the first wave?"

"Yes."

Naofumi gulped. "Then that means it's the village that the Knights came in and destroyed."

Eclair went wide-eyed and uncurled her legs. "How do you know about that?!" She asked seriously.

"Because…" He wasn't sure how much to share at first. Hell, he still couldn't believe the odds. His cellmate across from him was the one and only Knight who had been falsely imprisoned by Bitch because she'd signed up to help him out. And somehow, he'd ended up being placed in the same dungeon cell as her. Whether that was so it was easier to keep watch over the both of them or because of some actual divine intervention, he wasn't sure.

"One of my party members is a demi-human from that village. She never told me its name, but she told me some of what happened during the wave and after." Whatever the reason was that they had been put together, he felt he could kind of trust her for now.

Eclair's face melted with... relief? "Thank the Gods. Some of them did survive…"

"Did you think they were all dead?" He asked.

"Yes… after what I heard, I thought nobody from my region was left alive…" Eclair said sadly while looking down at the ground. "I thought all the people my Father died trying to protect from the wave had been killed. And that his sacrifice for them had been in vain… tell me, how did you end up meeting this demi-human?" She asked.

"I bought Raphtalia from a Slave Trader," Naofumi answered. "She and some of her friends weren't killed by the Knights, but were instead sold off into slavery."

Eclair's face hardened with anger. "They what?!" She looked pissed.

"Enslaved kids. Yeah." Naofumi sighed. "You can blame the Trash King for that since he hates demi-humans so much," Naofumi said blandly.

"King Aultcray is not Trash. And he would not allow such an act to happen, Sir Naofumi." Eclair said.

…

Naofumi glared at Eclair.

To think he'd been talking with this skank.

"He is a piece of Trash. He's tried several times in the past to have me jailed up. He doesn't care about the lives of his people. He forced me to run and hide from place to place. And now I'm stuck in here waiting for a trial that won't happen, and I'm not being allowed to fight the Waves which will, in turn, be stronger since I won't be there to fight them. How could you defend him and say HE ISN'T TRASH!?" Naofumi yelled angrily.

…

Eclair looked to the side. "I cannot claim to know all that you've gone through, Sir Naofumi. You are right that King Aultcray doesn't like demi-humans. He doesn't like the Shield Hero either." Eclair said quietly. She redirected her gaze firmly to his. "However, that isn't all there is to my King. He does care about the lives of his people. And I can tell you with certainty that he didn't order the attack on Rurorona Village." She corrected him. "He would never do such a thing."

"And why do you say that?" Naofumi spat.

"Because he made a promise long ago to his wife, the Queen, that if he tried to do anything bad to the demi-humans in Seaetto, he would lose his title as royalty, and be as the dust under her feet."

...

Naofumi looked baffled at what she'd just said. "But, but how could that be possible-"

"Melromarc is a matriarchy Sir Naofumi," Eclair answered. "King Aultcray may look like the ruler for the moment, but when his wife returns from her diplomatic trip, she will be the one in charge again. And if he had ordered the attack on the demi-human region, she would punish him in ways you couldn't imagine..."

Naofumi was silent for a moment. Her answer only led to more questions. Questions he didn't know if he had the brainpower to process or not. "... But, but I thought he ordered the attack on that Village." He said in surprise. At least, that had been what he'd been assuming ever since Raphtalia had told him about it the night before the wave. "It seemed like something he'd do."

Eclair leaned back against her stone wall. "And what do you know about King Aultcray Sir Naofumi? Do you think he would risk breaking a promise and lose his status as King just to kill and enslave a small group of demi-humans?"

Naofumi opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to think of something to say. Other than the fact that the King hated his guts and the guts of demi-humans, there wasn't really that much to the guy. He'd never really had a heart to heart with the guy (for good reason). And he'd never bothered to talk to anyone about the King because the piece of Trash had never seemed important before… hell, he'd probably heard it once or twice before, but he hadn't really taken note of any Queen before either...

Then again, that Bitch Princess had to have come from somewhere.

Naofumi's head started to hurt again. He was thinking too much about it. "I… I don't know…" He had so many questions rolling around in his mind, and not enough brain power to remember them all due to the pain. Who had ordered the attack on the region? Who was responsible? How did she know? Why was the Queen away? Why wasn't she here setting things right?

He eventually looked up. "Do you know why he hates me and demi-humans so much?" He decided to ask.

"Yes. But it would require me telling you a story about a part of Melromarc's history so you'd understand." Eclair said.

…

Naofumi sat back against his stone wall. There were still other things he wanted to ask her about. Like how she'd ended up in here. But he figured they could wait. "Might as well explain it. Since we're kind of stuck here." He said sarcastically.

Eclair smiled a little at his words. "I'll tell you what I can remember my father telling me," Eclair said, settling herself as comfortably as she could on her stone bed.

* * *

_"King Aultcray first came to recognition a couple of decades ago, back when Melromarc was at war with the nation of Siltvelt."_

_The scene faded away, showing a land different from Melromarc. "Melromarc is a country well known for its mountains and forests. But Siltvelt is well known for its wide variety of ecosystems thanks to all the different demi-human species that live there," Eclair explained._

"_Deserts where Lizardmen thrive in the extreme temperatures."_

_The scene showed a city in the middle of a desert. Demi-humans with lizard-like skin walked the streets. The males were dressed in only a white robe covering their lower half. And the women were dressed the same, with the addition of a leather vest covering their chest ending just above their midsections._

"_Underground systems that Lumos over generations painstakingly dug out with their own hands and magic."_

_The next scene was that of an underground city. Low lit lanterns adorned the walls of streets. Barely lighting the short mole-like demi-humans going about their underground business. The ceiling up above was lost in darkness hundreds of feet above._

"_Lakes, rivers, and the ocean where the Orca and the Genmu reign."_

_The next scene showed an underwater city in the ocean bordering Siltvelt. Here, demi-humans with turtle-like shells on their backs swam from one place to another. Large, armored, human-shaped killer whales patrolled the fortifications on the outskirts. Holding harpoons and other underwater weapons while they kept watch for any sign of danger against the city._

"_Tall mountains that house the Aouatsu near their peaks, and the Kitsunes near their base."_

_The next scene showed mountains, taller than anything shown in Melromarc. Near their peaks, instead of a city, were small huts. Out of one of them walked a human, a short blue-haired woman jumped off the cliff. Partway into the freefall, the woman quickly transformed and turned into a large, roaring, Azure Dragon. She leveled out and flew over a marvelous marble city at the mountain's base._

"_The most abundant type of land in Siltvelt, however, is its plains. Miles, and miles of plains. The former home for the Hakukos, the Shusakus, and the Raccoons."_

_The scene first showed miles upon miles of plains. Some of the plains were untamed, and some were farmland. Little kids with raccoon-like ears and tails played with tiger-like demis. Chasing after kids trying to escape into the air using their underdeveloped wings under the watchful eyes of caring parents._

_In the center of it all was a marvelous city built on a hill in the center of the plains. The city looked to be surrounded by layers of terraces. Each one housing a different section of the city. The architecture of the place was amazing. Adult demi-humans of various kinds shouted out their wares to the tiger-like Hakukos, the Raccoons, the winged Shusaku, and the various other demi-human nationalities walking the streets of the Siltveltian Capital. Large, armored, demi-human therianthropes patrolled the streets for trouble._

"_Okay, how does this all relate to the King?" Naofumi asked in the background. He hadn't been expecting a lecture on a nation he didn't plan on visiting._

"_I'm getting there Sir Naofumi. While Siltvelt is currently governed by a council of all the various demi-humans from these various areas, the norm is for them to be led by a King. The last King was a Hakuko, the Claw Hero Tai-Lon. At first, he was fine with only ruling his country. Then, he brought death and destruction to the human countries around him."_

_The next scene showed the palace in Siltvelt. A large demi-human that looked more white tiger than human roaring out orders to soldiers. Lashing out with a very long set of claws attached to his hands to empathize his orders. The scene then expanded out, showing the nation of Siltvelt and its surrounding neighbors. One by one, these nations fell to the onslaught of the fearsome Siltveltian army, led by the ferocious Hakuko._

_"His goal was simple. World domination. And the eradication of mankind."_

_The scene focused on a small village. The human army that had been protecting it was in retreat. A little girl cried on her fleeing mother's shoulders while reaching out towards her Father. Who was held dead in the grip of the Claw King. Behind who was a massive army of demi-humans roaring in victory._

"_At first, Siltvelt appeared unbeatable… they were winning battle after battle, slaughtering everyone in their way…"_

_The scene showed a struggle in a valley. The various demi-human soldiers of Siltvelt were pushing a human army into a corner. Their victory looked assured. _

_"And then, when it seemed like no one could stop them, Aultcray appeared."_

_A lone figure appeared on the rise above. The human army looked up and started to cheer. The Siltveltians, who had been on the verge of victory, stopped to look up themselves. The young figure lowered a staff down at the opposing army._

_"_**Drifa Chain Lightning!**"

_A lightning spell came out from the staff, striking through a line of demi-human soldiers. They fell like limp burned rag dolls. "Now!" At his signal, reserves appeared behind the Siltveltian army. Secret Ballista and Catapults that had been concealed around the valley appeared and opened fire on the surprised demi-humans._

_The army that had been about to clinch victory was boxed in by human forces. The young Aultcray watched calmly as, mere moments later, the enemy army finally surrendered. The armies cheered, having accomplished their first victory against Siltvelt._

"_Aultcray, at the time, was the head of Melromarc's military. No one was sure where he came from, or what his family background was, yet his wisdom and his intellect alone were so great that he alone managed to turn the face of the whole war around. Suddenly, a foe that had seemed unbeatable was glaring with weaknesses. Environmental issues for certain demi-humans. Unprotected supply lines. Ambush sites perfect for hit and run tactics. Aultcray found so many advantages that the enemy was almost resoundingly beaten every time. He planned everything down to the tiniest of details, ruining the plans of his enemies before they could ever think of a counter-attack that could slow his plans down. Nothing of the sort had ever been seen before. I am unsure if anything like it will ever be seen again."_

_The scene showed Siltvelt and the territories it had conquered marked in red. Slowly, those previously captured territories that had been marked in red turned to blue. Marking where Aultcray turned the tides of the war around. He outmaneuvered enemy armies. Struck Siltvelt in places where they least expected it. And overall, sowed panic and confusion amongst the ranks of Siltvelt's greatest warriors and leaders._

"_My Father liked to tell me of those days. How Aultcray himself would fight alongside his soldiers, and how he'd fight so strongly against the demi-humans he faced… that drive drove him from battlefield to battlefield... from place to place... Till one day, five years after the war first started, he had the majority of Siltvelt's armies along with their King trapped in a valley near their border."_

_Aultcray stood in a general's tent. He was deliberating with his commanders over a map of the valley that led into Siltvelt. Blue flags indicated where his army was positioned along the valley, keeping the red flags representing the enemy army pinned down. Aultcray was going over the plans with his commanders, who were giving him every piece of information their scouts had acquired about the enemy forces. From their numbers to their level of morale._

_"The plan was to strike a critical blow against their forces. A blow that would force the enemy King to surrender, and make the subjugation of the rest of Siltvelt easier… But then one day, when my Father, Idol Rabier, Donry Levald, Lelouch Onren, and all of Aultcray's other commanders were planning what would be the final attack… something happened that Aultcray hadn't planned for."_

_A soldier ran in suddenly, looking out of breath. "General!"_

_Aultcray stood at alert, all the knights in the room grabbed for their swords, expecting an attack. "What is it?" Aultcray asked. "It'd be suicide for them to launch a counter-attack now with the way our forces our positioned around them now."_

_The messenger took a moment to catch his breath. "It's… it's your sister…" He finally managed to say. "She's… she's…"_

_Aultcray's full attention was on the messenger. And as the messenger finished, his eyes started to widen. "No… NO!" He ran out of the command tent, pushing the startled messenger out of the way._

"_Wait, General Aultcray-" Some of the commanders tried to yell for him to stop. His heart-rending scream, however, echoed off the mountains around the valley into eternity as he ran into a portal formed by his staff._

"_LUCIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"_

* * *

The scene returned back to the cell. Eclair looked up at Naofumi, who'd been following along, using his help guide to help know which demi-human race was which. "What happened?" Naofumi asked. '_Trash had a sister?'_

Eclair looked down at the ground again. "His sister, behind his back, had been meeting with a delegation of Siltvelt demi-humans. One of them was one of Tai-Lon's younger sons. They'd claimed they wanted peace, and they'd met several times in the past with Lucia to forge a peace treaty together. She had been on her way to see him to get the details of the peace treaty finalized. And during her journey, she and her guards were ambushed. Aultcray rushed from the battlefield to the sight of the attack using the power of his staff, but he arrived... too late. The carriage transporting his sister had been torn to pieces. Blood was all over the scene. His sister Lucia… her body was never found. And no one knows what happened to her since."

…

The silence that followed was deafening.

…

Slowly, the words sank into Naofumi. "You're saying... the reason King Aultcray doesn't like me... or demi-humans..."

"Is because he believes they were the ones that killed his Sister," Eclair said calmly.

…

"Please, continue," Naofumi said seriously.

She took a shuddering breath. "Since Aultcray believes the demi-humans killed his sister, and since the demi-humans treat the Shield Hero as their God, in his mind, he links you to them as his enemy. An enemy that could harm his current family just like they did back then."

…

Naofumi sank down on his stone bed. He still didn't like the piece of trash. But… he could understand the way he felt a little better. Not that it'd make him ever have a heart to heart with that garbage. But he could understand… had anyone intentionally killed his brother back at home, he would have never forgiven them or anyone connected to them.

"While Aultcray had been searching for his sister, Tai-Lon managed to lead his army out of the trap Aultcray had set up for them in the valley. Dragging an already five year bloody war on for another two to three years." Eclair said sadly. "The toll on everyone was tremendous. After losing his blind sister, Aultcray was never the same. He pinned all his anger on the demi-humans. And that anger eventually rubbed off on some of his commanders, like Idol Rabier. He couldn't just beat the demi-humans anymore. He wanted to make them suffer. He wanted them to know the pain he was experiencing. Because of that, his plans became more rash. The armies of Siltvelt were finally able to counter him, and the war became a stalemate for a long while up until the final battle. Where Aultcray unleashed the full power of his anger and his Staff."

Naofumi found himself picturing it. A major battle. Both sides screaming and roaring for each other's blood. And one man in the midst of it all. Screaming in anger as he unleashed death on anyone in his way. The thought chilled him to the bone.

"The final battle of the war was a slaughter unlike anything else both sides had ever seen. It was a battle so fierce that my Father said the heavens themselves quaked in their boots. The Hakukos fought bravely alongside their King, as did every other demi-human race present... but in the end, after many Hakuko had been killed, Aultcray dueled and killed the Claw King Tai-Lon. Forcing the rest of his army to surrender, and bringing the war to an end."

'_Well. The King's hatred for me is understandable now.'_ Naofumi thought. It was still kind of shallow in his opinion, but he could at least understand why now.

Eclair sighed. "After the final battle, with the Siltvelt armies defeated, Queen Mirelia stepped in to negotiate the peace treaty." He still wanted to ask about Queen Mirelia, but he sat, still remaining silent. "During the peace treaty process, the majority of the demi-human race representatives blamed the war on the Raccoons. Claiming they had been the ones to convince Tai-Lon to start the war by using Illusion magic to twist his mind. The Hakuko had been devastated by the war, but still, a few of them tried to speak out, saying that Tai-Lon hadn't been twisted into the war. But those that spoke out to defend them were exiled from Siltvelt along with all the other noble Raccoon families. The commoner Raccoons that couldn't afford to be exiled were instead enslaved by the Shusaku and Aeoutsu races and have been ever since."

That was an unexpected piece of information Naofumi hadn't expected to learn. '_So… the reason why Raphtalia is considered a traitor… is because a bunch of people in power decided to blame one race for a bloody war?!'_ Naofumi hated Siltvelt even more now. He could easily see it as assigning all the blame on a scapegoat. Something he was very familiar with. '_Besides that, Raphtalia looks more like a Tanuki! Sure, they look similar to Raccoons. But still! That's just, just, argh!'_ Naofumi wanted to pull his hair out. Just when he thought things in the world couldn't get any more stupid, he was proven wrong. A whole nation possibly hated his demi-human companion just because her features resembled a people they'd made a scapegoat out.

Despicable.

"Fortunately, as part of the peace treaty, Queen Mirellia managed to take most of these refugees along with many of the other outcast demi-humans in Melromarc to form a demi-human friendly region in my Father's domain. As long as Siltvelt would similarly form a safe region for humans inside its borders, peace would remain between the two… Aultcray, her husband who she'd married during the war, hadn't wanted to agree to it. But because he loved his wife more than ever after the loss of his sister, he agreed. And she made him promise not to try and interfere with the region, or else his life would be in her hands." Eclair breathed a sigh of relief. "That's everything I know."

...

"... Okay. I guess I understand King Aultcray a little better now." Naofumi admitted grudgingly. He would have said Trash, but he found it likely Eclair would scold him if he called him that after hearing some of the King's own tragic backstory. Plus, the other information Eclair had mentioned helped him to understand more about the world than he had before. In a way that made him hate part of it more. But it was information he hadn't known before.

"I'm sorry, I haven't spoken to anyone in a while." Eclair suddenly apologized. "You probably didn't need to hear all the history relating to the Siltvelt War. It's just been awhile since I've had the chance to talk with someone. And the guards won't talk to me or let me do any sword training, so I'm always cooped up in this cell without anything to do-" Eclair was speaking quickly.

"It's fine, Eclair." Naofumi dryly interrupted her. "I didn't need to hear all of it. But I did learn some important things."

Eclair breathed deeply to calm herself.

It was at this point Naofumi realized something. They'd been taken so far off-topic he had forgotten to ask. "Now that you've gotten that out of the way. How about you tell me how you ended up here?" Naofumi said. He still felt like he had a major headache, but talking with Eclair was turning out to be a gold mine of information. He had to force himself not to give in and sleep off the headache. He didn't care how long he'd be held in here. He wanted to learn this information now.

"Alright." Eclair thought for a moment so she could explain more simply. "Before the first wave struck, I was supposed to be part of the Queen's personal guard for the conference about the incoming Waves of Catastrophe. However, on our way there, I had a bad feeling, and I got my Queen's permission to return home. By the time I got back to the region of Seaetto, however, the wave had already hit, destroying the region. And..."

"What happened?" Naofumi asked after Eclair was silent for a while.

"The Knights guarding the roads to the region weren't allowing anybody inside. They told me everything had been destroyed, and wouldn't let me do something as simple as retrieve my Father's remains," Eclair muttered, her hands forming fists. "They said the area was unsafe for someone like me. So I tried going to a nearby town outside my Father's region to send a message through the guild. My goal was to contact the Queen and receive her permission to use her authority to be able to enter. However, I was told she was too busy dealing with the other countries who'd realized the danger of the waves and were in an uproar about it. So I tried to get in contact with her personal Shadows, but found they were busy dealing with other matters. There was nothing I could do..." Eclair admitted.

'_Wait… did she say this Queen Mirelia also uses Shadows?'_ He got the feeling that was important. But he had no idea why...

"What happened after that?" Naofumi asked.

"I eventually returned to the Capital two weeks after the wave had hit. There, I tried to seek permission from the Knight Commander to be stationed at Seaetto. But I was told only elite knights were being allowed in the area to dispatch of the monsters. I then tried to tell him I was one of the Queen's personal elite knights, that I could handle myself, and that as the daughter of the former lord of the area, I should be allowed to be stationed there to make sure my Father was buried properly."

Her hands formed fists again. "He had the gall to laugh at me. And told me that if I didn't leave him alone, he'd have me escorted out. Whether I was the daughter of that lowly demi-human loving Lord or not."

...

It was a moment before she spoke again. "I should have realized by the way he talked about my Father that something was very wrong. I should have realized it..."

She calmed down and looked back up. "I soon found myself in the Three Heroes Church. I'd wanted to find a way of letting go of these feelings of frustration, and though I'd never thought much of the Three other Cardinal Heroes as I did the Shield Hero, I found myself sitting in one of the pews to pray for help and guidance."

* * *

_Eclair sat in a soft-seated pew inside the Chapel of the Three Heroes Church. In front of her was an altar with the rosary symbol on the front. Behind the altar was a stained-glass depiction of the Sword, the Spear, and the Bow. Making a triangle around the rosary of the Three Heroes Church. The chapel itself yelled money and power._

"_Oh Gods, please, soften the hearts of my commanding officer. Please, let me see if my friends are safe, and let me retrieve my Father's body so he can be at peace." Eclair's head was bowed, and her hands were clasped fervently in prayer in front of her. "I will do anything. I just ask for a miracle to happen, so I may go and-"_

"_Lady Altara, have the King and the Pope come to a decision?"_

_Eclair stopped praying and looked up curiously as one of the doors near the altar opened. A middle-aged nun came out with a young acolyte. "They have. The Pope has, at last, managed to convince King Aultcray of our dire need." Altara responded to the acolyte. "Soon, our best mages will be using the rare artifact we've kept for centuries to summon our Gods back to our world," Altara said, looking up at the stained-glass depiction of the rosary. There was a look of excitement on her face._

_Eclair found herself stooping lower in her pew. Hiding from sight so she could listen in. 'The Gods… are they… talking about the Cardinal Heroes?'_

"_I learned that the Pope was working together with the King to summon the Cardinal Heroes of Legend without the permission of the Queen. The last wave had struck Melromarc, and the next wave was also going to strike Melromarc. They said they'd need all the help they could get if they wanted to survive the waves of Catastrophe."_ _Eclair said in the background as the nun and acolyte talked in quiet tones to each other. Summarizing what Eclair had overheard._

"_This is great news. But what'll happen if the Shield Demon gets summoned with the other Cardinal Heroes?" The acolyte asked curiously._

_Eclair raised an eyebrow at that. 'The Shield Demon? I thought he was also supposed to be a hero-' She was thinking._

"_Do not worry, my child," Altara said, resting a hand on the younger acolyte's shoulder. "Even if the Shield Demon is summoned, I'm sure it'll be easy to keep him from getting in the way of the Cardinal Heroes. After all, the Pope sent me along with many of our Church Knights to the region of Seaetto for that reason."_

_Eclair's blood ran cold. "The Pope, in his infinite wisdom, saw he would convince the King to go forward with the summoning. And thus, to weaken our enemy, he sent me to lead our Church Knights, knowing I would make sure no word of it ever got out to the King or any other country." Altara said gently as if she were talking to a child. "And I did just that. Those that survived the Wave of Catastrophe have been dealt with. And anybody who tried to enter the region was turned away. Not even the King knows of our plans child. All will be well."_

_Eclair waited a little while longer as Altara finally turned away from the rosary. "Come now. We still have a little more to do before the preparations for the summoning are complete." Altara said to the acolyte, walking back to the door. "If the Shield Demon is summoned, we'll have to make sure all our plans are in place. There's so much left to do... I must speak with our informant inside the castle to make sure all is ready before we go forward with our plan to destroy the Shield Demon, once, and for all."_

"_Yes, my lady." The acolyte followed._

_Eclair was left alone in the room. Sitting quietly in the pews. Her eyes filling with tears. "No…" She finally started to cry._

_Not only her Father. But all her friends, all the demi-humans she'd sparred with... they had all been killed. And by the sounds of it, it wasn't by the Wave of Catastrophe._

"_I was overwhelmed with grief, unlike anything I'd ever felt before… but after overhearing what that nun said, I knew what I had to do." Eclair wiped her tears away, stood up with a serious expression on her face, and walked out of the chapel._

"_Instead of going to inform my Queen, I made the choice to stay here in the Capital and see which heroes would be summoned." Eclair walked through a hallway of the Castle. "Despite my grief, I knew if the Shield Hero was to become the target of some scheme, I had to be there to assist you. I couldn't let you die. So I stayed in my quarters in the palace until the time came when you and the other Heroes were summoned."_

_The scene changed, showing a calm Eclair disguised in normal knight armor, standing in a shadowy corner of the palace behind a pillar. She watched as the throne room doors opened, and the Cardinal Heroes of Legend walked in. The Sword Hero, the Bow Hero, the Spear Hero… and the Shield Hero._

"_Seeing that you had been summoned, I knew what I had to do next." Eclair watched from behind her helmet until the meeting was over. Then she quietly returned to her quarters. Where she undonned the bulky knight armor and put her personal armor back on._

"_The call had already gone out that adventurers were needed to assist the Cardinal heroes. And so I went to the Royal Knights that had been assigned to sort through the adventurers that wanted to fight alongside the Cardinal Heroes. They wanted to give me some trouble about signing up to join the Shield Hero's party, saying I wouldn't be able to meet him for a few days, and I… persuaded them not to mess around over important matters."_

_Eclair calmly stood by an upturned desk. Some adventurers peeked out from the line, looking at her in surprise. She had the two still surprised Royal Knights roughly pressed against the stone wall of the castle. Convincing them that continuing to mess with her would be a very bad idea._

"_When everything was done, I went back to my quarters to prepare for the next day. The day I was supposed to meet you and become a member of your party."_

_The scene changed again, showing a large room in the castle. Eclair was kneeling next to her bed, whispering her prayers under her breath before she'd turn in for the night. "Please, protect me from harm. Protect my friends from harm. And help me to be able to do my duty, and-" In the middle of her praying, she suddenly stopped._

"_I don't know how I realized it, but something… didn't feel right that night."_

_She stood back up, pulling her sword from her sheath. "Who's there?!" She yelled, holding her sword threateningly in front of her, looking in the darkness around her. She had a strong feeling that she was being watched at that moment. But she couldn't tell why._

…

_Eclair lowered her sword point slightly. Then she started to shake her head to clear it. The stress of tomorrow must have been getting to her. "I must be imagining-"_

_Her body reacted before her mind did. Her sword moved, deflecting a black dagger that appeared from the darkness. Before she could yell, she had to jump to the side, avoiding a second and third one that immediately followed. They dug deep into the wall behind her. "Stop!-" She tried to yell but quickly raised her sword again to block another thrown dagger._

_In desperation, realizing that she didn't know how many daggers her attacker had and that the person was trying to kill her, she jumped forward, moving her sword in a wide-sweeping arc. The move worked, and she felt her sword tug through flesh. In the darkness in front of her, the would-be assassin fell backward away from her._

_Eclair quickly lit a lamp, revealing a black-robed figure lying on the ground in a growing pool of his own blood. She had managed to cut a long deep gash into his chest, yet he kept his grip on the hilt of a fifth dagger. In his other hand, the assassin was gripping a rosary. "Who are you? Why did you try to kill me?" Eclair asked angrily, pointing her sword down at the assassin._

_The figure coughed up blood, looking up at Eclair with hate. "All those… that support the Shield Demon... must… DIE!" The assassin somehow jumped forward off the ground. Trying to stab at Eclair with the dagger. On instinct, Eclair evaded and thrust her sword backward through the assassin's back. A dying gasp escaped the man's lips, and he slumped forward._

_Eclair quickly pulled her sword out, and the assassin dropped to the floor. She was breathing heavily, filled with adrenaline from having almost died._

'_Why… why was I attacked… why was he trying to kill- Oh Gods…' Eclair thought in horror as she realized what the assassin had said. 'THE OTHERS!' She quickly opened her door and ran out into the hallway. Booking it towards the rooms where the other demi-humans were being housed until the morning. She was mentally begging she wouldn't be too late._

_She opened the door to the room, and her heart stopped at what she saw. 'My… Gods…'_

_There were signs of a struggle in the room. Claw marks on the floors and walls. Small pools of blood here and there on the ground. But no sign of the demi-humans. Wherever they'd been before, they were all gone._

'_I have to warn the Shield Hero.' Eclair realized. The first part of the scheme she'd overheard was already in motion._

_She quickly ran away from the area, heading in the direction of the Hero's Quarters._

_Eclair turned another corner and almost ran into Princess Malty. "Princess!" Eclair said in relief. "There are assassins, in the castle," Eclair said, sounding out of breath._

"_Assassins?" Malty said curiously._

"_Yes! One of them is in my room. I killed him, but the rest kidnapped the demi-humans." Eclair continued to explain in between breaths. "They're targeting… the Shield Hero's party members. I, I have to warn him."_

_Eclair made to run past Malty, but Malty got in her way. She had a smirk on her face now. "Did you just say, you killed one of these, 'assassins' in your room?" Malty asked for clarification._

"_Princess, I have no time for your games," Eclair said impatiently. "I need to warn the Shield Hero-"_

"_It seems you know too much about what's going on," Malty said, smiling bitchily. "Sorry, but I can't have you warning the Shield Demon about my plans." She said dismissively._

_Eclair backed up. 'What the hell is going on.' She thought, wondering why the princess was acting this way._

"_Arrest her!" Malty ordered._

_Before Eclair could realize whom Malty was talking to, she was grabbed from behind by two knights. "Wait! What did I do?!" Eclair asked angrily._

"_It's obvious you hold the same evil as the Devil of the Shield in you," Malty said haughtily. "You killed someone in cold blood. The body in your room is evidence!"_

"_What are you talking about!? The person in that room was trying to kill me! What I did was self-defense as a knight-" Eclair screamed angrily._

_Malty sighed. "Take her to the dungeons," Malty said dismissively. As if Eclair wasn't worthy of her time._

_Eclair barely noticed the rosaries around the necks of the two knights that were pulling her away. "Princess Malty!" Eclair screamed._

_One of the knights knocked her out, making her world go black._

* * *

The scene moved back to Eclair and Naofumi.

He honestly didn't know what to say after hearing that.

Eclair looked down at the floor. She had realized it shortly after she woke up in this cell almost two months ago. The nun had said she had an informant inside the castle helping them. She'd realized too late though that the informant could have been a royal. A scheming, backstabbing, manipulative Bitch royal who lied and cried crocodile tears on a daily basis to disguise her true evil nature.

She had been a fool to have not thought of that before running into Princess Malty.

"I failed to protect you. I failed to protect those who wanted to support you. And worse, I was unable to inform you of the princess's scheming in time Sir Shield Hero." She finished sadly. "I'm truly sorry for all the trouble I caused to you..."

…

"Well, actually… I have some stuff I need to tell you now." After everything he'd heard, he knew he could trust Eclair now. They'd only met, but he found he could already trust her. So he proceeded to share with her what had happened ever since he'd been summoned to this world.

He started with how Bitch had joined his party under the guise of Myne. Then he told her how he'd learned about her scheming in time to escape. How he'd bought Raphtalia and then Filo to help him while on the run, leveling up, surviving the waves, becoming the Nocturnal Doctor, and so on from there till the moment when he was captured.

When he finished almost an hour later, Eclair looked stunned at hearing his story. "By the Gods. I'm surprised the King didn't try to have you executed outright instead of throwing you down here."

"What makes you say that?" Naofumi asked.

"Sir Naofumi. As I told you before. Melromarc is a matriarch country. Raping a woman in Melromarc alone is punishable by death. Being accused of raping a royal and running away from your crime..." She left it hanging. But a chill struck Naofumi to the bone. "Running away from a rape accusation, breaking into a Church, being blamed for the deaths of many different nobles and their guards… you should be dead ten times over." Eclair looked to be thinking it over.

"Are you saying the King actually wants to keep me alive?" He asked.

"Yes. Either he realizes that your death would anger the other nations. Or it would anger the Queen. So he is deciding to hold you here until she returns to give her verdict on the matter." She frowned. "Still, to think you had to go through all that."

Naofumi chuckled. "Yeah, it's been tough, but it hasn't been all bad." He said optimistically. He felt better now. It even felt like his headache had almost disappeared. "If it hadn't been for what had happened, I would have never met Raphtalia or Filo. I probably wouldn't have ended up getting so close to either of them... I just hope that they're okay." He said worriedly before he checked his status screen again. It showed the different gauges at the same points as before.

It didn't feel the same. He wanted to see them both… he wanted to hug them. Let them know that he was okay. That he wasn't alone in some dark cell with nothing to do... even with Eclair there, it didn't feel okay without the two of them beside him. Especially Raphtalia...

"... How much do these two mean to you?" Eclair asked quietly.

Naofumi wasn't sure or not, but it seemed like Eclair was a little shy as she spoke. "Well, I mean, Filo, for all her faults, is like a daughter to me now." He answered.

"And this girl, Raphtalia?" She pressed.

Naofumi frowned a little. "I'm still not entirely sure. But I know she loves me... and I feel something similar for her… I honestly don't know. But it feels clearer every day, so I think I'll know eventually."

Now Eclair looked... disappointed. "I've honestly never thought much about girls before because of stuff in the past. So I'm not sure what my feelings are exactly… But…" He frowned again and looked to Eclair. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, um, it's nothing! Nothing really!" She suddenly seemed a lot more embarrassed than before. "I prefer sword training anyways!"

'_... What the hell does she mean by that?'_ It was so out of left field, that Naofumi had no idea what the comment was supposed to mean. He then groaned. His headache, which had felt like it was receding, was coming back with a vengeance.

Eclair heard him groan. "Is there something wrong Sir Naofumi?"

"My… my head…"

Eclair quickly realized why. "I forgot. With your defense stat, they probably used tranquilizer on you so they could knock you out and transport you here. If your head is still hurting, the only thing that'll help is to sleep it off so the rest can work it's way out of your system."

Naofumi was still confused about some stuff. He wanted to ask more questions. Like who was Queen Mirelia? Where was Faubley located? Was it a country or a city in Melromarc? But his head was really starting to hurt like hell, and he honestly still felt tired. He was lucky the pain had receded enough so he could learn what he had.

Besides, as grim as the thought was, there was always tomorrow. So he laid back down. "Alright... and Eclair."

"Yes, Sir Naofumi," Eclair responded.

"I'm sorry it's because of me that you were put down here. You seem nice enough compared to everyone else here... I didn't want anything bad to happen to you or those demi-humans that wanted to help me…"

…

…

"It was our choice to support you Sir Naofumi." Naofumi heard as he was drifting off to sleep.

"And I will not be blamed for choosing to do what is right."

The pain faded away as Naofumi fell back into dreamland.

* * *

_That Night_

A small figure and a large figure peeked out from behind a tree in the darkening night.

"There it is." Ahead of them were the gates to the Capital. With the coming night, it looked like the knights were preparing to close them.

"Mommy, are you sure I can't bring my wagon along with me?"

"Yes, I'm sorry Filo. But it's too big for me to sneak in."

"Awwww…" Filo looked back at the area where she and Raphtalia had hidden the wagon. It was covered in branches and mud. '_And I spent so much time polishing it so it'd be nice and shiny…' _Filo thought sadly.

A wagon was approaching the gates.

"You ready, Filo?" Raphtalia asked.

Filo looked at her wagon a moment longer, then nodded to Raphtalia. Raphtalia climbed onto her back and clutched to her neck feathers. "As source of thy power, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature, and hide us from sight." Raphtalia quietly chanted. Filo bent down.

The knight on guard started to talk to the driver of the wagon.

"**All Hide Mirage."**

Raphtalia's magic covered herself and Filo. Immediately after the spell was in effect, Filo ran out from the cover of the trees towards the gates.

The knight was in the middle of talking with the driver of the wagon when a whoosh of air suddenly blew past him, springing him to alertness. "Who's there?!" He pointed his pike around, looking for whatever monster had caused the gust of air.

There was nothing around him.

"Is something wrong?" The wagon driver asked.

"Hey, Roark, is something going on down there?" A knight from the wall up above yelled down.

The knight looked around for a moment more. "No, I'm just getting tired." The knight said while rubbing at his eyes. "You may enter." The knight directed the wagon in. "I don't think any other travelers will be out at night. Let's close the gates now." The knight yelled up above.

"Right away."

Inside, behind a farmer's stall by the wall near the South Gate, Raphtalia reappeared from her magic spell. She had a hood over her head to hide her face. Filo also reappeared as a little girl next to her. "What now, mommy?" She asked quietly.

Raphtalia gripped one of Filo's hands gently. "We're going to find an old friend. One you haven't had the chance to meet yet Filo." She said quietly.

It had been a while since Raphtalia had last been in the Capital. Most of the streets she and Filo quietly walked were unfamiliar. Knight patrols appeared every now and then, forcing the two of them to hide and watch quietly from the Shadows hidden from the light of hanging lanterns.

Raphtalia wished that she was searching for Naofumi. But she had no idea where they were hiding him. She also couldn't sneak around in the dark forever trying to find him. She needed somewhere in the Capital where she and Filo could rest, find out where Naofumi was being held, and then formulate a plan to rescue him. And Raphtalia knew of just the place…

...

At last, they arrived in front of the door of the place she'd been looking for.

**Knock! Knock! Knock!**

…

The door slowly opened. "Now who in the blazes are you to knock this late at-" Erhard stopped speaking in surprise. "Little lady, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me, Erhard," Raphtalia said, smiling at the sight of the kind blacksmith.

"What are you doing back here? Why isn't Shield Bro with you?" Erhard noticed Filo. "And who's the little girl-"

"I can explain Erhard. But not out here." Raphtalia interrupted him.

"Yeah… yeah you're right." Erhard was a smart man and quick to read the situation. He opened the door the rest of the way. "Come in. I'm sure there's a lot I need catching up on."

Raphtalia and Filo entered Erhard's blacksmith shop, and he closed the door before a patrol rounded the corner on the street. They passed the blacksmith's shop, unaware that the Shield Hero's party members had just gone inside. Erhard could already tell he was going to be in for a long night.

"Now tell me, what happened, and why the hell is Shield Bro not with you?"

* * *

_At the Castle_

"Thank you, kind sir."

"No problem Miss. I'm always happy to help out royalty." The wagon driver who'd last been seen at the South Gate snapped his reins and left the little blue-haired girl behind. She calmly, and tiredly approached the castle doors. Before she reached them, however, they opened. King Aultcray came rushing out.

"Daughter!"

"Father!"

The two embraced happily. "My dear Melty. What brings you back from Faubley so soon?" King Aultcray asked.

"Mother told me I could return to see you, Father," Melty said happily. "Sorry, it wouldn't have taken so long. But I ran into some issues on the way here."

"You can tell me all about it later." King Aultcray said, noticing his daughter's tiredness. "I'll take you to your room. There you can rest, and we can talk more in the morning."

"Okay, Father. Before that though, I must ask about the current whereabouts of the Shield Hero." She said.

King Aultcray's smile was replaced with a grimace. "You do know where he is, do you Father?"

"Yes, my dear. But first, you should rest-" He tried to say.

"Father, I must know." Melty looked at him insistently.

...

"He's being held in the dungeons. For crimes against me and our Kingdom." Aultcray finally relented.

"... fine then." Melty said. "I shall rest then. But in the morning, I want to meet with the Shield Hero myself."

"But, my daughter-" Aultcray was about to burst in anger. But then, he could never be angry with either of his daughters. So he managed to control his tone. "Melty, I can't let you meet him. He has done terrible things-"

"Father, whether he has committed any crimes or not, we cannot afford to bicker with any of the Cardinal Heroes during the Waves of Catastrophe. Do you have any idea how mad Mother would be if she heard about this?"

"But, but-" Aultcray looked genuinely worried. He'd already lost some of his family in the past. What if... the Shield Hero tried to do something to his daughter in the dungeons?

"Father. We need the help of all the Cardinal Heroes if we want to survive the Waves of Catastrophe. You should know that better than anyone."

...

"Alright." King Aultcray relented. If it had been anyone other than his own family, he would have refused. But like Malty, he could never say no to Melty. It was probably his greatest weakness. He couldn't say no to the wishes of his daughters. "You can meet him yourself tomorrow morning. After you've rested tonight. But I plead with you to be careful."

Melty hugged her Father again. "Thanks Father." She looked up to him. "Will you escort me to my room? There is much I have to tell you about my travels before I go to sleep." Melty said with a smile as if the former subject had never been brought up.

Aultcray started to smile again. "Of course. I'm sure you've seen some interesting things since you left. And I'd love to hear about it while I tucked you in like old times."

The two walked through the castle doors. Heading down the main hallway as they talked with one another...

...

From the shadows, a certain red-haired bitch slowly crept out. "So, my sweet little sister returned to free the Shield Hero..."

She laughed bitchily into her hand. "Oh, poor naive Mel. It pains me to have to do this." She didn't look pained at all as she held a hand over her heart. "But neither of you will be surviving tomorrow."

It had already been planned that the Shield Hero would be assassinated in his cell tomorrow. But if the young heir to the throne was killed too... well, kill off two birds with one stone.

The annoying Shield Hero would, at last, be dead.

And no one would be standing in the way of Malty 'Bitch' Melromarc becoming Queen.

"Yes, I couldn't imagine anything more perfect." She said bitchily to herself. She loved it when her plans came together so beautifully.

She disappeared into the shadows of a side hallway.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Sorry for all the dialogue and everything here. Editing through this chapter was so tedious, I can't even imagine what you all will think reading this. I kind of wanted to set up some of what Siltvelt was like eventually though. And include some back story for some events. And… yeah, it all piled up without me meaning to… just know something like this would have happened at one point or another, so at least it's out of the way now.**

**On the bright side, Siltvelt sounds like a lot cooler place than what little is shown in the LN's. Right, right?... **

***insert awkward cricket noises***

**You know what. I'll just cut this awkward Author's Note short and go straight into today's omake before I embarrass myself further.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**The Tragic Story of King Melromarc XXXII**

* * *

"My name is Aultcray Melromarc. I am the current King of the mighty nation of Melromarc." Aultcray sat on a throne, holding his normal staff in one hand.

"Long before I became the King, I was a prince of Faubley. My real name back then was Luge Faubley. I was only thirteen years younger than the current King, and 52nd in line from the throne." Aultcray began to explain his tragic backstory. "I knew I'd never be destined to sit in the throne of Faubley, being so far down the line. So I thought my life would be that of a lowly prince, living in the shadows of all his other relatives."

"However, one day, in the middle of the night, my life changed forever when a group of Hakuko raided our manor. Killing my mom, my servants, and everyone else except me and my blind Sister, Lecia, who I managed to save from the destruction of that terrible day."

Aultcray sighed sadly. "I tried to ask my country for help, but they were more than willing to dust my family's tragic ending under the rug. It was likely those Hakuko were mercenaries hired by a prince in line behind me who wanted my family out of the way. Since I couldn't find justice in Faubley, I took my sister, the last family I had in this world, and what little money I had on my person, and left the toxic political atmosphere of Faubley behind for Melromarc. There I joined the military with the hope of one day being able to avenge my family of those damn Hakuko, and so I could get the money I needed to help take care of my poor little sister."

Aultcray stood, making a dramatic pose. "I worked hard to take care of my sister amongst all my studies and travels. I had the worst time starting out as a recruit. But I quickly made a name for myself with my genius and superb tactics. And when the day came that the Staff chose me to wield it to defend the world against the Claw King, I finally saw my chance to turn my life around and to avenge my dead family-"

"Just cut the crap already!" Naofumi yelled.

"Huh?" The King was brought out of his personal monologue by the sight of a chained up Naofumi still sitting in front of him. "What are you still doing out here?!" Aultcray angrily demanded. "I thought I said to have him thrown in the dungeons!"

"We were just about to do that when you began monologuing your Majesty." Aultcray's minister apologized.

"What?!"

"We felt it'd be rude to interrupt."

"Gosh, you're like the most generic King I've ever seen!" Naofumi complained. "You think you're all high and mighty because you get to sit on your King throne in your King robes. Wearing your king hat talking about whatever you call that-"

"Silence, you pest! I refuse to allow you to disrespect the Great King, Aultcray Melromarc XXXII in such a manner!" Aultcray's minister yelled at Naofumi.

"Are you kidding me?! There were 31 others just like him?!" Naofumi asked in disbelief. "No wonder this world is screwed!"

Aultcray and his minister were so stunned by that response it took him a moment to recompose himself.

"Throw him in the dungeons now."

"That's right. Cut off the conversation you stupid generic King! You know you can't fight against the facts!" Naofumi yelled as the guards were dragging him away.

"Will somebody please knock him out!" King Aultcray ordered.

"The issue with that sire is that none of us have a high enough attack stat to accomplish such a feat." Aultcray's minister informed him.

"Aw yeah! I get to be as loud and annoying as possible on my way out! That's what you get for separating me from my party you old ugly bastard!" Naofumi's voice was still quite audible despite having been dragged out of the throne room.

Aultcray sighed heavily. "Why did the Staff stop working for me all those years ago?"

"Because their purpose is to either save the world or assist the Holy Heroes sir."

"Ugh..." Maybe it was a good thing it'd stopped responding to him.

He would have hated to have to assist the Cursed Shield.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	32. 32: Meet the Royal Loli

**Alright, we had too many reviews solely about Trash in the last chapter. I understand, I hate the guy too, but please,**** enough about him. There's far more interesting things to review about. Like how much we want to crucify Bitch! So on with the story!**

**Also, I'm posting this much earlier on Monday than normal because I have a Calculus II Midterm to study for. Wish me luck!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:**_ 29 more Favorites, 38 more Followers (Total: 1039 Favorites, 1207 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _March 2nd, 2020 1:00 A.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Two:** _Meet the Royal Loli_

* * *

_The Next Day (9 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

_Naofumi opened his eyes. He was surrounded by dark shadows. "Where… where am I?" He muttered in confusion._

_..._

"_Nothing you do will stop what's coming…"_

_Naofumi turned, trying to find where the voice had come from. But he saw nothing. Just darkness and shadows stretched taut and black all around his patch of ground. "Who are you? What's coming?" Naofumi asked._

…

_The shadows to the right of Naofumi retreated back several feet. His eyes widened as he saw the body of a very familiar Tanuki companion laying there. "Raphtalia!" _

"_It's already too late."_

_He flipped her body over. He was met with a cold body and glassy eyes. A body covered in black burns. He gasped in pain, pressing his hand to her cheek. It was devoid of any warmth. "No, it can't be… it can't be!" Naofumi yelled._

…

"_It can, and it will. No matter what you choose, all paths lead to this moment."_

_In front of Naofumi, Malty's face appeared leeringly from the darkness._

_Naofumi quickly stood up. At first, he was surprised, and then he was angry. "No, I won't let you kill her! I won't let you harm anyone close to me ever again!" He said as he took a defensive position over Raphtalia's body._

_Those burns… they had to come from Bitch!_

…

_Malty covered her mouth as she laughed her classic bitch laugh. "Oh, poor naive Shield Hero." She didn't move, yet her voice sounded as if she was whispering in his ear._

"_When are you going to realize you're her executioner?"_

_..._

_Naofumi was shocked speechless, and Malty's face retreated back into the darkness. "Haha, ahahahahaha!" Her evil laugh echoed in the darkness all around Naofoumi._

_Suddenly, Naofumi's shield came to life on his arm. It was a different design covered in black flames. Flames… dark flames… just like... 'No, I couldn't… I wouldn't!'_

_He fell to his knees, putting his hands over his head. Around Naofumi, the shadows retreated. Showing not just the body of Raphtalia, but also the bodies of Filo, Erhard, Ren, Itsuki, Eclair, Motoyasu the King, the Pope, the Shadow who'd helped him, and many, many more. It was like a battlefield, and Naofumi was the epicenter. Everyone was covered in black burns._

_He was covered in black burns. It felt like he was suffocating. Being consumed… by something inside him._

"_No, what's happening, what's going on?!" Naofumi yelled in a panic. _

"_One way or another, your path will lead to here. She will die. And many more, in turn, will then die by your hands." Malty's voice said somewhere around him. "And in the end, as your own hatred consumes you, I will be there to laugh in your pitiful little face as you finally wither away."_

_Naofumi turned his head, only to come face to face with... "AND DIE!"_

"Second princess! What are you doing down here!"

Naofumi sat up straight quicker than a lightning strike. '_What the hell was that!?'_ The memory of the dream was quickly leaving his mind, but his body was still shaking uncontrollably. His breathing was panicked. He curled into the fetal position and held his head between his knees. '_No, it can't be true. I wouldn't kill all those people! I wouldn't hurt-'_

"Sir Naofumi, are you alright?"

Naofumi looked up. Though the cell was still dark, he could see Eclair was starting to sit up and rubbing at her eyes, like she'd just been woken up.

Naofumi worked on taking deep breaths instead of panicked ones. As he did so, the rest of the nightmare faded to the back of his mind. Losing its significance until only the memory that he'd had woken from some nightmare remained.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Naofumi finally answered.

"Are you sure? It sounded like-" Eclair was saying.

"Again, I'm here to see the Shield Hero... and the Knight Eclair." The voice that had woken Naofumi up said again.

Before Naofumi could even attempt to use it as an excuse to change the subject, Eclair stood up off her bed, looking in surprise at the cell door. "There's no way… the country of Faubley is three weeks away… how is she here already?" She said to herself in disbelief. Forgetting Naofumi had been panicking a few seconds ago.

Now that he wasn't so panicked, Naofumi realized his pounding headache was gone. And though he felt hungry now that he didn't have sedatives in his system, he felt oddly refreshed. Also, since he wasn't panicked, he was able to remember his conversation with Eclair from yesterday.

'_Faubley?... Wait, the place she mentioned yesterday! Is she saying Faubley is another country!?'_ Naofumi thought to himself. He hadn't been sure, but he'd been guessing that it was a city somewhere in Melromarc or outside of it, not another freaking damn country! '_If there's a whole country that treats all the heroes equally and not just a city, then that's where I need to flee to escape this hellhole of a place!'_ Naofumi thought angrily.

That sounded like a dream come true. A country that worshipped all the heroes equally. Where there'd be no zealots on one side out to kill him or zealots on the other out to kill his party members and make him their God.

That sounded like the place to be.

Before he could think more about it, the voices outside spoke up again. "Princess Melty, I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to meet them-"

"I have my orders from the Queen. I will see the Shield Hero and the Knight Eclair." A young, authoritative voice said.

"But, but the Shield Hero's in his holding cell by orders of the King! And the Knight has been charged with murder by the First Princess, and is still awaiting trial! You could be in danger if I let you in there-" The Knight tried to say.

"I have already talked with Father about it. He is just fine with me coming down here to meet with them."

Naofumi and Eclair scooted closer off their beds to overhear the next part. It sounded like the knight was sputtering outside, trying to think of something to say.

"Have you forgotten who holds the authority in this country? Should I send word back to my mother about your insubordination to her orders?" The young voice asked authoritatively. A hint of a threat in her undertone.

…

"No, right this way Second Princess!" The knight said in a scared tone. The threat of going against the Queen was enough to convince him not to stop her.

Naofumi and Eclair looked at each other. "It sounds like you have an idea of who's out there?" He asked confusedly.

Eclair finally had a smile on her face. It kind of looked good on her despite the relative darkness of the room. "I can't believe it. She finally came. Someone finally came for me..."

"And just who exactly came for us?" Naofumi asked, sounding a little frustrated. '_Why isn't she just telling me who the hell it is? Don't tell me this is going to be some big reveal trope where no one tells the protagonist who's actually coming until he or she appears! Ugh.'_ He really wanted to think of this world as a real world. But not only the game mechanics, but sometimes the people's behavior could paint it out to be from an anime, a light novel, a manga, or a game.

Before Eclair said anything else, the lock to the cell door clicked, and then it opened. Torchlight flooded the darkroom, nearly blinding Naofumi since his eyes had been accustomed to the dark.

"Now, go back to your post." The young voice said, still out of sight. Standing in the doorframe was a lanky knight dressed in armor that looked two sizes too big on him.

"But, but my lady, these two-" The Knight looked at the two of them fearfully as he spoke. Naofumi still couldn't see who it was he was talking to. However, he made the best threatening face he could at the knight. The poor sap almost pissed himself in terror. '_Ha, I can't even attack the guy and he's scared I'm going to beat him senseless.'_ Naofumi thought in satisfaction.

Served him right for locking him and Eclair in here...

He was almost able to picture Raphtalia lecturing him at that moment for taking pleasure in the thought. Then he imagined coming up with some snarky comeback that would lead to them bickering childishly with each other… then he imagined them ultimately compromising and hugging it out… she'd remind him that she loved him, and he'd respond saying he knew that. And then Filo would interrupt, and the two of them would both play with her and continue on as if nothing bad had happened… their relationship would be stronger than before...

"I will be just fine. Leave us now."

The knight finally left the doorway, and Naofumi's face fell. '_What I'd give to see them both again.'_ He thought depressedly. It had only been two days… yet he missed them terribly.

As Naofumi was stuck in his depressing thoughts, wondering what was about to happen, his chains and Eclairs magically released themselves and dropped to the floor. It felt like a rush of energy flowed back into his very being from the action. He rubbed at his wrists in surprise. The depressing thoughts he'd been pondering on were pushed far away. "What the hell."

Eclair looked very ecstatic. She still hadn't said who was seeing them either! But trope or not, now he was actually starting to feel hopeful that maybe whoever it was was here to help them! '_Come on! Just appear already damn it!'_ Naofumi thought as he looked at the doorway.

...

Finally, a small, maybe ten-year-old girl walked into view of the torchlight in front of the cell door. The first thing Naofumi noticed about her was the amount of blue. Her hair was blue. Her eyes were blue. The two ribbons holding her two curly blue pigtails in place were also blue. And besides the various white areas on her fancy frilly clothes, her outfit was blue.

'_Um…'_ Naofumi had been expecting something a little… more...

"Princess Melty! You have no idea how good it is to see you again!" Eclair said happily.

Melty smiled happily at her friend as she held her hands. "It's good to see you too Eclair."

"Princess… Melty?" Naofumi asked in confusion. '_You mean this little blue loli girl… is a Princess?!'_ He thought in disbelief.

"Yes, Sir Shield Hero. I am Princess Melty Melromarc. Daughter of Aultcray and Mirelia Melromarc, and heir to the throne." She said matter of factly in a formal way. If her clothes hadn't already depicted her royal status, her formal tone sure did. "I am here to release you, and to convince you to talk things out with my Father.

"There can be no bickering among us if we want to survive the Waves of Catastrophe."

* * *

_16 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe_

_Bellona Village_

"Urgh…"

…

The Hakuko demi-human, Dou-Lon, slowly opened his gold-colored eyes. He was lying on something soft and was covered in something warm. Up above him, he saw a wooden ceiling. '_What… the…'_ Was this heaven? But if it was, why did he feel so tired…

He tried to sit up, and a groan of pain escaped him. His eyes closed tight with pain. His stomach felt like it was on fire. '_No, not heaven, and probably not_ hell..._ I'm alive. But, but how-'_

An old wrinkled hand pressed against his chest, pushing him back down onto the bed. "No!" He heard a voice snap. "Lie down! You still badly injured!"

He opened his eyes and slightly turned his head. If he hadn't been so tired, he would have been more surprised by what he saw. Or rather, who he saw. "You Hakuko all the same! You take severe injury! You hang on verge of life and death for weeks. You finally begin recovery! And then you think to go back to doing everything you did before! Bah! You Hakuko all the same!"

The oldest, grouchiest, and the shortest lady he'd ever seen was currently bent over a pot beside his bed. She had wrinkles like waves on her face, from the base of her disheveled white hair, all the way down to the tips of her hands. It seemed like a miracle that this old hag was even alive, much less, that she'd somehow managed to drag him from the forest where he'd been left onto this bed.

He immediately assumed magic was involved. Magic... or she had someone help her. Due to his status as a demi-human, it was far more likely she'd used magic to move him. "Who… who are you?" He tiredly asked.

"You lucky mean lady used light magic to make wound!" The old hag continued as if she hadn't heard him. "You lucky mean lady missed major organs. Mean lady's magic mostly cauterized wounds and keep wounds from bleeding out!" She said, each sentence being empathized as she pounded something in the pot.

"Um-" Dou-Lon tried to say in confusion.

"No! You still badly hurt! You need rest!"

The Hakuko demi-human rolled his eyes. "I can't rest." He said with frustration in his tone. "I have to-"

The hag-like lady slapped the demi-human across the face with surprising force. There wasn't much pain, but it shocked him into silence. He was far bigger than this lady, but she was treating him like a kid. "Enough talk Hakuko. Now, drink." She ordered. She lifted a bowl from the pot up to his face. It held a weird green liquid inside.

The Hakuko glared at the old hag, but her unrelenting gaze stared back even more intensely. After a moment, seeing that he didn't have a choice, he opened his mouth and allowed her to pour the mixture in... The taste surprised him. It tasted like berries, like some of his favorites from the plains back home. And that's what he realized it was doing. It was reminding him of home as he drank it.

The bowl emptied too quickly, and he found himself wishing for more. "What was that?" He asked, genuinely sounding curious.

"Medicine. Good medicine. Not as good as Yggdrasil, but close enough." The hag answered, sounding a little more cheery than grouchy now. "Hard to make. But very effective. Been giving to you every day." She said, putting the bowl back in the pot before lifting them both up. Even though the pot looked fairly big, she carried it with ease.

He was surprised by that. Maybe this old hag wasn't as weak as she appeared. But then he was also surprised by the fact that his gut wasn't hurting as much anymore. He tried to use an arm to lift up the blanket to see his wound.

"Ow!" His arm was slapped back down by the old lady. '_Wasn't she carrying the pot away just now-'_ He was thinking exasperatedly.

"No moving! You hurt yourself by doing that!" The old hag snapped grouchily.

The Hakuko found himself biting his tongue to keep himself from yelling in frustration. That slap had hurt more than his wound! Her counter logic was mind-boggling! "I just... want to see how bad my wound is now." He explained calmly.

"You can see wound after it heals up." The old hag said simply. "For now, you need rest."

'_How can I see a wound after it's healed?!'_ He thought in disbelief. He started to think maybe he was dead, and now he was stuck in some weird form of Limbo with this crazy lady that wanted him to keep as still as possible.

"Alright. Why can't I move?" Dou-Lon asked sarcastically to humor the old hag.

"Medicine is very effective, but volatile too." The old hag said grouchily. "One wrong move. You go boom boom."

…

The Hakuko blinked his eyes. Had he heard that right? The old lady grouchily looked at his dumb expression. "Look." She started to explain. "This medicine meant for healing serious wounds back to full health. Even missing parts of organs grow back. But it can only be given in doses. Given too much, or one wrong move... you blow up my house!" She snapped at the end.

Feeling threatened, the Hakuko laid stock still on the bed. '_What the hell?! _"Why even give me medicine like that to begin with!?" He yelled in fear. "Why not use restorative magic on me or something?!"

The old hag chuckled. It was weird coming from her. It wasn't evil, but it certainly was creepy. "Does silly old lady who knows no restorative magic need reason to help near-dead Hakuko?" She asked.

He groaned at that. Again wondering how he'd gotten into this freak show of a mess. "I'm no human." He muttered angrily. As if that was all the explanation needed. "I'm a demi-human. And a Hakuko at that. Everyone in this country hates us." He stayed lying down on the bed, his eyes staring at the ceiling. "I don't even know why you helped me. You probably hate demi-humans just as much as everybody else." He muttered.

...

"Hmmm… My husband was half-orca. We all do weird things in our lives, eh?" The old lady said as she went about organizing stuff on her shelves with a shrug.

The Hakuko turned his head to look at her disbelievingly. _There's no way a lady that small could handle an orca...'_

"Are you serious?" He asked.

"Very," She said more happily. She pointed to a portrait hanging over her fireplace. On it was a younger, more beautiful looking picture of a short brunette woman in her early 40's, being hugged by one of the biggest black whale therianthropes he'd ever seen.

Had she said her husband had been half-orca? His size would have easily placed him among the large full-blooded orca captains in the Siltvelt army. If not their freaking general!

"Best man I ever knew... Bravest man too. He died in petty war Siltvelt had with neighboring country many years ago." The old lady said nostalgically

She wasn't joking. This small 4'6" lady had been married to a half-orca. Who were well known for the smallest being at least around 6'6". And he had died during a war… just like his father and grandfather...

"I, I'm sorry-" Dou-Lon tried to apologize. He suddenly felt like it was all his fault. Or rather, the fault of his nation. He'd immediately assumed that Siltvelt had drafted her husband into some petty war. And that she had been living here alone ever since, sad over the fact that it was all their fault for going to war so often in the past.

Rather, her next action surprised him. He was slapped hard across the face again by the old lady.

She must have really loved slapping him or something.

"I don't need pity boy." She yelled at him. He stayed silent, stunned by this ferocious old lady who pulled him up by the edge of his shirt so he was face to face with her. Had she not told him he needed to lie down otherwise HE'D EXPLODE!? '_HOW CRAZY IS THIS HAG?!'_ He thought. Most likely, it wouldn't be the last time he thought this.

"My husband was good man." The old lady said angrily. "He went to battle willingly, wanting to defend his family back home. He died for good cause."

The Hakuko was more than floored by that statement. It made him forget that any wrong move could make him explode. "Wha... what?" And here he'd been assuming that someone else would be bitter over Siltvelt's warlike history.

"Were you not fighting that mean lady in forest for good cause?" The hag asked.

"I… I…" He hadn't really thought it over before. He had gone into Melromarc on the orders of the Grand Council. He'd been tasked with several teams to help locate and bring the Shield Hero to Siltvelt. He thought he wanted to find the Shield Hero and bring him to where he'd be safe and worshipped… but then he also remembered what Siltvelt had done to his raccoon friends as a kid. He remembered some of the conversations he overheard in the Palace during patrols. The plans to obtain more power and influence… would taking the Shield Hero back to Siltvelt where these different factions could try to manipulate him into putting them in power only make it worse for his country?

Then there was the fact how his fellow Hakuko friends had wanted to kill the Shield Hero's Tanuki companion if she tried to interfere with their mission... only because her race was related to the raccoons, and was thus unworthy to travel with the Shield Hero… if they had only looked as closely as he had... would they have also seen how happy their God had looked despite living in exile?… '_... was my mission… was all my sacrifices to get here and meet the Shield Hero...'_

"Bah!" Before he could think of an answer, the old lady pushed him back down onto the bed. "Sitting up won't help wounds recover. And it won't help my sanity thinking of you as some ticking time bomb!"

"But, but I-" The Hakuko tried to say. '_You were the one who held me up! Don't you even want any answers from me?!'_ Though, if he was being completely honest, he didn't know if he had any answers to give.

"Enough talk, now rest!" She ordered.

Was that magic lacing her voice?

He suddenly found himself tired again and laid like a stone. But before his eyes closed, he looked towards the old hag who was heading for a door. "Can I… at least know your name?" He groggily asked.

The old lady paused. "... I will give you name when I think you worthy to hear it." She snapped.

He found himself chuckling at that. '_What kind of mess have I gotten myself into this time?'_ He thought as he fell back towards the oblivion of dreamless sleep. This was even weirder than the time he and his friends had tried to sneak into the public baths as kids. But definitely not as exciting...

"If it means anything, my name is Dou-Lon," Dou-Lon said tiredly.

…

The lady's voice followed him into blackness.

"Dou-Lon. Yes. Very good Hakuko name indeed. One of honor and commitment. Just like the rest of your race."

* * *

_Present, a few seconds after Melty's statement_

At first, Naofumi was silent. Processing what he'd just heard.

…

…

"Aha!... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Then, Naofumi started rolling. Literally.

He was rolling on the floor of his cell, laughing his head off because of the ridiculousness of it all.

First, he was being saved after being falsely imprisoned by royalty. Second, it was a royal of all people who was freeing him. Third, of course, the good royal also had to be a loli (it was like this was straight out of a popular anime in Japan). And fourth, to top things off, this royal loli was saying she wanted him to talk things out with her deadbeat of a Father?! After her father had gone through all the work of capturing and imprisoning him and framing him for Gods knows what evil had been done under the sun!?

_'Oh hell, this is too good! This loli girl has to be joking!'_ Naofumi thought as he continued to laugh.

There was no way this could actually be happening. Maybe he was still dreaming? He was almost tempted to pinch himself, but it wouldn't have worked. His high defense stat would have prevented him from feeling any pain. So he just continued rolling on the ground, laughing his head off.

Princess Melty, though still standing up straight, slowly started to look more indignant the longer Naofumi laughed. Eclair just… kind of awkwardly stood where she was. She wasn't sure if she should get the Shield Hero to stop, or if she should awkwardly laugh along with him.

She'd just met him the day before after all.

After another minute, Melty finally had enough. "And just what is so funny Sir Shield Hero!? Did I have something on my nose when I spoke?!" She asked, trying to sound formal and mature. However, it sounded more indignant and childlike than formal and mature.

Naofumi's laughter had cut through years of hard effort to control her voice in the space of a minute! That made her even more angry with him!

"You… You want me…" Naofumi was finding it hard to speak in between his laughs and was also finding it hard to breathe. "To… to talk to that… to that… that piece of ****!?" He couldn't continue speaking. He continued laughing like it was the best joke he'd ever heard.

Eclair cringed. _'This… might not bode well.'_ Eclair thought, seeing the second princess Melty start to turn red in the face. Her face scrunched up angrily. She looked a lot like Raphtalia when she'd pouted as a kid.

It was rather cute actually.

"My Father is not… um… what you just called him!" She yelled indignantly. To say such a word would have been very unladylike of her. Not that she was being ladylike now. "I was sent by my mom after the last wave to get you two to get along with each other! And we're going to get along now!" She yelled like a little kid.

It was almost too much. Naofumi was barely able to breathe by this point. He still thought it was a joke. One big, freaking hilarious joke.

Eclair was now looking at him with a stunned expression. She had not imagined a hero ever being this care-free before. She'd imagined Naofumi being more rugged and serious after recovering from the sedative… not like this?!

"Hey, Eclair, how far, away is this, this Faubley place again?" Naofumi asked in between breaths.

"It's… about three weeks journey... I think. If she left after the last wave, it'd make sense why Princess Melty is here now..." Eclair answered unsurely. "But, but I thought you told me the last wave was 36 days ago Sir Naofumi…" Eclair looked to Melty again for an answer.

Melty had the audacity to blush. "I swear, I would have gotten here sooner. But I had an incident chasing this rare Filolial… and my carriage broke down… and I was attacked by a dragon… and then, for some reason, the Filolials who were taking me to the Capital left me stranded near a village a few days ago… and it took me a while to find someone willing to transport me the rest of the way to the Capital..." She said nervously.

Naofumi started to laugh again. This girl's story was sounding even more ridiculous the more she talked!

"But I'm here now! And I'm going to make things right between you and my Father!" Melty said determinedly. "Now we need to get going! Before he changes his mind!"

...

"Look, second princess." Naofumi finally managed to gain control of his laughter. He wiped away a tear from his eye. "Whoever you are. I don't know if you realize or not, but your Father and I kind of hate each other's guts at the moment. He also kind of framed me for a bunch of things and separated me from my party and all that." Naofumi said, though his voice still sounded upbeat. "So right now, talking to him is the least of my concerns. But thanks for freeing me and Eclair. I'll remember to pay you back some other time, but right now we'll be leaving and-"

He tried to step past Melty while still chuckling, but then she blocked the way out, continuing to pout. She dug her heels into the ground. "No Sir Shield Hero! My Father is supposed to get along with all the Cardinal Heroes!" She said angrily. "He hasn't told me anything about why the two of you aren't getting along and I'm sick of it! So you aren't going to leave! Not until you both talk things out with each other this instant!"

Naofumi felt the cheery feeling disappearing from inside him as he looked into this girl's serious blue eyes. Suddenly, it wasn't a royal loli like one of the classic loli characters he'd read about in Light Novels standing in front of him. It was an actual royal ordering him to speak with her deadbeat of a Father.

_'Oh hell...'_ He realized. This wasn't a joke. She actually wanted him to go with her to talk with the King. '_I mean, I kind of understand why that piece of Trash hates me now. So I could tell him I don't even want to be the God of the demi-humans...'_ But while he understood...

"Come on already!" She said impatiently.

"I'm sorry, but your Father has gone out of his way to hurt me in the past. So I'm afraid I won't see him at this time." Naofumi finally said, dry anger leaking into his voice.

Understanding could only go so far when the person who'd been manipulated into wronging you had gone far out of his way to make **you** suffer. And while Naofumi was getting better at trusting people or forgiving others, there were some things that he absolutely could not forgive.

"Why not?!" Melty angrily demanded. "I'm releasing you on the Queen's orders, and I talked with Father about it, so you should be able to talk it out with Father now without the worry of your past misdeeds!"

"I HAVE NO PAST MISDEEDS!" Naofumi roared angrily. "And I know that piece of Trash doesn't want to speak to me! And I don't want to speak to him! I'd rather rot in this cell than speak with him again in the next few decades!"

"But you have to!"

"Actually, I don't have to!"

The two proceeded to become absorbed in a back and forth argument with each other.

"Just come up with me to the castle! You have to talk things over with my Father!"

"Your Father separated me from my party! They're still out there somewhere waiting for me! They're my greatest concern right now, not your deadbeat of a Father!" Naofumi argued back.

"My Father is not a deadbeat! And we can find your party members after you talk things out with my Father!" Melty responded angrily.

"If I try to speak to that piece of Trash, I'll never see my party members again! Because he'll throw me right back into this dungeon before I even have the chance to speak!" Naofumi yelled back.

"My Father is not Trash!" Melty again angrily defended him. "And you're not being reasonable! My Father can't go against what Mother says! He'd be punished if he did that!"

"Well golly, that certainly hasn't stopped him the last couple of months!" Naofumi said sarcastically, much to Melty's ire. "And if I was really that important, why isn't your mother here to help me?! Hell, how in the world were you sidetracked by something as stupid as a rare Filolial!?"

"You're… you're being unreasonable Shield Hero!" Melty replied indignantly. Blushing that she couldn't defend herself from his statement. "My mother's trying to keep the other countries from-"

"I'm the one being unreasonable Second Princess!" Naofumi retorted. "Who the hell is ten days late to fix something important because of a stupid Filolial sidetracking them!?" Naofumi again pressed his advantage. "I could have avoided being in this cell to begin with if you hadn't been late!"

Eclair put a hand to her face, groaning to herself at the argument.

"My name is not Second Princess! I am Princess Melty Melromarc-" Melty probably realized she couldn't defend her position. And was resorting to bickering now in a childlike attempt to retake control of the conversation.

"No, you're Second Princess! Children of Trash don't deserve to have names! And I'm Naofumi! Not Shield Hero!"

"Why do I have to call you by your name when you won't call me by mine!?" Melty angrily asked. Her plan was failing. Little did she know that Naofumi had plenty of experience arguing with children now thanks to taking care of Filo.

"Because I can tell how much it annoys you, Second Princess!" He said mockingly.

"It does not annoy me!" Melty said angrily. "And I said my name is not Second Princess!"

"Oh, it definitely annoys you, Second Princess!"

"It does not! And stop calling me that! It's Melty! Melty! Melty! Melty!" She stamped her foot for emphasis with each Melty.

It was definitely annoying her.

The two continued arguing back and forth.

Without the feeling of being chained down for the first time in two months, Eclair felt many different things at once. The desire to practice her swordsmanship. The desire to go out and see the sun. The desire to return to her home. A desire to report to her Queen. And so much more that she couldn't keep track of it all... Yet these two… MORONS! Were just standing there, ARGUING!

"If I'm really that important, why doesn't your mom come to see me herself?!" Naofumi demanded.

Eclair was finally free, and finally able to do something other than depressedly pass along her existence... and yet these two were arguing like LITTLE KIDS!

"Because she's doing everything she can to prevent wars from happening with the other countries!" Melty answered angrily. "Now you need to come with me and-"

"I could damn well start a war with her after the way your cowardly Father has treated me!" Naofumi interrupted. "Did she ever think of that?!"

"My Father is not a coward!"

"He is too!"

"He is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not-"

Finally, after the argument had progressed to Gods only know what, Eclair grabbed Melty by the shoulders and shook her. The action startled both her and Naofumi out of whatever they'd been arguing about at that point since Eclair had stopped paying attention long ago to the idiotic bickering.

"Listen, Princess Melty!" Eclair said authoritatively, a serious expression plastered on her face. "I didn't just sit all alone in this cell for two months, living off of food that made me homesick for the Knight's rations, just to have you argue irrationally with the Shield Hero because he wasn't getting along with the King! In case you didn't notice, the King placed him in here on charges he didn't commit, just like me!" Eclair yelled angrily. "As much as I care about you, we're both in this mess because of your family! It's time for you to see that!"

Melty blinked in surprise at her friend's words. "W… What?" She asked in shock.

Naofumi sighed in relief at Eclair taking his side, and he looked down at Melty with calm indifference. "Look, I'm not going to talk to your Father no matter what you say, Second Princess." She looked angry at being called Second Princess again, but he continued. "He threw me in here on crimes I didn't do without presenting a single scrap of evidence… all because he and the rest of this country hate the Shield Hero. Even if you talked to him, and even if you free me, I doubt that anything I say could change his mind." Naofumi said. "Much less, the minds of everyone else here."

Melty… looked up sadly at Naofumi. "But Father... he'd never do something like that. He promised he'd listen and-" She tried to say.

"Princess," Eclair spoke again. This time softly. She was still holding Melty's shoulders, but she didn't look angry anymore. Rather, she looked like she understood where Melty was coming from. She'd hate to hear if her own Father had imprisoned someone so erroneously. She'd defend his name and his title with her life if she had to. And she hated to have to tell Melty this, but... "As hard as this is to believe, Sir Naofumi is right. Unless your Mother herself was here, it wouldn't be safe for him to talk things out with your Father right now."

"But, but-" Melty tried to say.

"Princess, I was put in here because I killed an assassin who was assigned to kill me for signing up to party with the Shield Hero. I know things that you don't. Things I need to report to your Mother. There's more at work here than just some squabble between the Shield Hero and your Father. We could be putting you in danger just by standing here and having this conversation." Eclair said seriously as she stood up again.

…

"But, but-" Melty tried again to think of something to say. She had to think of something to say! Something!

"Forget it," Naofumi said, coating his voice with indifference to let her know they were done. "Thank you for releasing us. But I have two members of my party out there waiting for me right now. And they're important to me. Much more than your worthless deadbeat Father." Naofumi allowed a little bit of hate to leak into his voice at the end.

He really missed Raphtalia and Filo. His number one task now that he wasn't going to be stuck in a cell chained up was to find them. He wanted to see for himself that they were okay and not rely on his status magic to see that… then, when he met up with them again, he'd hug them both close and vow not to let them go ever again.

"But, but my Father…" It looked like Melty was close to crying. She buried her face in her hands.

* * *

_"Melty, there's something I need you to do for me."_

_Melty looked up in curiosity at her mother. Both of them were in Faubley's palace, sitting on nice plaid chairs. The Queen's maids were at both ends of the hallways, holding fans to their faces, watching for anyone trying to peek in on their mistress's conversation. _

"_What is it, mother?" Melty asked curiously._

"_I need you to go to the Capital, and admonish the King for his unjust treatment of the Shield Hero," Mirellia said authoritatively. She pulled her fan out and covered the bottom part of her face with it._

_Melty blinked in surprise at that. "Are you... are you mad with Father?" She asked._

"_Not yet," Mirellia said, hiding her facial expressions from her daughter. "But if he doesn't stop what he's doing to the Cardinal Heroes soon, I will be." She spoke calmly. At a hidden signal, another maid entered the room, carrying a portrait of King Aultcray._

"_Why, what has Father done to the Shield Hero?" Melty asked curiously._

"_What he is doing to him now is none of your concern," Mirellia said, looking out the window next to her at the smokestacks of Faubley. "I'm sure you'll learn what it is after you arrive. And when you do arrive, I give you my express permission to use my name to help the Shield Hero in any scenario should the situation require it." She said seriously. The maid set the portrait up and then walked out of the room. Likely to retrieve another portrait. "It's likely he'll need all the help he can get when you arrive."_

_Melty looked confused, but more importantly, she was genuinely concerned for her Father. 'What has Father been doing since me and Mother left the Capital?'_ _She thought worriedly. Even with her fan over her face, Melty could tell that her mom was scowling. It was like an ominous chill was coming off her in waves._

"_Okay… but are you sure you're not angry with Father?" Melty asked calmly._

"_You have your orders Melty. I suggest you follow them." Mirellia said coldly. It was a sign that the conversation between mother and daughter was over._

_Melty knew when she was venturing into dangerous territory. And she'd done it the moment she'd asked if her mother wasn't angry with Father. "I'll leave at once!" Melty said seriously, getting up to go find her royal guard. She knew not to push anymore._

"_Good." Melty was about to leave when Mirelia spoke again. "And know this Melty." Melty looked back and saw Mirellia staring at her with the coldest gaze imaginable. Melty had never seen a more deadly look her whole life. "If your Father hasn't shaped up by the time I get back... I'm going to be more than just angry at him." She glanced at the portrait of her husband that had been set up. "I'm going to be furious." She then pointed a hand at the portrait of Aultcray. "__**Zweite, Icicle Spike!**_"

_A large spike of ice appeared from the Queen's hand, and it impaled Aultcray's head on the portrait. "As the Queen of Melromarc, I order thee, decipher the laws of Nature, and burn my targets in a fiery blaze of destruction that shall leave nothing in its wake!" The Queen yelled with authority. The maid had returned, putting up another portrait of Aultcray, and an additional portrait of Malty next to the original portrait of Aultcray before getting out of the way in time for the Queen's next powerful spell. "_**All Drifa Inferno!"**

_The three portraits were consumed in a blaze of fire so hot, the large ice spike almost instantly melted as all three portraits turned to ash._

_Melty swallowed a gulp, nodded, and left her mother in the hallway. Another maid was already bringing in a small statue of Aultcray. "More! Bring me more depictions of my idiotic husband and bitch daughter!" The Queen ordered loudly._

_It would take so much more just to appease the anger and frustration with her family that she felt at that moment._

* * *

Melty's mind returned to the present, and she looked up at Naofumi with tears in her eyes. "You have to talk to my Father! Please! I'm begging you!" Melty cried. "You have to talk to him! Otherwise… Mother will be more than angry… she could kill him… she could kill my Father!"

Naofumi looked surprised at that and looked to Eclair. "Is that true Eclair?" He asked.

Eclair also looked stunned at those words. "I… I mean… it's possible." She admitted. "Melromarc is a country that follows a matriarchal lineage. The Queen not only has the authority to do it. She could kill King Aultcray herself if she wanted to and no one would question it."

It was one thing for Melty to try and order him to see that piece of trash. And being a royal didn't help her standing in that regard either. However, this was also a little kid crying in front of him. A little kid who really cared about both of her parents. And one of them was very much in danger of being killed by the other...

Naofumi sighed. "Look, I would talk if I could," Naofumi said honestly, almost a little begrudgingly. "But I can't. Your Father has made it abundantly clear to me he doesn't want to talk."

Melty looked up at him sadly at that. "I don't know how much you know." Naofumi continued calmly. He figured the least he could do was try to give a summary of his situation to this girl before leaving. "But your Father has disliked me since the day I was summoned to this world. By my second night here, he tried to have me arrested for something I didn't do, forcing me to run away from the Capital. He then tried to rig a duel between me and the Spear Hero after the first wave so he could throw me into this cell. And even after that, he hasn't stopped trying to hunt me down while keeping me contained to this country. He didn't listen to me before, and he won't listen to me now. Hell, I doubt he'll ever want to listen." Naofumi looked at the shackles that had been holding him before. "He knows the loss of one Cardinal Hero will make it impossible for the other heroes to deal with the waves. Yet he still locked me away down here. He was consigning some of his own citizens to die in the next Wave, and yet he didn't care... So unless he comes down here, crawling to me on his hands and knees while begging me for mercy, I will never speak to him." He said with finality.

Melty gasped in surprise. Naofumi sighed again. '_Figures, she wouldn't believe me even if I told her what it was I was originally accused of doing.'_ He thought tiredly. Besides Erhard, Itsuki, Ren, Raphtalia, and now Eclair, there was no one else who knew about it and believed he was innocent. He figured it was for the best if Melty didn't know. She'd probably chain him back up as soon as the word rape left his lips.

"Look, I'm sorry for causing you the trouble of having to free us." Naofumi exited the cell into the hallway. Eclair followed behind him. Melty stayed staring speechlessly into the cell. "But right now, we have to get going-"

Melty suddenly grabbed one of his hands, holding him in place. "... Wait." He looked down, and she looked pleadingly up at him. "Shield He-... Naofumi. I'm sorry. I know... I know I'm in no position to say this…" Tears fell lightly down her face. "I didn't realize how badly my Father mistreated you before. I'm… I'm truly sorry for his behavior! I'm sorry for my behavior earlier! I just… I don't want to see my Father killed!" She cried, tears falling onto her dress.

Naofumi gasped in surprise at the look of pleading in her eyes. "I'm sorry too... but there's nothing I can do about it now. Me and Eclair need to get going before your father changes his mind and has me hunted down and chained up again." Naofumi said dryly.

"But… but… what if I..." Melty's eyes finally met his, and then she looked down, crying again in hopelessness. She'd finally seen it in his eyes. A glimpse of the pain Naofumi had been suffering from for so long.

The pain of having almost everything torn away. The pain of having to hide your identity from those you helped. The pain of being forced to flee from place to place with only the select few that cared about you staying at your side. Living off of the generosity of people who'd turn on you in an instant the moment they figured out who you were. Not having a home because you were constantly on the run because of a lie that had branded you into a criminal. A lie that had come from the lips of the first person in the world you had trusted with your life and soul. It was all that, along with the pain of being separated from Raphtalia and Filo.

She'd seen it, and she knew now that she'd never be able to convince him to go and apologize to her Father. He'd simply hurt him too much by this point. So she broke down and cried.

The task her mother had assigned her was impossible. '_Mother… I'm sorry… I can't do it...'_ Melty continued to cry like a little kid.

_..._

'_I can't meet with that piece of_ Trash...' Naofumi grimaced._ '__But I can't leave a little girl here crying either... ... …'_ Naofumi sighed in frustration. Eclair got down on one knee and hugged Melty to her shoulder. Where she continued to sob as she comforted her.

'_Damn it! Now I feel guilty about having to do_ this!...' He felt mentally conflicted. As much as he hated the man, he didn't want to see him die!_ 'M__aybe I should try. I'm sick of being on the run everywhere. And if I could at least get a guarantee that I wouldn't be hunted anymore, then maybe-'_

Naofumi tensed up. A chill traveled down his spine as he looked around the empty stone hallway they were standing in. _'Wait... Something isn't right.'_ Besides Melty's sobbing, the dark hallway was quiet.

Too quiet. And too dark. _'Why aren't there more torches lit?'_

He looked away from Melty and Eclair. The Knight that should have been on guard at his post down the hallway wasn't there. Both ends of the hallway were shrouded in darkness, like the torches had been-

He gasped, and gripped his chest. He got that feeling. The same feeling he'd gotten listening to Bitch talking to that one nun long ago. That same feeling he'd felt back in that forest before the ambush. That feeling he'd felt in his nightmares. The only thing he could distinctly remember from them.

_'Something... something bad is about to happen. I'm about to be-'_

Eclair reacted first, grabbing a black dagger out of the air before it hit Melty from behind. Melty looked to the side wide-eyed. "Princess, you're in danger here!" Eclair yelled, pushing the princess to the side into the safety of the cell. She then used the dagger she'd caught to deflect two more similar black daggers into the walls as she charged forward.

Naofumi stared in shock for only two seconds before his mind connected the dots.

'_It was a setup!'_

Another black dagger flew at his face from the other hallway. He deflected it to the side with his shield easily and changed to the **Chimera Viper Shield**. _'That damn loli brat!'_ Had this whole situation all been an act?!

"Help! Princess Melty is being kidnapped by the Shield Demon and the rogue knight!" A voice on his side yelled loudly. The echo reverberated through the dungeon. "We need all the Knights now! Put the place in lockdown-"

"**Air Strike Shield****!**"

A green shield formed in front of Naofumi and thrust down the narrow corridor into the man screaming in the shadows. His shouting cut off.

As he did that, Eclair managed to rush down the other hallway, using the black dagger she'd caught to deflect several more that had been thrown at her. Before she used the pommel of the dagger to knock out an individual only she could make out in the darkness. A gasp of shock came from a second individual at how Eclair had seen through their stealth stats in the darkness. But she quickly knocked him out too before he could react.

"What the hell!? You set this whole thing up, didn't you?!" Naofumi yelled angrily at Melty. Blocking another black dagger with his shield. A third one went below his shield, hitting his unarmored gut. But it didn't even cut him. Even though he didn't have his armor on, the assassin's attack stat wasn't high enough to damage him. At seeing that, the figure hiding in the darkness turned tail and ran.

"Help! The Shield Demon's going to kill me!"

"What… what are you talking about?!" Melty asked in disbelief. There were still fresh tear tracks going down her eyes. "I have no idea what's happening!" She didn't just look scared, she looked terrified. Like she honestly had no idea what was going on.

Naofumi, fortunately, was quick to realize Melty did have no idea what was going on… Not that it soothed his anger.

"Sir Naofumi…"

Eclair appeared, dragging two limp bodies behind her. "There was a third, but he escaped while I took care of his comrades."

Naofumi's eyes widened in recognition as the individuals were dragged into the torchlight. They were dressed in the black garb of Church Shadows. A rosary hung around each of their necks. He got even angrier seeing the rosaries. "DAMN THEM!" He punched the stone wall next to them.

Melty looked in surprise at them. "These… these aren't my mother's shadows… what were they doing down here… and why didn't my Royal Knights keep them out." She said, still shocked that an attempt on her life had been made. And that one of these Shadows had yelled, blaming it on the Shield Hero.

Eclair held up the rosary on one of the assassins to examine it. "It appears some of the Royal Knights might have different loyalties than we thought Princess Melty." She said calmly.

"That's… that's impossible! They're supposed to be loyal to my Father! And I know he'd never do such a thing-" Melty was yelling angrily at Eclair for even suggesting such an idea.

"Actually, you're both right." Naofumi interrupted. He was still angry, but he realized he had to keep a clear head now more than ever "As much as I hate your Father, I can't see him doing this." He said coldly. '_Not when it'd put his own daughter in danger.'_ "But that doesn't mean I don't know others who wouldn't." The rosaries were a big freaking clue as to who.

Eclair threw the unconscious bodies into the cell they were formerly being held in before slamming the door shut, locking it, and putting a wooden beam over it to keep the assassins inside from being able to open the door even if they managed to pick the lock.

"What… what do you mean?" Melty asked, looking scared for her life. "Who could they possibly be loyal too besides my Father?!"

It had been silent all around up to this point. But then, above, below, almost from all around, the sounds of yelling, pounding feet, clinking armor, and more started to echo into the dark hallway.

"Somebody unlit all the torches!"

"The Princess is in danger!"

"It must be because of the Shield Demon!"

"Capture the Shield Demon!"

"Protect the Princess!"

The cavalry was coming.

Naofumi paled. '_Damn it! Can't I just get one break!'_ He'd been hoping that no knights had been around to hear the Church Shadow's shouting. But that had only been wishful thinking.

So much for just walking out of here thanks to the Princess freeing them.

"My sword! The lockers should be this way!" Eclair said, pointing down the hallway where she'd taken down the two Shadows.

'_There's still that third Shadow and the other one I couldn't deal with creeping around down here, and who knows how many of these knights are actually loyal to the crown…' _He didn't like it, but his resolve as the Shield Hero couldn't allow him to leave Melty there. That first dagger had gone for her. It was likely he and Eclair weren't the only ones the Church had been targeting. "Come on Second Princess! I'll explain what's happening on the way!" Whether he liked it or not, he had to protect her too.

"Where are you taking me?! And my name is not Second PrincesSSSSSSSSSS!" Melty yelled in surprise as Naofumi grabbed her by the hand and forced her to run with him and Eclair down into the dark hallway.

"Alright Second Princess, here's a more detailed rundown of the **** going on in your country!"

* * *

_In another part of the Castle_

The royal mustached knight commander hummed to himself as he sipped from a nice cup of hot tea. '_Ahhhh… I can't wait to hear the news of the Shield Demon's demise in the dungeons…'_ He took another sip of the hot drink, relishing in the thought.

He'd already given Melty's entourage of knights 'orders' to vacate the scene. As the story would go, the Second Princess had been killed by the Shield Demon in an attempt to try and reason with him. He'd then bravely go in and 'kill' the Shield Demon, claiming all the credit for avenging the death of the Queen's daughter. Then, not only would he receive the highest honors in the kingdom, but he'd be given the highest honors amongst the saints of the Three Heroes Church for helping with the death of the Gods' greatest enemy.

Not only would he be set for this life, but for the next one too.

He could imagine it now. The cheers he'd receive as he walked past the pearly gates. The seat at the large gold table reserved for only those who'd overcome the greatest of evils... all meant just for him-

The door crashed open. "Sir! We just received word that the Shield Hero escaped his cell!"

The commander looked up in surprise at one of his captains. He wasn't sure of his name. All he knew was that he was the Captain who'd helped the Shield Demon out at Lute.

"What are you blabbering about?"

The Captain stood calmly at attention. "The Shield Hero escaped his cell. According to one of the knights who ran up, he took the Second Princess hostage and is currently fighting the other knights patrolling the Castle Dungeons with the help of a traitor.."

…

The Knight Commander scowled. He threw his cup of tea onto the floor, shattering it into a million pieces. '_Can they not do one damn thing right?!'_ He would have sworn the plan the First Princess had presented to him last night would be foolproof. This only went to show, however, that you shouldn't trust the hands of fools to get the job done properly. "Mobilize the other Captains! Get our strongest knights ready immediately! I will not have the Shield Demon escaping our city again!" He said angrily as he put his helmet on, walking past his Captain to go out the door.

"... It's the Shield Hero. Not Shield Demon, sir."

The Commander stopped in his tracks and looked back at the Captain. The Captain was glaring at him as he put on his own helmet. "I will do as you order me. However, while he is a criminal, the Shield Hero is one of the Cardinal Heroes tasked with protecting our world, just like the others. I will not disrespect him by lowering myself to call him by such a foul name."

The Commander had to try his hardest not to scowl at the Captain. He also had to try his hardest not to show the fear he felt at the Captain's intense glare. '_Does he know? But how could he know? Is it possible he overheard me talking with the nun about the whole plan to take down the Shield Demon, or is it-'_ He smirked. '_No, if he really thought I'd done something, he would have gone to the King by now. He's only trying to bait me into showing my hand so he can accuse me and take my place. Heh, as if I'd fall for that.'_

"Get to it, Captain. Otherwise, if the Shield Demon escapes with the Princess, it'll be on your head."

The Captain's glare hardened at the use of the Shield Demon term again, but he nodded and rushed out of the room. Heading in the direction of the barracks to mobilize the Royal Knights.

The Commander scowled once the Captain was out of sight. '_He's even more of a danger than I thought. It's obvious where his Faith lies, and it's not with the truth.'_

He left the room preparing to give orders.

After this whole mess was over, he'd not only have to find out a way to realistically kill off the Shield Demon and the Second Princess but this Captain too. The Gods would expect nothing less of him if he ever wanted to feast with them at their table.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I'm seriously planning on leaving you guys on a cliffhanger like this for a week? Ouch.**

**And yeah, I should have dropped more hints about it in the past, but… that mustached Knight Commander is also in on this whole scheme. At least, that's also a conspiracy theory from me. Take it with a grain of salt and hate on this guy. Also, applause to that Knight Captain for standing up for Naofumi. Hopefully, he lives through the mess that's coming up.**

**Now, time for the omake!**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**Arguing like Little Kids**

* * *

"It's all your fault it's broken!"

"I didn't mean to break it!"

Eclair sighed to herself. When the Queen had assigned her with taking care of her daughter and the Cardinal Heroes, she had not thought she meant this.

'_Why did the Queen have to assign me to take care of all of them? Why couldn't she have hired someone else to babysit them?'_

A… um… Kidfumi cried while a KidMelty (Think around the age of seven) bawled together. Between them was the broken remains of a toy shield.

"Stop crying! Maybe I can use my magic to fix it!" KidMelty suggested.

"If you hadn't used your water magic, Second Princess, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Kidfumi cried.

"If you'd stop calling me Second Princess, I wouldn't have gotten mad and broken your toy shield!" Kid Melty cried.

"You did it on purpose!" Kidfumi cried.

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

A small hand tugged on the skirt of Eclair's armor. "Miss Eclair?"

Eclair tiredly looked at the raven-haired kid tugging at her skirt. His other hand held a plastic toy sword. "What is it, Ren?" She tiredly asked.

"Itsuki's being mean to me and Motoyasu again." Kid Ren said as he pointed behind him.

"Ha! Take this you poohead!" Itsuki released the string on his toy bow, releasing another nerf dart arrow that hit kid Motoyasu in the back of the head.

"STOP IT ITSUKI!" Motoyasu swung a toy spear angrily at the blonde kid. Who jumped back out of reach, releasing another nerf dart arrow that hit Motoyasu's face. "I SAID STOP IT!" He swung his spear again, hitting Itsuki on one of his arms.

"OW! That hurt!" Itsuki cried.

"THEN STOP BOTHERING ME WITH YOUR STUPID TOY ARROWS!-" Even as Motoyasu yelled that Itsuki released another nerf dart arrow that hit one of Motoyasu's eyes. "THAT DOES IT!"

Eclair sighed once more and raised her hands to the ceiling. "Why did the Cardinal Weapons have to summon little kids to save our world?" She despondently asked the heavens.

The heavens did not reply.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"OW! STOP HITTING ME MOTOYASU!"

"YOU'RE DEAD! YOU HEAR ME! DEAD!"

Yep, she definitely wasn't having kids of her own.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	33. 33: Hatred, Tearful Reunion, and Bitch

**Alright. Here's a doozy of a chapter. Hope you all enjoy it!**

**Also, I wanted to make a quick thank you to everyone. This fic recently entered the top three in Reviews, Favorites, and Follows in this fandom. I didn't think when I started this story that it'd grow to be this popular. Now, I'm kind of excited to see how long it'll take for Hope to make it to the top spot. Once again, thank you, everyone. And I hope you continue to enjoy the content that's coming. :)**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _40 more Favorites, 47 more Followers (Total: 1079 Favorites, 1254 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _March 9th, 2020 2:40 P.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Three:** Religious _Hatred, Tearful Reunion, and Bitch_

* * *

_Several minutes later (Nine Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

Naofumi, and his new allies, Eclair and Melty, were running down a dark stone hallway of the Castle Dungeons. The tunnels were dark, because of the 9 out of 10 torch sconces they ran by that weren't lit. The stones of the hallway looked old, worn, and even cracked in areas. There was no furniture and decorations of any kind. It looked dark and bleak, just like their chances of escape.

Naofumi was in the front of the group with his Chimera Viper Shield. He also held a lit torch he'd grabbed so they could see where the hell they were going in the maze of stone, doors, and noise. Eclair was in the back. She had her royal knight's helmet back on and was giving her newly recovered sword a few test swings. The Second Princess, Melty Melromarc, was protected in the middle between them.

While Eclair had been checking her sword over to see if it had been tampered with or not, Naofumi had given Melty a more detailed explanation about what was going on. From finding out about her sister's plans to betray him, to the Three Heroes Church and their excessive hate boner for him. To fleeing the Capital and having to survive with only the help of two people. It was very condensed and summarized, but he managed to get the main points across.

Melty had been silent all the while, keeping pace with the two while running. And when the story had finally been given, it was a moment before she responded. "So… what you're telling me... is that all this is because of the Three Heroes Church?!"

"Yes! Even those Shadows who tried to kill us back there were from the Church!"

"But then, that'd mean some of the Royal Knights-"

"Are more loyal to the Church than to your Father," Naofumi said back seriously.

"It's also likely my former Commander also holds a higher loyalty to the Church," Eclair commented in the back.

"Along with most of the nobles in this kingdom," Naofumi said with a grimace. It was definitely not a pretty picture. It was like he was surrounded by enemies on all sides.

"But, but why would they do such a thing-" Melty tried to say.

"Because your country is so messed up that they'd rather kill the Shield Hero then protect themselves from the Waves!" Naofumi said. "Don't ask me why religion turns people into idiots! I've dealt with too many of them by this point! Now, which way do we go Second Princess?!" Naofumi answered irritably. The weaving corridors of hallways and cell blocks were like a maze to him. The lack of efficient lighting thanks to many of the torches having been put out also didn't help. The stone hallway still shook and rang with the echoes of the knights flooding into the dungeons. Trying to find the Shield Demon and the captured Princess. At this point, he didn't know how they'd find their way up into the castle, much less, how they'd fight their way out with all the knights that were mobilizing to capture him for yet another false charge. And he found it likely that, even if by some miracle he got to the Castle, the King would no longer be willing to listen to him.

They were running past a hallway. "There's the Shield Demon! Take him down!"

Naofumi glanced to the side to see a group of at least a dozen knights running their way. The hallway was so narrow, however, that they couldn't all charge forward at once.

"**Air Strike Shield!**"

After they'd passed the hallway, Naofumi summoned a large green shield blocking it off. As they ran on, the knights ran into and pounded against the skill shield. But it didn't budge. It would stay until they either destroyed it or its timer ran out.

_'Are they always going to try and find something to accuse me of to make me look like a devil!?'_ He thought angrily. '_Because that tactic is sure as hell getting annoying at this point!'_

They hit another intersection and made a left. "Second Princess, which way do we go?!" Naofumi asked again, frustration leaking into his tone at her silence. He'd blocked one group of knights from getting to them, and they'd taken a path at random with the intersection, but that shield wouldn't last forever. And by the sounds of it, they could be running into more knights any minute now.

"I… I don't know!" She said fearfully.

"How could you not know?! Isn't this your castle!?" Naofumi angrily asked. He probably shouldn't be shouting so loudly.

"Give me a break! I've hardly had reason to come down here! You also told me my Sister and Melromarc's State Church are part of an elaborate plot to have you killed! My country is ignoring all sorts of problems and being corrupted! And for the last time, stop calling me Second Princess!" Melty snapped angrily at Naofumi. Her sheltered life was falling apart at the seams. Couldn't the Shield Hero at least be a little more understanding about it?!

"Right, my bad Second Princess," Naofumi said sarcastically.

"My said my name is not Second Princess!"

"Now isn't the time for playing around." Eclair interrupted seriously before a fight could break out. "What cell block were we being held in back there Princess Melty? Can you remember?"

"No, some of my Royal Knights led me a short distance away from your cell! They were supposed to be our escort on the way out!" Melty replied.

They hadn't seen said Royal Knights since they'd booked it from the cell block they were being held in.

"Do you know the layout down here?" Naofumi asked Eclair. He really hoped she did. Otherwise, their escape was going to be the shortest-lived in the history of escapes.

"I did more than my share patrols of the castle dungeons," Eclair answered. "But if I want to get us out of here, I need a point of reference to know where we're at!"

"Well, I didn't realize a point of reference could exist down here!" Naofumi yelled back irritably. Since every single dark hallway looked the freaking same to him! _'I knew I should have taken my freedom when I had the chance. Now I'm caught up in another damn mess!'_ The problem was if he'd tried to take his freedom right after he'd been released, the chances were pretty good that he'd be just as lost as he was now. And Melty would be dead. And the pin would be placed on him. And then it'd be screw what any other country thought. Aultcray would have had a very good reason to have Naofumi executed. And he, and almost everyone else in this country would never learn that it had all been because of the Three Heroes Church.

Still, Naofumi didn't understand one thing. _'That one Shadow also attacked me.'_ He felt his shirt where the dagger had bounced off. _'If their goal was to assassinate the Second Princess and pin the blame on me... why even attack_ me?' He knew the people from the Church hated him. But was killing only the Princess their original intention, or had they planned on killing him and Eclair too? And if that was the case, then why?

Before he could think more about it, the group rounded another corner. Naofumi almost ran into two knights. They were far too close to try and block them off and go down a different hallway.

The two knights backed up, but then they lowered their two pikes, leveling them at him. "Halt Shield Demon-"

Before Naofumi could react by saying something like, "You've got to be kidding me." Or, "We don't have time for this." Or even something like, "Perfect! Now I can vent some frustration on you bastards!": Eclair jumped over Naofumi. Catching him off guard. And the knights even more off guard. And, unfortunately for them, they didn't raise their pikes in time to try and skewer Eclair while she was in the air.

It would have saved them from the beatdown that happened next.

Eclair landed in between the knights, too close for them to use their pikes. She knocked one's weapon out of his hands, before quickly bashing in the other's helmet in with her sword hilt. She followed it up by kicking the knight back into the wall, before turning and headbutting the first knight in the head so hard that his helmet was dented. Both knights slumped against both sides of the wall, unconscious.

Naofumi stared in shock. The fight itself hadn't lasted long. Barely more than two seconds. Eclair had been chained in her cell the last two months, unable to hone her sword skills or fight, and yet she'd taken down these two knights like they were nothing.

If he were to use gaming terms, he would have called the pair of knights noobs. And Eclair, an inactive player logging in for the first time in several months. Which meant that she had just turned these noobs into a pair of ultra noobs.

Eclair put a hand to her head. "Wow… it's been a while since I headbutted someone…" She stood up straight and looked up from the two knights at the shocked Naofumi. "What are you two standing around for?! I finally recognize where we're at, the exit is this way!" She yelled seriously, pointing her sword down a side hallway.

Naofumi quickly looked around. He didn't see any distinguishing features in this hallway with its intersections. Was it the random crack in the stone of that hallway? Was it the small piece of vine growing out of the floor? Was it something else? '_Screw it, I'll just think it was the headbutt that jogged her memory.'_ Naofumi was not going to question any way of escape. "Right! Lead the way!" He ordered Eclair. Throwing the torch to her.

Eclair led the way through the corridors of the dungeons. Naofumi didn't mind her taking the front. She seemed more than capable of defending herself if that last display revealed anything.

Eclair didn't even break stride when she threw the torch back to Naofumi and dispatched the next pair of knights that came across their path. She ducked below a sword thrust, using her blade to deflect it away, and then she grabbed the knight under his chest plate with one hand before he could recover. Then, while still running with the flailing knight, she threw him down the side hallway where the 2nd knight had been running to assist from. She then requested for the torch again and continued leading the way.

'_How the hell did she manage to do that!? Her strength and agility stats must be off the charts!'_ He did a quick appraisal check on Eclair to find out her level and stats. Only for his eyes to widen at what he saw. '_LVL 25?! She's that low a level!?'_ He thought in shock.

Her agility and strength were above average for a level 25. But not enough to explain how she was dealing with, as he found out on the next pair of knights she dealt with, Level 30 and above enemies.

He knew this was the real world. But he also knew that it had game-like mechanics to it too. Did Eclair have some hidden stats that he didn't know about that made her a better fighter?...

Just what the hell kind of knight had he unleashed?...

,,,

He found himself thinking more about it. '_What would have happened if Eclair had never been imprisoned down here. Would I have even needed to buy Raphtalia or Filo if I had a level 25 knight helping me out instead of that Bitch?... __Hell, I bet Eclair could have gotten other trustworthy adventurers to join my party thanks to her influence as the daughter of the Lord of Seaetto…'_ His whole freaking journey up to that point could have been changed…

_..._

'_Is it okay to feel relief that she was imprisoned since it led to me eventually meeting Raphtalia and Filo?'_

The very next hallway, four knights came charging single file down the narrow hallway. All four of them held swords instead of pikes. At seeing Naofumi's group, they yelled and charged. Eclair was smirking this time as she charged right into them. Moving so quickly from one knight to the next it was almost comical how quickly they went down and stopped yelling.

Naofumi thought nothing more as they ran past each knight Eclair knocked out. Whether by using her sword hilt, the flat of her blade, the torch itself, or driving them head-first into a wall. It didn't matter. Eclair was a machine, and the short confines worked perfectly in her favor.

"So your mother said to have her released too?" Naofumi finally decided to ask Melty.

Melty was breathing a little heavier than before due to the constant pace… yet she smiled sheepishly. "Well… that was more because Eclair's a good friend of mine. Not because the Queen said to do it." She admitted.

"Wait, what?!" The two almost ran into Eclair, who'd slowed somewhat in front of them.

"My mother only gave me orders to help out Naofumi," Melty said nervously. "But my Mother's Shadow told me before I came down here that you were likely in the same cell as Naofumi. And… well... I sort of improvised from there."

If this had been an actual anime, Eclair would have shattered into glass on the spot. _'But… but I thought I was being freed for being one of the Queen's loyal knights… ahhhhhh!'_ She thought miserably to herself.

Naofumi and Melty didn't notice Eclair's distress.

* * *

They turned another corner and ran out into what looked like an underground garrison room. There were wood lockers on the sides, and several different hallways branching out. Eclair mentally forced herself back to the task at hand. "Our exit should be down that hall-" Eclair was pointing at one of the hallways when a dozen knights came charging out from it. More followed from the other hallways.

_'Damn it! That's a lot of knights!'_

Eclair immediately ran into battle again, but being in a larger room, and with many more opponents than before, Naofumi joined in with defending Eclair while Melty hung back behind them.

"**Air Strike Shield!**"

A large green shield formed on Eclair's right side, blocking a pair of knights while Eclair disarmed one of the three in front of her. She threw the torch back to Naofumi, grabbed the knight's sword out of the air and started attacking with both swords. Weaving in between swipes and thrusts with the form of a deadly dancer. She wasn't aiming to kill, but these knights were a different story.

Naofumi charged forward into the battle himself, letting his instincts take over. He wasn't much of a fighter, but even without his armor, he could damn well grab their attention. Especially those Knights who had rosaries hanging around their necks.

"Stop this at once!" Melty yelled at the knights.

"Kill the Shield Demon!" A group of Church Knights charged at Naofumi.

"**Shield Prison!**" Oh yeah. He was also super happy to be able to access his skills again too.

A green-plated chain ball surrounded the group of knights. They screamed in confusion inside. Or maybe they actually thought the skill would dirty their souls. Naofumi blocked another knight's sword strike. He saw another one charging for Eclair from behind her while she dealt with a pair of knights, and he dropped the torch (his shield would have zapped it out of his hands anyway if he'd tried to use it as a weapon) and pointed his free hand at her. Selecting her as the target of his next spell with his status screen. "**Fast Guard!**"

The support spell took effect. The knight brought his sword down on the back of her armor, but it bounced off as if it'd hit a brick wall. Eclair pushed both the knights she'd been facing back with a well-timed block, and quickly turned, grabbing the knight by his armor before throwing him at the two backpedaling knights. She then ducked a slash from a different knight that'd tried to sneak up on her and knocked his legs out from underneath him with the flat of her blade.

'_Again, how is she doing that?!'_ He thought as he tried to use **Royal Shield** to knock the knight he was facing back. However, the skill dissolved as soon as he tried to use it as a battering ram. It still caught the Knight off guard and allowed Naofumi to punch him in the face with his **Chimera Viper Shield**. Activating the poison counter on it. The knight collapsed, gasping in pain from the poison.

"I order you knights to stand down at once!" Melty yelled furiously. Yet none of them listened to her.

He directed his attention back to the Shield Prison. "**Change Shield! Bee Needle Paralysis Shield!**" The screams inside the prison cut off.

The Knight he thought he'd taken care of got back up. Slashing at Naofumi while he was focused on the Shield Prison.

"That does it! **Fast Aqua Shot!**"

A ball of water slammed into the knight's gut with such force, he went flying back, taking down several other knights in the process. Naofumi quickly looked back to Melty, and her hands were raised. Glowing blue from the spell she had just cast. "What?!" She asked indignantly when she saw Naofumi staring at her.

"You couldn't have done that sooner Second Princess?" Naofumi asked as his shield prison disappeared, dropping the paralyzed Church Knights onto the ground.

"What have I told you about calling me Second Princess!?" Melty angrily asked. "I just saved your life! And my name is Melty! Melty Melty Melty-" She stamped her foot in time with each Melty in her childlike tantrum despite the battle going on.

"**Air Strike Shield!**"

A large green shield appeared beside Melty, blocking a sneak attack from one of the earlier Shadows who'd tried at that moment to sneak up on the princess from behind. The look of shock on her face was priceless.

Before the Shadow could recover, Naofumi appeared in front of the Shadow and punched him in the face with his shield several times, activating the poison counter again and again. The Shadow screamed in pain. "There, now I just saved your life again! Help us get out of here and I'll think about calling you by your name Second Princess!" Naofumi yelled, blocking another attack from a different knight. The knight screamed in pain when Naofumi again activated the counter, Snake Venom Fang (Medium), biting the knight with a poisonous viper. He then activated Hook, which caused the snake to wrap around the knight before he threw the knight across the room at another knight.

Melty glared indignantly at Naofumi and then glared at the Church Shadow who gripped at his face where he'd been bitten repeatedly. She stepped back. "As source of thy power, I order thee, decipher the laws of nature..."

Naofumi blocked a knight again and used his arm to block another strike. The sword left a small cut on his unarmored arm. Then, when both knights refused to back up, he changed his shield to the two-headed dog shield.

"Ah! Ahhh!" The pair of knights both screamed as the two long dog heads bit down on their arms, raising them up in the air.

"You still doing okay back there Second Princess?" Naofumi asked without looking back.

The Church Shadow jumped for Melty. Trying to stop her from chanting. But he was already too late.

"**Zweite All Aqua Shot!**"

Naofumi looked back at the end of the chant and saw an astonishing sight. A burst of water like a wave came from the princess, who had both her hands raised. The Wave first slammed the Church Shadow away into one of the side walls where he didn't get back up. Then the wave split into numerous balls of water, all of which flung themselves at every standing Knight in the room. The remaining knights who'd been coming in or who were fighting Naofumi and Eclair only had enough time to widen their eyes before they were blasted away by the large powerful balls of water.

The weird thing to Naofumi was that the spell completely ignored him and Eclair, the balls weaving around them like it was dodging a pillar before slamming into the Knights they'd been facing with the force of a sledgehammer. Every knight was carried by the force of the water into the back wall. When the spell receded, all that was left was a pile of knocked out and injured knights lying on the floor.

_'Yep, still okay.'_ Naofumi thought as the dog heads, who'd managed to hold onto their two knights despite the force of the water, threw the two soaked moaning knights into each other. They bonked heads and fell unconscious to the ground. And he'd thought the first spell had been impressive. Maybe if they somehow made it out of this, Melty could make for a good party member too.

Eclair nodded approvingly to the princess, who was breathing in and out heavily from the spell she had cast. "Well done Princess Melty. Your spellcasting has improved since last time." She then looked at the one knight's sword in her hand and tossed it back to the ground. "A little too much on the heavy side for me. But it was well made. I wonder if it was blacksmith Erhard's work." She said admirably.

Naofumi decided after seeing the spell to appraise Melty's stats. The girl was definitely stronger than he'd given her credit… however, his eyes only widened again when he saw that her level was even lower than Eclair's! '_How the hell is she casting a Zweite Level spell like that at level 17!'_ Was there something to Eclair and Melty that he was missing? But that should have been impossible since his status as a Cardinal Hero gave him access to powers and stat ups that normal people and even royals could never unlock.

He decided to think about it later. Right now, he was hearing a lot less commotion in the dungeons than he had been before. Something that surprised him. "Was that the last of them?" Naofumi asked.

"No. But the majority of knights should be searching the areas behind us for now. If the shifts and posts haven't changed since I patrolled down here, these are the knights who were positioned far away from the castle exit. The rest of our way should be clear." Eclair explained calmly.

'_Castle exit?'_ Naofumi thought confusedly. He didn't ask at first as they continued running down the hallway Eclair had pointed out before the fight. It was also at this point that they could see where they were going since none of the torch sconces had been put out.

True to her word, over the next minute and a half, Naofumi didn't see any more knights. In fact, the clamor of armor, footsteps, and yelling grew dimmer and dimmer the longer they ran. '_If we aren't exiting through the castle, where are we exiting out of…'_

Finally, Naofumi saw light other than torchlight. The three kept running towards what looked like a translucent stone wall... and ran out… onto a busy street?

Unfortunately, some unfortunate street vendor had his cart set up in front of the stone wall they ran out of. And Naofumi didn't stop in time to keep himself from slamming into the cart and knocking it over.

"No! My cabbages!" The vendor ran after his dropped produce.

Naofumi looked back in surprise. The exit they'd ran out of wasn't visible. The sun's position in the clear sky indicated it was still morning. And the street in front of them was busy with Melromarc's citizens going about their business. The only real ruckus for the moment was being made by the poor cabbage vendor who was trying to gather his cabbages before people tromped all over them.

"What, where's the exit?" Naofumi asked Eclair in confusion. He'd looked back at the wall they ran out of, but it looked like solid stone now.

"It's there, but it's covered by advanced Illusion magic. Only knights that know the right spell can access it from this side." Eclair answered. "This exit from the Dungeons was made in case royalty ever needed to flee the Castle in the case of an attack or attempted assassination." She quickly explained. "Now come on. We won't have much time before they've realized we've used it to escape." She urged both Naofumi and a tired Melty onward into the city streets.

'Naofumi decided not to question it further. He'd already seen some weird stuff since being summoned to this world. This would just be the latest on that list. He quickly pulled two spare cloaks out of his inventory and placed one over himself and the other over the tired Melty, who accepted it without question and put it over herself. '_She might be annoying, but at least she catches on quickly to situations.'_ Naofumi thought.

However, as they walked down the street, he realized he might have pulled out the cloaks too late, as he and Melty were attracting stares and whispers from some of the citizens they passed.

"Isn't that the Second Princess?"

"What's she doing out in the city streets?"

"I thought she was with the Queen over in Faubley?"

"And is that the Shield Hero she's with?"

"What would she be doing with that devil?"

"Doesn't she realize he already raped her older sister?"

_'Damn it.'_ He thought in frustration. Already some of the stares were turning into glares at him specifically. He changed his shield to the Book Shield and opened it. But it was already too late. He was recognized. And all he could do was follow behind Eclair since he still didn't know the layout of the town very well.

"Naofumi. The people-" Melty started to say in surprise.

"I know... I'm used to this treatment by now." Naofumi said, having to hold back bitterness from his tone. He'd been going around as a night merchant for so long, he'd almost forgotten that his real identity would attract this kind of attention…

"You mean, because of my sister-" Melty tried to say.

"Yeah. Just about everyone hates me now because of her, your Father, and the State Religion." Naofumi said.

The Church had spread the rumors. The Princess had accused Naofumi. And the Father had upheld the punishment. It was all their damn fault.

Melty looked conflicted. "I didn't think it was this bad…"

"Believe me, this isn't the worst I've experienced."

Melty didn't want to imagine how it could be worse...

They were still walking down the middle of the street. Trying to find an alleyway they could dip into so they could lose the crowd of glares and go to a street where they wouldn't be recognized. But then a squad of knights, Capital Knights, turned around a corner. They looked to be on high alert as they looked around.

Fortunately, they didn't give Naofumi and Melty a second glance thanks to Eclair. She had her helmet on, and, due to the look of her dirtied custom armor, she looked more like an adventurer than a knight. Leading a small group of adventurers with her. They walked past their small group.

Naofumi breathed a sigh of relief at that. '_Alright, now we just keep on walking, and-'_

"Knights! That's the Shield Demon!" A random bystander yelled, pointing at Naofumi. The bystander was wearing a rosary around his neck.

'_****ing damn it!'_

"He's kidnapping the Second Princess!-"

Before the knights could act on the realization that they had just passed Naofumi, Eclair jumped into their midst.

The scene that followed caused every bystander on the street to scream in terror and run away.

"No! Sir Naofumi isn't kidnapping me-" Melty tried to defend Naofumi.

"The Shield Demon is slaughtering our knights!" The original bystander yelled.

"Run, run for your lives!"

"Sound the alarms! The Shield Demon is in the Capital and he's going to butcher us all!"

Naofumi clenched a fist at all the screaming. His prior worst experience with people had been at the Sacred Duel. But this… "Sir.. Sir Naofumi-" Melty tried to say. Looking extremely sorry.

"I don't want to hear it!" Naofumi yelled at her in frustration. Just as Eclair knocked out the last knight of the squad. "Now come on! They know we're outside now! So we might as well make a run for it!"

Eclair agreed and they took off.

* * *

A minute later, they ran out onto the main street. No pedestrians were around anymore. "The West Gate should be a half-mile down this way-" Eclair was yelling.

"There he is!" "It's the Shield Demon and the Murdering Knight!" "They've kidnapped the princess!" "Kill them!"

Naofumi groaned. Several squads of knights were already running towards them from down the street. Pouring out of different alleyways like ants.

_'I hate this city!'_

Melty looked harshly at the knights. "Will you all just stop attacking us for one minute-"

"Save your breath, Second Princess." Naofumi interrupted. "Those are Church Knights coming at us. They won't care what you have to say as long as I look like the criminal here." He was able to see the rosaries hanging around their necks despite the distance.

Melty, despite being tired out from her spell, had the energy to pout at him. "Are you ever going to call me by my name?" She complained.

Eclair took on a sword stance. "I think I should still be able to handle a group this size with your help Sir-" Then some of the knights stopped and pulled out bows. The others continued to charge towards them. She grimaced, it'd be one thing to fight these knights in close quarters. It'd be another thing having to do that and worry about arrows at the same time. "I think they really dislike you Sir Naofumi." She said calmly.

"You're telling me." Naofumi nodded as he raised his shield protectively in front of him. "I think the term hate would be more fitting." He said dryly.

Either they could stay and fight up close. Or run and have to deal with the arrows. Either option would cost them precious time. Time that would allow reinforcements, more knights, maybe even Motoyasu to catch up to him. _'Why did I have to get unlucky with being the Shield Hero?!'_ Naofumi thought in frustration. He'd give anything for something good to happen today-

A giant, familiar, owl-shaped bird jumped off the roof nearby over the charging Knights. The large shadow passing over them caused many to look up in surprise. Was it a bird? Was it a plane?

No. It was one very unhappy looking Filolial named Filo.

"You bad people stole my daddy!"

The knights barely had a chance to look confused at who the giant chicken owl was before Filo dropped/plowed into their ranks like a large fluffy and deadly bowling ball. The knights screamed in terror as they began to get mowed down.

"What is this thing?!"

"It's another demon!"

"Run for your lives!"

"No, stand and fight!"

"**High Quick!**" Filo started to move as a blur in the knight's ranks. Sowing discord... and very hurt groins in her wake with her fierce powerful kicks. Which she kept on aiming into the crotches of most of the knights.

Naofumi would probably need to teach her in the future how that wasn't the only area you should target. But for now, he just stood in amazement. His mind trying to catch up to what was happening… '_Wait… what the hell?…'_ Naofumi thought in shock.

The knights farther back with the bows were shocked at first, and then they recovered and started firing arrows at the large bird. "**Fast Tornado!**" Naofumi didn't even have to act. Filo summoned a tornado of wind in between her and the bow-wielding knights. The high-velocity winds sent the arrows flying sideways into the stalls and buildings. Allowing her to continue dishing out punishment to the knights around her, who were trying to rally, but were failing miserably.

"So coooooooool!" Melty looked awestruck beside Naofumi. Stars were over her eyes, glued to the sight of the strange and powerful Filolial.

"What's… happening Sir Naofumi…" Eclair dropped from her stance as she stared in confusion as the Church Knight's charge disintegrated into utter chaos. All because of one big fat groin kicking, wind manipulating bird.

Naofumi's mind finally clicked back into place, and for once, he smiled broadly. "Filo! You're getting one hell of a feast for this!" Naofumi yelled happily. He already owed her an all you could eat buffet. But now that all you could eat buffet was going to be combined with a feast. He didn't even care if it'd take all day to make and cost several gold coins. This awesome loli more than deserved it by this point.

"Thanks, daddy! Glad to see you're safe!" Filo raised a wing to her mouth in happiness, right as she kicked another knight in the groin with all her strength. The knight screamed in pain as he was launched through the air Motoyasu style, dropping his sword and gripping his groin. It was done so casually that Naofumi started to laugh in delight. Again, he'd probably have to teach Filo not to only go for the groin when attacking bad people, but he didn't mind much at the moment since it was so damn funny.

"You mean, that's the daughter you told me about?!" Eclair asked in stunned disbelief. Recognizing the name Naofumi had told her yesterday.

Naofumi kept looking. "Of course. And If Filo's here, then that means Raphtalia isn't far behind-"

Yep, he finally saw it. The tornado disappeared, but the knights in the back didn't resume firing. They were too busy swinging their swords around, trying to slash the hidden individual knocking them out one by one. Looking closely, another one of the knights randomly collapsed with a sword hilt shaped dent in the back of his helmet.

Naofumi started to laugh in relief. Raphtalia was there too. Both her and Filo had somehow managed to sneak into the Capital. '_Thank the Gods!' _He couldn't think of a time where he'd been gladder to see them. Well, see one of them. Raphtalia was invisible for the moment.

"Naofumi... Is that your Filolial by any chance?" Melty asked Naofumi in a barely controlled voice that was on the verge of fangirling. Filo had almost entirely decimated the whole charging knight squad by herself at this point. Those that hadn't passed out were lying on the ground, clutching their cojones in pain. Wishing they were passed out like their comrades.

"Of course. I raised her Second Princess." Naofumi said happily. He started to walk forward to meet up with his party.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Melty released something that could only be described as the shriek of a fangirl. She looked to distracted and excited to realize Naofumi had just called her Second Princess again. Eclair and Melty followed behind him.

"**Fast Tornado!**" With one last large gust of air, Filo sent the remaining knights around her flying in various directions. The knights impacted with various walls, wagons, and other various objects. None of the Church Knights got back up after the brutal treatment they'd received. They were either too hurt, or too scared.

She looked around, making sure the knights around her were incapacitated. Then she charged towards Naofumi.

"Daddy!" In mid-air, she changed form in a poof of feathers. Naofumi laughed as he caught the little girl in his arms, circling as he hugged her. "Filo missed you so much! Filo and mommy were both so worried about you!" Filo cried happily.

"Yeah, I was worried about you too!" Naofumi said, feeling on the verge of crying. He'd never thought he'd be so happy to be reunited with this freaking little chicken loli.

"Ah! Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Melty looked even more awestruck at seeing Filo change forms. It looked like she would really start fangirling at any second now.

"Who's that Daddy?" Filo asked curiously as he set her down.

Before Naofumi could answer, he was pushed out of the way by Melty. Stars once more covered her eyes. "I'm Melty! But my friends call me Mel!" She said happily.

"Nice to meet you, Mel!" Filo said while smiling happily.

Melty almost looked like she'd have a heart attack. Filo had just used a friend name for her! That meant the two of them were ALREADY FRIENDS! "Here, try this!" Melty randomly pulled some jerky from her dress and offered it to Filo. Did she just randomly have jerky on her at times just in case she got to meet a Filolial!?

"Yayyyyy!" Filo transformed back into her large Filolial form and gobbled up the jerky-like it was candy. "Thanks, Mel!"

Melty started rubbing Filo's feathers. "So… cool…"

Eclair just kind of looked wide-eyed at the display. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that this cute little transforming monster girl was Naofumi's daughter.

"I can tell you're already going to get along with each other," Naofumi said, right as the last knight in the distance was dropped to the ground. He left the three behind to approach the person he'd missed the most the last two days...

Raphtalia's illusion magic dropped as she approached. She looked as well-groomed as always, but the bags under her eyes and the slight slouch in her stance indicated how she hadn't slept well since Naofumi had been captured. But now, she was smiling widely in relief. She had managed to find him, and he was okay.

"Naofumi!" She said happily.

He smiled in relief. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered despite looking so tired and weary. He opened his arms to hug her. "Raphta-"

**Slap!**

She slapped him.

Across the face.

Hard.

And yep, her attack stat was still as high as ever.

He gripped his face in pain. Raphtalia now had angry tears coming out of her eyes. "Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?! What the hell were you thinking to tell us to run away when you were hurt?!" She yelled angrily at him. "Don't you ever tell me to leave you behind again! Otherwise, otherwise-"

He quickly defended himself. "But you were hurt worse than me! And I wasn't planning on getting myself captured by Motoya-"

He shut up when she hugged him tightly. The angry tears had changed to tears of sadness and worry that fell down her face and landed on his cloak. "I'm… I'm so glad that you're okay." She whispered for only him to hear. "I… I couldn't bear to think about what they were doing to you… I was... so scared..."

Like a dam breaking inside him, he hugged her back. Some of his own tears of sadness and relief escaped and landed on her shoulder and hair.

He had been asleep for most of the last two days. He had woken in chains in front of the Trash King. He had been falsely accused and humiliated in front of everyone... but being separated from Raphtalia and Filo, not knowing if they were okay without him there, not knowing if they were trying to find him, not knowing if he'd ever see them again… that had hurt more than anything else he'd ever been through.

To be able to have her back. To have this swell of emotions going through him. To be able to hug her body close, to feel her hair, to be surrounded by the familiar scent that was her... It was one of the best feelings in the world… a feeling he didn't want to end...

…

"Eh hem." A strained cough sounded nearby. They both stopped hugging and looked to see Eclair standing awkwardly nearby next to Filo and Melty. Who had been talking with each other up till that point? Naofumi and Raphtalia started blushing, realizing how intimate the moment had been. And was it just Naofumi, or was Eclair also blushing awkwardly? "I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion, but we're in the middle of trying to escape!" She reminded them seriously.

"Daddy?" Filo grabbed Naofumi's attention. Melty had stopped petting Filo's wings to look up at him too. "Who's the weird armored lady over there?"

_'Ahhhhhh!'_ Eclair thought in shock. Again, had this been an anime, she would have shattered into pieces of glass on the spot. _'I am not a weird lady! I am a royal knight of Queen Mirellia, and I-'_

"That's not important right now."

_'... … AHHHHHHH!' _You know what, this is an anime. The world behind Eclair shattered into bits of glass at what Naofumi had said. The color leeched from Eclair's frame, leaving her pale. A mini ghost dangled out of her mouth. '_Does the fact that I gave everything to try and help him before really not matter?'_ She thought sadly to herself.

In real life, she was turned around, shaking at what Naofumi had said.

"She's right. We should be escaping-" Naofumi was continuing.

"Um… is she okay Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia interrupted.

Naofumi looked. "You okay, Eclair?" He asked.

Eclair quickly turned back around and stood at attention. "Never better, Sir Naofumi!" She lied with a smile on her face.

"Good, then as I was saying, let's get the hell out of here." He said.

A vein bulged in Eclair's forehead. '_That's literally what I just suggested!'_

Maybe it'd be for the best if she stuck to sword training. Getting romantically involved with a hero seemed like more trouble than it was worth. Especially one as dense as Naofumi.

"Hey, do you want to ride me?" Filo asked the still tired Melty.

Melty went from looking tired to looking like she had been infused with the energy of a hundred cappuccinos. "Would I?!" Melty swooped onto Filo's back in an instant. "So soft and warm!" She said gleefully, not even trying to hide the fangirlish voice anymore.

It was rather creepy, the double context that could have been taken from that short exchange.

'_You know. I could see why the Second Princess would prioritize chasing after a rare Filolial instead of coming to the Capital.'_ Naofumi thought, sweat dropping at the scene. He still didn't know what Filo was. But he knew whatever it was she was one of a kind since he hadn't found another Filolial like her. And Melty seemed to agree. "Alright, let's go!"

* * *

The remaining half-mile to the gates passed by quickly. Eclair ran ahead of the group and took down whatever knights tried to get in the way. She tried not to stare back too jealously at Naofumi and Raphtalia as she went.

Naofumi was holding Raphtalia's hand while they ran. He was filling her in on what had happened to him. From the stupid trial, talking with Eclair, finding out how she'd signed up to join his party only to be falsely accused of murder by Bitch and thrown into prison, and how the Second Princess had been letting them out of their cell when Church Shadows attacked. Raphtalia attentively listened. Not asking any questions. Just, absorbing in her mind all that her Naofumi had gone through until he'd finished.

"And did they try and hurt you?" She finally asked.

"Other than knocking me out, that assassination attempt, and all the knights that have attacked me up to this point, no," Naofumi said.

"Alright." She didn't say anymore. '_Those Shadows and Knights will regret the day they were born.'_ She thought ominously. The knights she'd spare since they couldn't really hurt Naofumi. But the Shadows, oh the Shadows would pay dearly.

At seeing the dark ominous aura coming off of Raphtalia, Naofumi sweatdropped and focused on Filo and Melty. They were already at the point of telling each other about their various adventures. It was… weird seeing how quickly the two had become friends.

Still, he didn't focus too much on it. Since, even with the dark murderous aura coming off her now, gripping Raphtalia's hand in his again made him happy in ways he never could have imagined. Like holding her hand despite fleeing for their lives felt... right? _'I really need to put a label on what I feel for her...'_

When they finally arrived at the square block before the West Gate, they found it had already been shut. However, Eclair had just taken care of the last knight guarding it. The few knights who'd been on guard duty in the square were all in a pile, knocked out. Meaning they had a clear path. Only the black gate stood in the way between them and freedom. "Filo, take down that gate!" Naofumi yelled.

"Okay! Time to get off Mel!"

Melty jumped off into Raphtalia's arms, and Filo rushed again at the gate. "**High Quick!**"

She blazed forward through the air and slammed into the gate with one of the strongest, most powerful kicks she had. A shockwave burst out from the point of impact. However, when she jumped back, Naofumi and the rest of the party came to a stop. Her kick had barely left a dent in the black iron bars.

"What the hell?" Naofumi muttered. "**Air Strike Shield!**"

The green shield appeared, jamming itself against the gate. Again, the metal barely dented. '_Damn it!'_ It didn't look it. But it had been well built for its job.

Raphtalia pulled out her sword. "**Light Slash!**" She slashed towards the gate, and a slash of light traveled off of her sword. It slammed into the two areas Naofumi and Filo had hit but didn't do anything.

"Second Princess, you released some pretty strong magic earlier. Do you have something that could bust the gate or the wall down?" Naofumi asked.

"These gates were built to withstand a siege battering ram and magic attacks. Even if I had the mana to cast that spell, it'd hardly do anything." She said, "And stop calling me Second Princess!"

Naofumi ignored the last statement and examined their predicament. Looking closely, he realized that two black iron gates were in their way. Both of which were around twenty feet apart. Even if they dealt with the first one somehow, there was still the second one. On top of that, the stone passageway that went inside the walls up to the control tower for the gates was between the two. Meaning they couldn't access it from where they were.

He also took note that the walls here were taller. This part of the city was at a higher elevation than the lower part. There was a bridge spanning either a moat or something he could barely see from this side of the wall. And that only a wide wooden bridge on the other end passed whatever the gap he was seeing between the walls and the ground was.

Naofumi sighed. "Fine then, I guess we'll just use Filo to jump us carefully over the walls one or two at a-"

"Naofumi!"

'_... Damn.'_ Naofumi turned around. Sure enough, another legion of knights was coming down the main road towards them. The mustached smug Royal Knight Commander was leading them with his array of Captains behind him. And approaching beside the Commander was none other than the bastard Motoyasu himself.

It looked like the Capital had brought all of its forces to bear to recapture him. Not surprising since they thought that Naofumi was kidnapping the Royal Princess and all that nonsense.

"You've gone too far this time Naofumi! Release the Princess this instant!" Motoyasu angrily demanded as he approached. He was still a good 100 yards out.

Naofumi couldn't use Filo to jump over the wall now. She wouldn't be able to get everyone over in time. And that'd be too many knights to fend off, not counting the trouble Motoyasu could cause even from a distance. "Release her, hell, I don't even have her bound!" Naofumi said angrily.

"Don't lie to me Naofumi!"

'_Wow, is this deja vu or what?'_ Naofumi thought sarcastically to himself as Motoyasu started to go on one of his long-winded rants about how Naofumi was evil and how everything was his fault and that he'd make him pay and so on. Naofumi was honestly tuning him out so he couldn't tell. He started moving his hand in sock puppet motions, mimicking what he thought Motoyasu was likely saying to him.

Motoyasu finally seemed to realize what Naofumi was doing after a moment and stopped his speech 50 yards away from Naofumi. "Are you even paying attention Naofumi!?" He angrily demanded.

"I don't know, you don't seem to pay attention whenever I talk you idiot!" Naofumi responded back heatedly. "How do you like having a taste of your own ignorance thrown back at you!?"

"Master Naofumi. Your antics aren't helping our situation." Raphtalia said with a sigh.

Yet she couldn't deny that she had missed his annoying antics in the time he'd been captured.

"How dare you respond so disrespectfully to the Spear Hero, Shield Demon!" The mustached Royal Knight Commander yelled angrily. All the knights cheered behind him. Now that they were closer, Naofumi took notice that these Knights were Capital Knights. Not Church Knights. Some of the knights at the front were donned differently than the lesser knights he'd dealt with before. Their armor looked more refined, and stronger… were these elite knights perhaps?

Eclair looked like she'd been slapped across the face. She stared furiously at the Royal Knight Commander.

"Now do as he says and release the Princess this instant!" The Commander demanded.

"Again, does it look like I'm trying to keep the Second Princess here captive?!" Naofumi angrily demanded.

"Daddy, do you want me to kick Spear Guy for you?" Filo asked.

A pale look went over Motoyasu's face at Filo's words. And he clutched tightly at his spear. However, before he, Naofumi, or anyone else could say anything or do anything, Melty moved several steps in front of Naofumi where everyone could see her. Unbound. Unharmed. And very pissed off. "Sir Spear Hero, in the name of her Majesty Queen Mirelia Melromarc, I order you to stop this foolishness at once!" She said authoritatively.

This shocked Motoyasu, the Commander, and the rest of the knights into stopping. They were a hundred feet away from Naofumi's party. And filled in most of the square block. Melty took a few more steps forward. Seeing how she'd grabbed their undivided attention now.

"I am not being kidnapped by the Shield Hero! He is not taking me against my will away from the Capital!" Melty said authoritatively. "In fact, I was sent by my mother Queen Mirellia Melromarc to escort the Shield Hero, his companions, and the knight Eclair to Faubley. Where she wishes to meet with all of them." She continued.

"No!" The Knight Commander started to say as the knights began murmuring. "It's obvious the Shield Demon is forcing her to say this! He's using her to try and escape-"

"Shut your mouth Commander! Did I not just say that I am here by orders from your Queen!" She snapped with authority at the Commander, silencing him. "Tell me, since you're so intent on labeling the Shield Hero a criminal. What logical reason would he have to kidnap me when I was the one that released him from his cell?!" She asked. Even before all this, she'd never liked the choice Father and Mother had picked to become the Commander over all the knights. The way he was acting now like he was supposed to hold all the authority here only cemented that fact.

The Commander didn't speak, and he and his knights didn't try to advance any farther forward. Motoyasu looked stunned. "The Shield Hero didn't try to kidnap me." Melty began speaking again. "In fact, he saved me from an assassination attempt right after I released him and the Knight Eclair. When it failed, the assassin yelled false accusations in an attempt to gather his cohorts to kill me. That is why we are leaving so abruptly without meeting my Father. I will not have my life, nor the Shield Hero's life risked any further than it already has."

"But, but Naofumi and his party have been taking down knights left and right! We found some of them in the dungeon-" Motoyasu tried to say angrily.

"Those knights are not dead, I assure you," Melty said calmly. "I took some of them down myself because, unlike you, those idiots were too intent on fighting him instead of listening to me. Even my own worthless knights who were supposed to be there to protect me were nowhere to be seen." Hearing the second princess call some of the royal knights idiots or worthless was like a blow to the gut to the pride of the knights. It was never a good day when the royals you were sworn to protect called you a worthless idiot.

"Now, I have orders to bring the Shield Hero and his party with me to Faubley to meet the Queen. So if you wouldn't mind giving the order to open the gates so we can leave Commander -" Melty was about to finish.

"Don't listen! My sister's been brainwashed by the Devil of the Shield!"

All of a sudden, Myne made her bitchy appearance from the ranks of the knights. The bitch looked as bitchy as ever. Dressed in the same armor that Naofumi had foolishly bought for the red-haired bitch so long ago. Murmurs came from around the bitch at what she'd said.

Melty looked caught off guard by what her older sister had said. "Sister, I'm being serious! I have orders from Mother to bring the Shield Hero to Faubley! You can't go against what our mother has said-" She tried to say seriously.

"The Devil of the Shield used his powers to brainwash my sister! That's why she's denying the kidnap charges! That's why she's saying they need to leave the country! The Devil of the Shield has her under a spell just like the rest of his party!" Bitch pointed accusingly at the group. "Now he's trying to influence all of us so he can escape with my precious little sister!"

It took only those few words from her to convince everyone. The knights roared in anger, glaring at Naofumi with hate. Though Motoyasu seemed a little conflicted by what Myne had said. "Myne, I thought I told you to stay with the other girls at the castle-"

"Are you serious?! Do you really believe something that stupid!?" Everyone looked at Naofumi. He'd never looked so pissed off before in his life. He almost did look like a devil. "If I really had a shield like that, why am I not using it on all of you right now!?" He angrily asked. "Hell, if you even try to use your brains to think about it, I wouldn't even be in the Capital in the first place if I could brainwash everyone in my way!" He yelled angrily.

"Shut it Naofumi! Myne's right!" Motoyasu looked pained to say it, but he still took an offensive stance again. "I'm sure it costs a lot of SP to brainwash someone! And that's why you aren't using that shield on all of us right now!"

'_What's with him?'_ Naofumi thought in confusion. One moment he seemed all fired up to take him down. And then the next, it was like it pained him to have Myne there. And now he was supporting her again. Was he bipolar, or just lethally stupid?

Whatever it was, the comment he'd made actually made a lot of sense. Maybe he couldn't brainwash everyone because of the amount of SP it'd take. '_Motoyasu isn't totally brain dead after all.'_ He was almost proud that Motoyasu showed something of a brain. Fortunately, Naofumi had a backup. "You sure about that?!"

Naofumi pulled out several vials of one of the last potions he'd learned to make from his medical grimoire from his Shield. One that required a little backstory.

Soul Healing Water. It's damn hard to find the ingredients for it in town stores since they're rare and expensive. They're also almost just as hard to make. He'd only managed to make a few of these potions. And he'd found they had no effect on normal people. Raphtalia said they tasted like chemicals. Filo said they tasted really weird. He'd tried it himself and agreed with Raphtalia that they tasted like Mountain Dew. However, while it hadn't affected his party members, his SP gauge had refilled from drinking it. So that meant it was a potion specifically meant for heroes… although he wished it tasted better than chemical soda.

Back to the present. "If it did cost me a lot of SP, then all I'd have to do is drink one of these to be able to brainwash you? Is that right?" Naofumi said sarcastically.

Motoyasu recognized the Soul Healing Water and grimaced. "Fine, I guess-" Motoyasu was actually agreeing with Naofumi on a point for once.

"Don't even bother!" Bitch said accusingly. "The castle mages are all casting magic on the area now to prevent your Shield from brainwashing anyone else you demon!"

And thus, the stupidity deepened as everyone looked to Myne again. "If your mages are able to do that, why don't you have them cast magic on my party members to free them from their brainwashing?" Naofumi refuted.

"It's too late. Those monsters of yours have been around you too long for the mage's spell to have any effect on them!" Myne answered haughtily.

Naofumi clenched his fist at Myne calling Filo and Raphtalia monsters. But then he smirked. "Fine. Cast it on those two then." Naofumi said as he pointed at Eclair and Melty.

His surprise comeback caught Myne off guard. "What are you talking about?!" She demanded.

"They haven't been around me for even more than a day. If you're not lying, then those mages should be easily able to free them before they're too far gone, unless your mages are weak bastards such as-"

"Don't listen to his words! That is how the Devil of the Shield brainwashes you!" Myne yelled over Naofumi at the knights who'd almost been swayed by Naofumi's common sense.

"But you've been talking back to me this whole damn time!" Naofumi snapped at her. "Stop being backward with your logic and just admit you're lying you damn bitch!" He'd just shown a major flaw in her argument and she was just going to pull something like that?! Even some of the knights in the back of the legion were looking at Myne weirdly.

"Draw swords!" The Commander, however, wasn't going to stand by idly any longer. The majority of his Knights had been convinced of the justice of their cause, and so they all drew their weapons out. The elite knights near the front pulled out blades that shined in the sun. Magic Mythril, maybe even better.

The only Captain behind the Commander that wasn't smirking was the same one who'd informed the Commander about the Shield Hero escaping his cell. He was frowning actually. As were some of the knights he commanded behind him. A few of whom had fought alongside the Shield Hero in Lute Village.

Naofumi looked frustrated, but Eclair grabbed his shoulder while glaring at the Knight Commander. "Trying to use Common Sense won't get us out of this Sir Naofumi. The Commander and First Princess want you dead. And the knights won't disobey their orders."

She was right. Some of the knights still looked uncertain, but it didn't look like they wanted to go against the First Princess's or the Royal Knight Commander's orders.

"Urgh!" Motoyasu readied his spear. It almost looked like he didn't want to fight. However, he trusted Myne was doing the right thing here. To go against that trust would be to go against his very being.

"We don't have any other choice now." Eclair took up a sword stance a few steps in front of Naofumi.

"I won't let you hurt my daddy!" Filo got in a ready stance.

Raphtalia said nothing, but she took a protective stance next to Naofumi. Ready to act as his sword.

"Sister, why…" Melty trailed off. By this point, she had moved to Naofumi's opposite side. Having backed away in fear of her older sister.

"My dear precious Melty," Malty said, feigning worry as if she was finally taking notice of her little sister again. "Don't you worry. You'll be freed from the Shield Demon's brainwashing soon enough... I'll make sure of it personally." Her voice was that of worry, but there was a threatening undertone to it.

"Sister, you're… you're insane." Melty said as if she was finally realizing it herself.

"Don't speak like that to your own sister. Now, come. Let's go home together now." Myne said as she held her hand out towards Melty.

...

"No…"

Naofumi was still trying to think of something to say, anything that could prevent the situation they were in from breaking out into a one-sided fight when a small hand grabbed the side of his shirt. He looked, and, for once, Melty looked more like a scared little girl than a royal princess. "I… I can't go back." She whispered. "I'll be killed... I know it. My sister… she'll kill me."

Naofumi looked from Melty to Bitch. She still held her hand out, but the look in her eyes. Her face was a mask of sympathy and care, but her eyes said otherwise. They looked at her little sister with contempt and spite. Just like whenever she looked at him. Just like whenever she looked at anything that could get in the way of her ambition to become the next Queen. It was despicable. It was monstrous. Twisted. Ugly. Even Melty could see it.

He took in a sharp gasp of breath as realization struck. _'That's why the Church Shadow attacked me.'_

The original plot hadn't been to assassinate Melty and pin the blame on him. No, the original plot had been to have all of them killed in one fell swoop. While they were down in the dungeons, where anything could have happened. Where blame could have been assigned without the need for witnesses. It'd be like killing two birds with one stone.

And of course, there could be only a few people in the castle who would have known exactly when Melty had planned on freeing him... and one of those was standing a hundred feet in front of him. _'__She's… she's so evil that she'd even kill her own sister...'_ Melty had said she was the heir to the throne instead of her older sister. So that meant if she died... then Bitch would be...

"Give the Second Princess back Naofumi!" Motoyasu threatened, pointing his spear at Naofumi. "If there's any good left in you, do it now so we won't have to fight!"

It was right there. The answer to possibly avoiding this whole fight. And yet...

"Come to me, dearest little sister."

…

"Please, Sir Naofumi… please help…" Melty quietly pleaded.

Melty continued to quietly cry… then she felt a hand pat her head. "Don't worry." She looked up in surprise. It was Naofumi that was reassuring her. "I'm the Shield Hero. I won't let anyone harm you while you're with me." He said seriously. He glared angrily at Motoyasu. It was one answer to their situation. But he knew it wasn't the right one. '_I'm done. I've run away for long enough.'_

Raphtalia was readying her sword to fight. "Raphtalia, I need one of your gloves." He said in a cold voice.

Raphtalia looked at him in surprise at first... But then she nodded and took off her right glove, giving it to Naofumi without question. It was times like this he was grateful she could read what was on his mind. Even when he had a maelstrom of thoughts swirling through it, she almost always seemed to know what he was thinking about. Without looking back, he walked calmly forward towards Motoyasu. The Commander was on Motoyasu's left, and Bitch was on his right.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Motoyasu asked fearfully. The knights behind them stirred uneasily as the Shield Hero slowly approached all by himself.

"What I should have done back at the celebration long ago," Naofumi said flatly. After a moment, he stopped ten feet in front of Motoyasu, looking him in the eyes. "I thought I didn't have a choice back then. I thought my only way out was to go through you. I thought that was the answer then." He'd thought the only way out was to follow Ren's plan. To duel Motoyasu, beat him, and prove that he wasn't who the people thought he was.

But that wasn't going to happen. That was never going to happen. Not when there was people like Pope Balamus, Bitch, the Royal Knight Commander, Trash, and Gods know how many other horrible people in power. He was never going to make a point to them. As Firo the beast tamer had said to him long ago, it wouldn't have mattered if he had raped the Bitch or not. He and others would still think he was nothing more than a devil.

So if nothing he did really mattered. "I know now what I should have done."

He raised the glove, and threw it to the ground.

Everyone there went wide-eyed at the action. But not because it had landed at Motoyasu's feet. He shouldn't have gone for the dog on the leash. Instead, he should have gone for the Master that had been pulling the strings.

The glove landed beside Motoyasu, at the feet of Bitch.

Her smug look evaporated faster than the morning dew in the sun.

Naofumi glared at her. "If you want to keep on hiding behind your lame schemes and convince everyone that I'm a brainwashing demon, then fine! I challenge you, Princess Malty Melromarc to a Duel!" Naofumi formally challenged the First Princess.

* * *

…

...

...

"Ha… hahahaha!" The bitch started to laugh, albeit, a little nervously into the back of her hand after a long silence. Some of the knights started to chuckle along nervously behind her. Thinking this was possibly some kind of joke. "I don't think there's really any reason for me to accept a challenge from a criminal such as yourself-" Malty started to say in her all high and mighty tone as she prepared to put down Naofumi again.

"If you want to go so low as to claim I'm capable of brainwashing people with this shield, then I'll show everyone here I don't need a skill like that to beat a weak and insufferable little *** whore like you!"

…

There was a short pause as his insult sunk in… and then Malty's face twisted with anger. "How dare you!" She yelled. This little peon was daring to call her by such names!

"What's the matter?" Naofumi asked, feeling a lot more confident than before, seeing that he was getting under Bitch's skin at last. "Afraid you'll lose to the useless Shield Hero you ugly pig?! Or are you not a pig? Are you a chicken?" He made chicken arms and even had the nerve to "Buckaw" mockingly at her several times.

Most of Naofumi's party was stunned behind him. As were many of the royal knights behind Bitch and Motoyasu.

Bitch steadily looked more and more indignant the more Naofumi spoke. "Oh wait, I know what it is. You're afraid you'll embarrass yourself in front of all your loyal Knights here when you lose against me?! Not that I'd blame you of course! Since, like, it'd be really embarrassing to lose to someone that has absolutely no attack stat whatsoever in front of all your loyal subjects! But I guess if you'd rather save face than admit you're too afraid to fight the Devil of the Shield, then that's your own damn fault you cowardly-"

Bitch growled angrily, interrupting him at the end. She looked crazy with how angry she was. And Naofumi smirked in his mind at having gotten such a great reaction from her. He didn't think Bitch could do anything at this point that would please him other than to drop dead. But she was proving him wrong with the look of hatred she was giving him. It was, besides the hug he and Raphtalia had shared after being separated for two days, the best feeling in the world.

"Give us space!" Bitch finally ordered the knights behind her. Who'd long since stopped chuckling.

"Wait. B-But Myne-" Motoyasu tried to say.

She directed a glare at him, causing him to gulp, stay quiet, and back away. "Give, us, space." She said each word as if they were barbed with venom.

'_So it is possible to rile Bitch up. You just have to do it properly.'_ Naofumi thought in satisfaction. He hadn't been sure if it would work or not since she preferred manipulating people from the Shadows. But it turned out, if you prodded the snake enough, it'd come out and strike.

"First Princess! What are you saying?! We can't-" One of the knights tried to yell at her.

"**Fast Fireball!**" A fireball launched from Myne's hand, slamming against the knight's chest. He was launched back by the force of the explosion into some of his Knights behind him. "I'll do as I please! Now do as I say and give us space to duel!" She fiercely ordered the rest of the knights.

Seeing the crazy red-haired Bitch not even flinch to attack a royal knight, the rest of the knights wised up and started to back away. '_This is going even better than I could have imagined.'_ Naofumi thought in triumph as he watched. Now with the threat of being immediately killed or thrown into prison again out of the way, it gave him time to think.

...

Naofumi felt a warm hand on his shoulder, and he turned. Raphtalia was standing behind him with a worried look on her face. "Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked quietly. She'd given him her glove, knowing full well what he'd intended to do. But she had to check to make sure he'd thought everything through.

"Yes." He whispered back. Malty was still busy shooing the knights and Motoyasu. Giving the two of them time to talk. Filo, Melty, and Eclair quietly watched from in front of the gate. "It's likely she's going to try and pull something during the duel to kill us. So I need you to climb up into that tower and open the gates so we can all escape before that happens."

"But, but what if there are knights waiting outside for us?" Raphtalia quietly asked.

"Motoyasu would be more of a problem. But as long as he stays here, Filo's wind magic should be enough to blast anyone who'd be hiding out there out of the way. And your illusion magic should be enough to fill any of the gaps in between to protect everyone else."

"... and what about you?" She quietly asked. "What will you do?"

"... I'll be fine… I'm not staying behind again. I'll come up with something." He said seriously as he glanced behind him at Bitch. Who was still forcing Motoyasu, the Knight Commander, and the knights to back the hell away. The hatred in his eyes burned as brightly as his determination. "And I'll beat her into the ground while I come up with it."

… Raphtalia gulped. She was afraid this battle would send the Naofumi she knew and loved to that place in his mind where he could disappear forever... But she also knew that he needed to do this. This pig had tried to ruin his life the day she joined his party. She had tried to ruin his life after surviving the Last Wave... Based on what Naofumi had told her about Eclair's predicament, she had been trying to ruin his life before he'd even been summoned. And now, she was continuing to try and ruin his life along with the lives of so many others. Including the life of her own little sister.

He couldn't just sit back and take it anymore. He had a chance to finally get revenge on Bitch for everything she'd done to him up to this point. And he wasn't going to pass it up.

He had to take it while he had the chance.

Raphtalia sighed. Had she been in his shoes, she knew she would have done the exact same thing. So she didn't try to dissuade him from the coming fight.

"Okay… If you're going to fight, then you'll need these." She said, pulling out Naofumi's Barbarian Armor from her inventory. Along with several Magic Water and HP potions she'd pocketed from the wagon. As Naofumi grabbed the armor, he noticed it looked different than before. It was like the light metal breastplate had been polished over, and the Pikyu Feathers that had been stuffed between the porcupine hides had been replaced with a different material. One that felt strangely soft and warm.

**Barbarian Armor 1.5: Effects: Defense Up. Wind Resistance (Small). HP Recovery (Slight)**

"What is this?" Naofumi asked Raphtalia.

She lightly blushed. "We stayed with Erhard last night. We were planning on going out today to find out where you were, but Erhard wanted to stay up all night to make some quick upgrades to your armor."

Naofumi was astounded. The anger left his mind as he looked at the improved armor in awe. "I provided some of the materials to upgrade its stats, and Filo provided some of her feathers to replace the Pikyu feathers so you'd have the Wind Resistance and recovery effects."

Naofumi looked in awe at Filo. Who stood back near the gates next to Eclair and Melty. She waved happily to him. A smile appeared on his face again, and he gladly took the items from Raphtalia. Who still looked nervous at how Naofumi would react to his armor being changed without his permission. "Thank you." He said seriously as he slipped the familiar armor on. He felt feelings other than hatred bubbling inside him now. It helped to clear his head, and let him realize what he was fighting for. He wasn't just dueling Bitch for the sake of revenge now. He was dueling to protect Eclair, Melty, Filo, Raphtalia, Erhard, the people of Lute, and everyone else this Bitch had ever tried to hurt and/or kill. As the Shield Hero, that was his job. That was his goal and desire. To protect those he trusted and cared about more than anything else with his life.

Once he was finished putting the last piece of armor in place, he placed a kiss on Raphtalia's cheek. "Now, go, make sure the others are ready to book it. I'm trusting you." He said, his face serious again before he turned to face Bitch. All arrayed in his glorious Barbarian Armor once more.

It might have made him look like a bandit chief. But damn, Raphtalia was right when she said he looked cool in it.

Raphtalia was shocked. Her hand moved up to where Naofumi had kissed her cheek. She retrieved her glove from off the ground, and almost in a daze walked back to where Filo, Melty, and Eclair were waiting. Still holding a hand to her cheek where Naofumi had kissed her.

"Is everything alright mommy?" Filo asked.

"Yeah… Mommy just needs a moment Filo." Raphtalia said quietly. '_Oh nooooooooo! Now I really want to kiss Master Naofumi badly now!'_ Raphtalia thought in a panic. The pecks on the cheek made her feel like she was on fire (in a good way)! It only made her wonder if she'd explode with feelings if he tried to kiss her on the lips. But was the risk of getting pregnant really worth it?

"Did Sir Naofumi tell you anything, Miss Raphtalia?" Eclair asked. Trying her best to sound formal and serious instead of sad and hurt. She definitely knew it now. This girl held a special place in Naofumi's heart. She really would be better off if she just let go of her fanciful childhood fantasies and instead supported Sir Naofumi, Miss Raphtalia, and their strange little daughter Filo in their future endeavors.

Raphtalia snapped out of her daydream. "Right." She brought the other girls in close and started to tell them the plan.

"So, before we start, will there be cowardly interference in this duel Bitch, or will you fight the Devil of the Shield by yourself?!" Naofumi asked.

Bitch scowled. "As if I'd need someone to interfere so I could defeat the Devil of the Shield!" She said arrogantly.

The Knights and Motoyasu had all backed up until there were three hundred feet between them and Naofumi's party. Bitch and Naofumi themselves were only a couple dozen feet apart in the center of the makeshift square duel arena. Which made up the open area in between the outer wall of Melromarc, and the buildings of the city.

The Royal Commander growled to himself. '_The damn first Princess…'_ He whispered orders to his soldiers. If she was going to be foolish enough to take on the Shield Demon by herself, then he wasn't going to allow her foolishness to cost her the duel.

Naofumi switched to his Light Metal Shield and took a ready pose. '_This time, I'm going to make sure I get to punch her in the face.'_ He thought determinedly. Nothing would stop him from accomplishing his task this time.

Come hell or high water, he was going to make her pay. And he was going to make sure his party was able to get away safely by the time this duel was over.

Bitch started the duel.

"**Fast Fire Arrows!**"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I recognize Eclair is a little OOC. I've tried reading about her, and reading some of her scenes in the Light Novel and the Web Novel, but there isn't really much about her. And until I have something solid I can watch from the anime (I learn better visually that way about how to portray a character) this is what I came up with for her character.**

**Besides, she's always depicted as serious and focused on swordsmanship. I want her to have more personality. Hope you all enjoyed today's chapter! Also, to the guy who asked, there might be an omake based on IQ2 in the future. We'll just have to wait and see.**

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_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**The Taste of Magic Water**

* * *

"Naofumi, what does this taste like to you?" Motoyasu asked, showing a glass vial full of Magic Water.

Naofumi took an experimental sip of the potion that helped replenish MP. "Hmmm, It tastes like Dr. Pepper. Why do you ask?" Naofumi replied.

"What's Dr. Pepper?" Motoyasu asked confusedly. Before Naofumi could answer, Motoyasu shrugged and continued. "Anywho, I'd say this tastes more like Mountain Lightning to me."

"... Mountain Lightning?" Naofumi asked in confusion.

"Yeah, it's like, the most popular soda in Japan right now," Motoyasu replied.

"But I've never even heard of that soda in my Japan," Naofumi said.

"I haven't heard of yours either," Motoyasu said.

"How could you not have heard of Dr. Pepper?!" Naofumi angrily asked.

"How could you not have heard about Mountain Lightning!?" Motoyasu asked indignantly.

"You're both wrong." Ren and Itsuki appeared. "It obviously tastes Clang Cola."

"No, it's more like Second Maid Lemonade!" Itsuki yelled.

"For the last time Itsuki, I've never heard of Second Maid Lemonade in my life!" Ren yelled at Itsuki.

"Second Maid?" Motoyasu started to giggle. "What happened to the first maid? Did she not taste good enough?"

"Don't you dare make fun of my favorite drink!" Itsuki yelled at Motoyasu.

It looked like a fight was about to break out between the three heroes.

"Wait, hold on a moment!" Naofumi said in realization. "I think I understand what's going on here." He pointed at Motoyasu. "Your Mountain Lightning is like my world's Mountain Dew." He pointed at Ren. "Your Clang Cola is like my world's CocaCola." He pointed at Itsuki. "And your Second Maid Lemonade is like my world's Minute Maid Lemonade."

The heroes all looked at each other. "You know, that actually makes a lot of sense," Itsuki said.

"We come from alternate Japans. I guess even the sodas we'd be familiar with would go by different names in our worlds." Ren said logically.

"Yeah, good on you for figuring it out Naofumi," Motoyasu said happily.

"... although, I have bad news for you Motoyasu." Naofumi said. It sounded oddly reminiscent of their first night together when they'd told him the bad news of the Shielder class.

"What do you mean?" Motoyasu asked.

"Your Magic Water tastes like chemicals," Naofumi said with a smirk.

"What! No way!" Motoyasu said angrily. "You take that back!"

Ren and Itsuki thought over Naofumi's words. "If Naofumi's theory is correct, then I'd have to agree," Ren said. "Mountain Ew tastes like chemicals in my world."

"And Mount Stew tastes worse than that." Itsuki agreed. Motoyasu looked at him in shock. "I'm sorry. It just doesn't taste very good."

"No, it can't be!" Motoyasu fell to his knees. "Mountain Lightning is supposed to be the best! I'd drink five of them each night because it was my favorite drink to help me stay up gaming!" He said, crying in agony over his favorite drink not being well-liked in other worlds.

"No wonder Motoyasu's brain dead. All the chemicals probably killed his brain." Itsuki said.

"And they probably killed his taste for good women too," Ren added.

"Considering how he still hangs out with Bitch. I could agree with that." Naofumi agreed.

"SHUT UP!" Did they have to rub salt in the wound!?

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	34. 34: Naofumi vs Bitch, Part One, Hope

**Before the original Author's Note, I'm going to ease a worry here. Even with a pandemic of Coronavirus going on in the world, I'm going to do my best to update each week on Monday. It seems you all will need something good to distract yourselves with more than ever, and so do I. So I'll continue to do my best to help provide that for you guys and gals since that's a great distraction for me too. Now, on to the original Author's Note:**

* * *

**This was the most requested scene in the last poll (new poll up for this story on my profile). And now, we're finally here. It's so epic I have to split the whole damn fight into two chapters! Naofumi is going to duel Bitch one on one. All alone. Mano a mano. (... yeah right! Since when do people in this world ever fight fair?!)**

**Will Naofumi win? Will he come out on top? How will the Commander have his knights interfere? Will Naofumi's own party choose to interfere too? Will Naofumi finally manage to punch Bitch in the face like's he wanted to for so long? Or will Bitch beat this little underdog into the ground?**

**Let's read and find out! (And go check that poll out and vote for what you want to see happen in the future)**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _25 more Favorites, 36 more Followers (Total: 1104 Favorites, 1290 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:**_March 16th, 2019 9:00 A.M. (MST)_

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**Chapter Thirty-Four:** _Naofumi vs Bitch, Part One, Hope_

* * *

_Start of the Duel (9 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

The start of the fight disappointed Naofumi.

For once, he was wishing something would happen similar to a few of the mangas he'd read back in his world. His strong emotions would help him discover some hidden ability or cool power he hadn't known about before. He'd launch a mega attack that would blow Bitch off the map. The duel would end. The other soldiers and Motoyasu would be too terrified to follow. He'd get to leave for Faubley with his party, satisfied that he had taken care of the red-haired witch. And everyone would get to live happily ever after despite the interference of an annoying trope.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

**Clang!**

As he ran forward, he ducked the volley of fire arrows Bitch had launched at him before jumping up and punching Bitch straight in the jaw. It would have been perfect... if it wasn't for the stupid familiar **Clang!** sound that filled his ears. The sound of his attack stat causing absolutely, positively, no freaking damage whatsoever.

Bitch stumbled back from the pitifully weak attack. More out of surprise at how quickly Naofumi had closed the distance between them instead of from the actual hit.

'_Are you kidding me?!' _It was then that he remembered this was real life. And his strong emotions wouldn't just connect with his attack stat to unlock some great power that could blow Bitch to kingdom come. Still, the fact that he couldn't hurt Bitch with a punch to the face angered him. _'Seriously Shield? I finally get the chance to punch Bitch in the face and you still won't help me cause damage?!'_ Naofumi thought beratedly to his Shield.

His Shield didn't respond... since Shields can't talk or read minds... He did, however, remember that unless he used his counters, got creative with the environment around him, or manipulated other people's attacks against each other or themselves, he was absolutely worthless in terms of attack. And since they were in the middle of a wide-open area doing a one on one fight, he didn't have much in the means of environment or opportunity around him to use against Bitch. Which meant the main thing he could use were counters.

The knights behind Bitch started to laugh. Even they could tell that Naofumi's surprise attack had caused no damage. "That's why no one fights with a shield!" One knight yelled out of the group.

Bitch started to smirk. "This is going to be easier than I thought." She said haughtily.

He was about to reply with some snide comment when his status magic finally revealed Bitch's HP gauge and level.

His eyes almost boggled out of their sockets.

She was level 66.

He was only level 42.

'_Maybe it's not just because my attack stat is nonexistent...'_ He might have been a hero, and Bitch might be only a hero's companion, which meant she'd be nowhere near as strong as Motoyasu. But a level 66 Hero's Companion was still not someone you wanted to duel at level 42.

"**Fast Hellfire!**"

'_****!'_

Naofumi blocked the baseball-sized ball of fire with the **Light Metal Shield**.

As a quick side note, that was also the third strike against him. He didn't have any shield counterattacks that he could use against ranged attacks. They only activated against melee strikes against certain shields.

How did the saying go? Three strikes and you're out?

"**Fast Hellfire!**" As Bitch prepared another baseball of hellfire, Naofumi really hoped that wasn't the situation here.

Bitch threw again, and he jumped back to avoid the ball of hellfire that hit the ground where he'd been standing.

"**Fast Hellfire! Fast Fire Arrows! Fast Fireball!**" Bitch cast them one after the other.

"**Air Strike Shield!**" Naofumi formed a large green shield in front of him, blocking the barrage of fire spells. '_Damn it! Why did I think this was a good idea!?'_ The anger he had against Bitch had most likely been part of the reasoning process. Having a one on one duel with her made perfect sense at the time.

Now, not so much.

The fire faded on the other side of the shield right as Bitch jumped over it. She had a sword gripped in her hands. The blade was a pale black with a gold hilt, and a Ruby was attached to the pommel. "Hua!" Naofumi barely raised his Light Metal Shield in time to protect his head from the overhead sword strike.

He'd almost forgotten that Myne didn't just fight by using magic.

Bitch followed it up with several slashes one after the other, trying to knock Naofumi's shield to the side the way Motoyasu had done during their Sacred Duel so she could stab at him. Her agility and strength had definitely received an increase thanks to her leveling and probably from enchantments to her armor and sword, but she wasn't as fast as when Motoyasu had used the **Chaos Spear** skill, and Naofumi had gotten much better at blocking, so he managed to block each of her strikes.

While the strikes didn't make his arm go numb, his HP bar dropped slightly each time her sword struck against his shield**. **His appraisal skill activated again as he used it on Myne's new sword. All he got was its name. **Magic Dragon Steel Sword.**

The term Magic meant it was enchanted. Since he'd never heard of Dragon Steel before, that likely meant it was an expensive material. And since he couldn't appraise it, that likely meant it was a high-level item with enchantments better than what Raphtalia's Magic Silver Sword had.

That goes to show you should never underestimate a rich and royal Bitch.

"**Chimera Viper Shield!**" His shield changed to his best physical defense shield. Bitch's sword slammed into it, causing no damage to Naofumi. Then the counter, **Snake Venom Fang (Medium) **activated. One of the gold vipers came alive, biting down on one of Bitch's shoulders.

"Augh!" Bitch immediately jumped back to get away from the biting viper. Only to hit against Naofumi's still active Air Strike Shield.

"**Lasso!**" Rope appeared from the Air Strike Shield. Binding Bitch to it. She struggled against the new bonds that had appeared around her gut.

_'Perfect!'_ All he had to do was use his Shield Prison and Bee Needle Shield combo and he'd be able to-

"**Fast Fire Arrows!**" Several fire arrows appeared around Myne, burning through the ropes binding her to the shield like they were nothing.

"**Shield Prison!**"

The ball of chains and plates appeared, but Bitch was freed and jumped out of the way in time to avoid being trapped. '_Damn it!'_ Naofumi thought angrily. That whole combo had been a waste of SP. '_That was the only way I thought I could get an advantage! Now I won't be able to try and paralyze her for a while!'_ His Air Strike Shield and Shield Prison disappeared. He wouldn't be able to use either again until their cooldowns expired.

Some of the knights laughed again at Naofumi's plan failing. "Did you really think I'd fall for such a simple trap Shield Demon?" Bitch asked haughtily. She remembered how Naofumi had used that against Motoyasu during the last duel. She got in a throwing position again. "**Zweite Hellfire!**"

A ball of fire, about as big as a basketball, blasted from her hands towards him. He raised his shield and blocked it, and while the majority of the blast bounced away from the shield, some of the flames licked at his sides. His HP bar dropped again.

'_She can cast Zweite Level Magic without using a chant too!?'_ Why the hell was this Bitch using others to do her dirty work if she was already this capable by herself?! Did she take pleasure in manipulating people, or was she just that lazy?!

"You know, I didn't appreciate Father having me train my magic abilities over the last month after Sir Motoyasu went into exile!" Naofumi quickly switched back to his **Light Metal Shield **and dodged a barrage of Fire Arrows before blocking a large fireball. "But now I'm glad I had to endure all that studying and training! Because it'll make roasting you alive all the sweeter!"

That explained why her magic was stronger compared to the blast of wind he blocked at the Sacred Duel. It was likely swordsmanship had also been part of that training.

Bitch continued to laugh as she sent more fire spells at him. Forcing Naofumi to dodge and block. A couple of her fire spells weren't powerful enough to cause damage. But the rest caused slight damage even with his best magic defense shield equipped.

'_She can switch between physical attacks and magical attacks. She's a much higher level than me. Oh, and I have no attack magic to counter her with.'_ At this rate, he wasn't even going to make it through the duel. He was going to be turned into barbequed Hero.

The fire barrage blinding Naofumi stopped, and he prepared to launch an Air Strike Shield at where Bitch had been last when she dashed in right behind her flames, slashing at Naofumi's off shield side with her sword. She had caught him so off guard with the tactic that he was only able to instinctively raise his arm to block the strike to his head. Her sword dug slightly into his skin, leaving a light cut behind. Bitch didn't let up. She struck at him with her sword again and again, forcing Naofumi to block with his Shield. His HP bar slowly dropped again.

He jumped back and changed to the **Chimera Viper Shield** to try and get some space and gain some time to think of a plan. But she sent more fire magic at him. He was forced back to the **Light Metal Shield** to protect against the attack. Then, almost immediately after she closed the gap and forced him on the defensive again using her sword. Attacking with a ferocity that only her tongue had displayed before in its verbal treatment of everyone around her.

_'Damn, I need to block one of her avenues of attack so I don't have to change shields constantly to avoid damage. But what is there-' _He wanted to facepalm. He didn't know attack magic, but he knew some magic! He just needed time to cast it.

He blocked another strike from Bitch. Then, when she moved to strike him with an overhead slash, he changed to the **Two-Headed Dog Shield **right before she struck it. Not only did it have a better defense that prevented him from taking damage, but it also had a nice counter that activated when her sword struck against it.

"Augh!" Myne jumped back as the two heads' eye's glowed and came alive. Extending out from Naofumi's shield and biting at her. She tried to swipe at one, and the other bit down on her arm. It didn't cause much, if any damage because of the difference in levels and because of how low the counter's actual attack was, but it hurt, and it kept her distracted.

Naofumi quickly took the time to cast two spells. "As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature, and protect my target! **Fast Guard! **And heal my target! **Fast Heal!**" Naofumi used the two spells on himself. A green aura covered him. The two spells increased his defense and healed the minor cuts and burns he'd suffered so far. Putting him back at 100% health. '_Hell yeah!'_

"Ha!" The two dog heads were burned by one of Bitch's spells. They retreated back into Naofumi's shield to escape the scorching flames. "Is that all you have Shield Demon! Those annoying tricks won't help you win!" Bitch sent another ball of fire at Naofumi which he blocked by changing to the **Light Metal Shield**, and she followed right behind her flames to slash at his off shield arm again. This time, however, the high-end sword bounced off his arm like it was made of metal.

"What?!" She looked shocked.

"Is that the best you've got Bitch?" Naofumi said back mockingly. "You'll have to do better than that if you want to win," Naofumi said as his shield changed again. Back to his **Chimera Viper Shield**. Before Bitch could react, the viper extended out again, biting her other shoulder.

"Gah!" She hastily retreated from Naofumi. She looked pissed. But he wasn't going to stop there. Now that his cooldown timers were done.

"**Air Strike Shield!**" He sent a green shield flying into Bitch's gut. She bent over from the force of the impact. It didn't cause much damage HP wise, but a hit to the gut was still a hit to the gut.

"**Shield Prison!**" Bitch became encased in a ball of green chains and plates.

"Let me out! Does the Devil of the Shield think he can just-"

Now he could go forward with his original plan. "**Change Shield! Bee Needle Paralysis Shield! Add Shield! Bee Needle Poison Shield!**"

Needles extended out inside the ball of chains and plates. Impaling the Bitch all over. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Bitch screamed in pain on the inside.

'_Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!'_ Naofumi thought happily.

None of the knights were laughing now. A few stared in shock at Naofumi. A few nodded their heads, having thought this would happen since they'd either fought by his side in Lute or had watched his duel with Motoyasu from the stands before.

The majority murmured amongst themselves. Wondering what they were supposed to do if the Shield Hero won the duel.

"The Shield Devil can't use a support spell on himself! That's cheating! We have to help the First Princess-" The Knight Commander started to rush forward when Motoyasu grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. "What are you doing Spear Hero?!"

Motoyasu grimaced as if in indecision... but then he firmly pushed the Commander back behind him. "Myne said she would handle this by herself. So I'm going to trust her." He said seriously. "And since Myne's using magic, I see no reason why Naofumi can't do the same." He turned back to the duel to watch.

He wanted to make sure this didn't escalate into a large fight that could hurt Myne's little sister. That was definitely something that couldn't be allowed to happen. Having a duel between Myne and Naofumi was the perfect way of making sure this didn't escalate into a full out battle. And, if Myne was right about Naofumi being able to brainwash people, it'd give the castle and church mages enough time to free Naofumi's party of their brainwashing.

Besides, it was Naofumi, how much damage could he possibly do?

The Knight Commander scowled, but he sheathed his sword and backed away from Motoyasu and the duel. However, he wasn't going to take this lying down. If the Shield Demon could use support magic on himself, he'd level the playing field.

He started whispering to one of his captains. "Get one of your squads into that side alleyway. I want them casting..."

The Captain who'd informed the Commander about the situation before glanced at him. He couldn't tell all that was being said, but he overheard enough. He scowled. '_He's ordering us to interfere, even though the Spear Hero told him not to?'_

He started whispering to one of the knights under him that he trusted. A fellow from Lute Village. "Go, warn the Shield Hero's party about..."

* * *

Naofumi quickly looked behind himself while Bitch was trapped. Melty was standing next to Filo. Worriedly petting her feathers as she watched the duel. Eclair was also watching, giving Naofumi an approving nod. She then looked above her at the guard tower, and back to Naofumi before giving him another nod.

Raphtalia was nowhere in sight. That brought a smirk to his face. The battle was so absorbing that even Filo hadn't noticed her mother had disappeared despite Raphtalia telling them the plan. '_Good, that'll make Raphtalia's job of opening the gates even easier.'_ He thought, before facing the ball of chains and plates again. If no one had noticed Raphtalia leave, then they'd be caught off guard when the gates opened. Which meant they'd have a few extra seconds at most of fleeing before anyone tried to follow. This could be enough time for Filo to use a spell before carrying everyone out and across the bridge before Motoyasu tried to react.

As long as she remembered what to do as soon as she heard the sound of the gate opening that is.

The ball of plates and chains finally disappeared. Besides a few holes in her clothes beneath her armor, Myne still looked okay. However, she was scowling deeply at him. Her hair was a mess. Bruises were appearing on her shoulders where she'd been bitten. She looked so crazy that she could have belonged in a mental asylum.

It was absolutely freaking glorious. He was the one smirking as she looked at him with rage written on her face. It felt oddly satisfying that she was angry with him, instead of vice versa. And he decided he was going to continue pressing that button. "What's the matter Bitch? Are my annoying tricks getting to you?" He snidely asked.

'_There we go. Now that's satisfying.'_ He thought as an angry growl escaped Bitch's throat.

Bitch's HP bar was actually starting to slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) drop due to the Chimera Viper Poison. And her movements were more sluggish. '_With her paralyzed, I'll be able to wait her out and play the long game. I'll be able to dodge her spells more easily and exhaust her MP until she's forced to attack me with that sword. Then I can poison her again and again with my Chimera Viper Shield until Raphtalia-'_

His thoughts of his possible victory were interrupted as Bitch pulled out a clear vial from her pocket. '_Wait, is that-'_ She uncorked it, and downed its contents. Her body started to glow as the unfamiliar potion took effect. The bruises on her shoulders gradually disappeared. On Naofumi's screen, Bitch's poison status and paralysis statuses disappeared, and her HP and MP bars refilled to full.

Whatever it was she'd drunk had restored her to perfect condition.

'_... Or she can be a royal Bitch and do that.'_ He thought sourly.

Of course, the Bitch was royalty. She not only had access to the best equipment, but also the best damn potions in the world.

Where was the potion that gave your attack stat a boost?! He'd pay top dollar for that!

"I'm just getting warmed up!" She raised her hands in front of her again.

"And help our target to achieve a victory. **Nature's Blessing.**"

"And hear our command to slow our target. **Speed Down.**"

The glowing effect from the elixir she'd drunk disappeared, but then a light green glow covered Bitch's body. At the same time, a light purple glow appeared around Naofumi before it disappeared. "As source of thy power and as the next Queen I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature, summon a fiery inferno that'll consume everything in its wake, and burn my target to ash!"

'_The next Queen? Isn't that a little pretentious? Also, what was with those twin glows-'_ Naofumi was thinking in confusion. He hadn't cast any magic.

"**Drifa Fire Blast!**"

'_DID SHE SAID DRIFA BEFORE THAT SPELL?!-'_

A large, star-shaped blast of fire came from Bitch. Naofumi stopped thinking and barely changed to his **Light Metal Shield** in time to block it. The familiar blue barrier appeared around him, but then the barrier shattered. The heat of the blast slammed into him and his Shield. He dug his feet into the ground to keep from being blown away by the power of the spell.

His HP Bar felt the heat too as it dropped. And it wasn't the small little dips he'd been receiving from Bitch so far. This was almost 20% of his health! '_Even with my strongest magic defense shield! What the hell is that kind of power?!…'_

The fire dispersed, and a raging Myne followed right behind. "Ahhhhhh!" Naofumi blocked with the **Light Metal Shield** again, but the sword strike caused damage again! '_What the hell?! My Fast Guard Spell should still be in effect!'_ Naofumi quickly switched to the **Chimera Viper Shield** again for the higher defense and to activate the counter for Bitch's next strike. However, the counter wouldn't activate. And he quickly saw it was because the last combo he had used had drained the rest of his SP. '_No! Why am I already out- DAMN IT! I forgot to use a potion to recover all the SP I used before the duel!'_

Bitch started to slash again and again. Even with his best Physical defense shield equipped, he was still taking small amounts of damage! This actually caused a small amount of fear to gather in Naofumi. The movements with her sword were also faster than before.

'_Why the hell is she suddenly a lot stronger?!'_

Was her own hate for him powering her up like he'd wanted to happen to him earlier!?... but then that'd mean-

'_DAMN IT WORLD! THAT WASN'T WHAT I MEANT WHEN I SAID TO HAVE THAT TROPE PLAY OUT!' _He was supposed to be the recipient of divine assistance! Not Bitch!

Seeing how blocking wasn't working, he went to dodging Bitch's attacks. But, again, her movement speed compared to before was phenomenal. He didn't even have time to try and pull out a Soul Healing Potion with how ferociously Myne was moving. And he was still having to block some of her strikes despite trying to dodge.

'_Wait. What if it isn't Bitch that's moving quickly.'_ He was able to pull up his status screen despite her constant attacks, and, sure enough, he found out he'd been targeted by a debuff spell. A speed down spell to be exact. '_How the hell did she cast it on me without me noticing!... or maybe it was because of...'_

Filo, Eclair, and Melty all looked worried now on the sidelines. "What's happening?" Melty asked Eclair. "I thought Sir Naofumi was doing well earlier, but now he's getting beat up trying to-"

"Princess Melty!"

Eclair and the others looked to the side. A single knight had snuck around the perimeter of the battle and was calling out to them from behind a wagon. It was the same knight the Captain had been whispering orders to earlier. "My Captain told me to inform you that the Commander is having knights interfere with the duel using support and debuff magic! He can't put a stop to it without being accused of treason!"

A fiery explosion rocked the battlefield as Myne unleashed another powerful spell. "He doesn't believe you're being brainwashed! And fears for your safety Second Princess! So please, help the Shield Hero to win-" The Knight quickly retreated into the cover of the buildings thanks to the distraction of the fight before another stray fire spell hit the wagon he'd been hiding behind.

"**Fast Aqua Storm**." Melty quickly cast a spell. Putting out the fire her older sister had accidentally caused. "Some of them still trust me..." Melty's face hardened. "Find where those traitorous knights are!" She ordered Eclair.

It took Eclair a few seconds of observing the opposite side of the duel… "There!" Eclair pointed to a group of knights to the side of the main group. They were hidden in an alleyway. "I think they're the ones using Support magic on the First Princess."

They had their hands up in front of them. And their hands either glowed a light green or a light purple.

Naofumi realized it at the same time when, in between one of Bitch's magic spells, he saw the knights that were interfering from the same alleyway. Their hands were glowing just like Bitch's had when she cast that wind spell of hers back at the Sacred Duel. '_Those ****ing bastards!'_ They'd interfered the moment things had looked South for their Princess!

But of course, what else could he have expected from the royal Bitch.

Naofumi blocked another fire spell. He gave a quick indication with his head at the knights, and then immediately went back to blocking another onslaught from Myne.

"I guess that means he's allowing us to interfere too," Eclair said, drawing her sword the littlest bit out of her sheath.

"Yeah, let's take them down," Melty said as prepared to cast magic.

However, before either of them could act, Filo started to chant. Thinking Naofumi had been gesturing to her. "As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature, and blow my targets away!" She pointed her wings at the group of knights. "**Zweite Gust!**"

The Knights who'd been so focused on providing support for the First Princess and slowing down Naofumi never saw the gust of wind that came from the opposite end of the field. Not until it slammed into them all at once. "Ahhhhhhh!" They were carried so far down the alleyway that they slammed into the wall at the end of it. They slumped to the ground unconscious.

The Commander looked at the dust kicked up from the alleyway in shock. "They, they just attacked our knights during a duel!" The Commander yelled in indignation.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Eclair yelled seriously. "I didn't see any of us make a move." Indeed, as Myne had shown at the Sacred Duel before, Wind Magic could be very hard to detect with the naked eye.

"Filo... why didn't you tell me you could use Zweite Magic already?" Melty asked.

Filo thought to herself for a moment. "Filo saw what bad lady over there was doing... and Filo felt she could do the same thing too." She said happily.

Melty and Eclair both stared at the big bird... "You mean... that was your first time... casting a Zweite level spell?" Eclair asked. "And you never knew how to do it before now?"

"Yep!" Filo said happily like it was supposed to be normal to learn to cast higher-tiered magic just by observing someone else doing it.

_'Sir Naofumi definitely has one strange daughter.'_ Eclair thought to herself.

"SO COOL!" And of course, Melty was all starry-eyed again at the fact that Filo was even more awesome than ever before.

* * *

Within seconds of the knights being knocked out, the green glow from earlier left Myne. She didn't take notice as she managed to strike Naofumi's shield again with her sword. However, Naofumi noticed how the impact didn't cause any damage this time. He also noticed that his movements weren't sluggish anymore. Whatever spells those knights had been using had been broken the moment they were knocked out. It must have been different from the Fast Guard spell he used which had a continuous effect. Maybe they'd cast some form of group magic that could be broken the moment they were attacked.

Either way, their interference was gone. And he was much happier because of that. '_Finally!'_ He jumped away again. Then he jumped in a different direction. Bitch's sword struck against the street. It felt so good to be moving quickly again.

"Stop, dodging!" Bitch jumped for him again, but her movements looked normal again. Naofumi sidestepped, grabbed her by her sword arm, and threw her a dozen feet away from him. She rolled against the ground. While she was rushing to get back up, Naofumi pulled out the vial of Soul Water and drank it down. A yellow glow surrounded him as his SP bar refilled.

Bitch cast several more Zweite level fire spells at Naofumi. All of which he blocked. Taking only minimal damage. Then she charged in behind her flames again. Going to strike at Naofumi's offside. "Ha!"

'_I knew she'd do that.'_ She'd repeated that same type of attack several times already. So Naofumi had already been prepared.

Instead of striking at his arm, head, or side, Bitch's sword once more slammed into his **Chimera Viper Shield**. Which he'd switched to his left arm while he'd been covered in flames. '_And cue __**Snake Fang Venom (Medium)**__.'_ The counter activated, biting Bitch's arm again before she had time to be surprised.

"Ahhhh!" She jumped back again, gripping her arm. She scowled as she pulled out another potion and drank it down. Again, her poison status disappeared, and her HP and MP gauges refilled. "As source of thy power and as the next queen I order thee, decipher the laws of nature, and turn this pathetic little peon in front of me into a burnt crisp!"

While she chanted, Naofumi did the same. "As source of thy power, I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and heal my target! **Fast Heal!**"

"**Drifa Inferno!**" A circular vortex of fire roared from Bitch at Naofumi.

"And heal my target!" Naofumi timed a short second chant to finish right as he was tanking the powerful spell. "**Fast Heal!**" He healed himself once again. Bitch wasn't the only one who could heal herself repeatedly.

"Aughhhh!" Bitch yelled as she charged at Naofumi again. Her attacks were becoming more random and reckless because of her anger towards him. She was putting in all this effort, and yet he wasn't going down!? "Just die already!" She slashed at Naofumi's face, and he blocked with his Chimera Viper Shield. Again, the counter activated, biting Bitch's arm again.

"**Hook!**" The viper then extended out and wrapped around Bitch before she could jump back and use a potion again. Naofumi started to spin, similar to what he'd done to Motoyasu during the duel. Unlike Lasso, Hook could only extend about six feet away from his Shield. Which meant the revolutions in the air came much more quickly.

"Stop this! Let me go this instant!" Bitch yelled in rage.

"Alright, you asked for it!" With one last spin, Naofumi released the Bitch and sent her flying. She flew so far that she slammed into the wall of a building near her own knights!

The stubborn Bitch, however, quickly got back up. "**Zweite Fireball! Zweite Fire Arrows! Zweite Hellfire! Zweite Firestorm! Zweite Fire Blast! Zweite…**" It was one Zweite Fire spell after the other that she 'fired' at Naofumi. Not even taking time to pause for breath.

Because of the distance between them, Naofumi was able to easily dodge her attacks. He just walked in a random direction, and the spells hit all around him. He even yawned into his hand to make a show of being bored!

Naofumi finally turned to Bitch after her barrage had stopped. She was breathing heavily after casting so many spells simultaneously. While he was still in good shape from the two healing spells.

"Nice shot, princess! Maybe next time you'll work on your aim!" He taunted.

'_As long as I keep her and the knights focused on me.'_ He thought as she glared at him in absolute hatred burning in her eyes. Part of him wondered why Raphtalia hadn't opened the gates yet.

"You… you're…" She started charging at Naofumi again. "You're a Devillllll!"

Naofumi prepared to receive her charge. The distance gave him a few seconds to prepare. However, right before Myne came within striking distance, she raised one of her hands up. "**Zweite Gust!**"

Wind magic whipped up from under Naofumi, throwing the cloak he wore over his armor up into his face, obscuring his sight. The spell didn't cause damage, but he was blinded! '_****!'_ He tried desperately to get his cloak out of his face.

"And support our target, that she may achieve a victory against evil. **Earth Assist!**"

"Ha!"

A brown glow surrounded Bitch, right before she thrust her sword through Naofumi's gut.

"Guh!" Blood spurted out from Naofumi's mouth.

* * *

_A minute earlier _

"Ugh…" The last knight in the room fell to the ground unconscious.

Raphtalia looked around. Making sure there were no other guards to deal with. Her ears flicked on her head, listening to the sounds around her. '_I think that's the last of them.'_

She'd managed to use her invisibility magic to hide while scaling the wall. Because of the mana she'd used earlier, her mana ran out shortly after she managed to fit herself into a window of the guard tower. Forcing her to have to deal with all the knights inside face to face instead of from the shadows. However, they hadn't been expecting a demi-human to sneak her way in, and so, she had been able to defeat them all with relative ease.

She moved back down to the bottom level of the Guard Tower. There were two wood doors on opposite ends of the walls leading out to the wall around the Capital. A stone passageway led down into the open portion of wall between the gates. A few knights laid on the ground here and there where they had been knocked out. And the large wood levers for the gates were connected to the ground near the left wall of the room.

She walked over to the levers that managed the gates. '_Okay, after I start opening the outside gate, Master Naofumi will abandon the duel.'_ She started going over the plan in her mind to make sure she remembered everything. '_Filo will then summon a large tornado between us and the knights as I open the inside gate. Master Naofumi, Eclair and Melty will escape on Filo's back. And I'll join them using the passageway between the gates. Then Filo's speed should be enough to outrun the Spear Hero and the other knights long enough to get back to our wagon near the South Gate.'_

It was a solid plan. '_Filo should be able to carry all of us to the wagon and have the energy to spare to pull all of us after that. As long as there are no complications, this should be as good as-'_

Raphtalia's ears flicked on her head. '_What is that?'_ She could hear the noise of the duel happening outside down below. But she was starting to hear another noise. A calamity of noises actually. On the other side of the wall.

Raphtalia abandoned the levers and ran back up to the higher level of the Guardtower. She looked out of one of an observation window to look outside. She couldn't tell what she was hearing at first when she looked South, but when she looked North, her eyes widened drastically.

Outside on this section of wall, there was a strip of land along the outside. And behind that was a wide moat that surrounded most of the Capital's walls except the southern portion. Providing another layer of defense. A stone bridge about five dozen feet wide and a hundred feet long spanned the moat. And distantly in the north, running along the outer edge of the moat she saw an army of knights on horseback charging towards the bridge. A few of them held up banners. Depicting the rosary of the Three Heroes Church. '_Oh no!'_ They still looked to be a half-mile out. But it looked like they had only minutes before they got to the gate.

And leading them was-

"Onward! We must cut off any chance of escape so we can purge the world of the Shield Demon!" Altara the nun yelled fiercely to the large cohort of what had to be Church Knights behind her.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" They all cheered in unison. Like an army going to war.

It looked like there were hundreds of them. Maybe even a thousand. '_Filo and I can't take out that many!'_ Raphtalia thought frantically. And they were close to cutting off their planned escape route!

She ran to an observation window that looked out over the duel taking place. She looked out to call to Eclair about what she'd seen outside, only to stare down in greater horror.

Naofumi did not look good at all.

* * *

"Augh!" Naofumi gasped in pain and knocked Bitch's sword away with his shield so he could cover his latest injury. A good-sized cut on his arm. His lips were stained with his own blood. Quickly looking down, he found he was bleeding from several different gashes. Including the stab wound to his abdomen.

The Shield's resistance to pain was astounding. Naofumi was still able to stand and fight even after being stabbed all the way through the gut. However, it still hurt, a lot. And his blood was starting to drip onto the stones.

She continued slashing at him in a blood fury frenzy. As Naofumi worked on blocking each of her lightning-quick strikes, again and again, he noticed that his HP bar was dropping! Not just from the blocked strikes, but from a bleeding status effect! There were times fighting felt like a game. And then there were times like this where it was definitely real!

'_That ****ing support magic!'_ He activated the counter on his Chimera Viper Shield again and again and again as Myne struck at him to try and stop her attack. The vipers managed to bite down on her repeatedly, and yet she wasn't stopping. Hell, it was like she barely felt it and pressed on.

"And heal my target-" Naofumi tried to chant, but then Myne angrily slashed up at his face. The attack was so quick that he barely blocked it in time. And then she followed it up with another thrust to his gut which he had to move to block again. She wasn't giving him any time to focus on healing!

"Eclair! Do something!" He yelled back.

"Where are they supporting the First Princess from this time?" Eclair asked.

Melty, from on top of Filo, was looking over the crowd of knights. Trying to find the knights that were interfering with Naofumi's duel now. "They're near the back of the crowd." She finally said as she saw a group of knights huddled together, their hands raised towards the First Princess. There were several rings of knights surrounding them, however.

"Hmmm. Those bad guys are really trying to protect them this time." Filo said sadly. "Filo won't be able to blow away those bad guys with everyone in the way," Filo said worriedly.

"Don't worry Filo. I'll think of something." Melty said while petting the large Filolial.

"Then how about we interfere with some support magic ourselves." Eclair raised her hands towards Naofumi. "I order thee, decipher the law's nature, and embrace my target in a shielding warmth and protect him from all harm. **Guiding Light's Protection.**"

A light, almost indistinguishable glow surrounded Naofumi. Slightly boosting his defense. It was barely anything compared to his Fast Guard spell, but the slight increase in defense helped.

"Hey, stop helping the Shield Demon!" The Commander yelled on the opposite side of the field indignantly.

Eclair dropped her hands and glared at her former commander. "Then stop helping the First Princess!"

"Ha, as if I'd need to do that. The Shield Demon is weak, pathetic, useless!"

Eclair fumed. But then she heard Melty start chanting next to her. "As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature, and form a pit for my targets." She lowered her hands towards the ground from on top of Filo. "**Earth Hole.**"

"... Aughhhhhh!" In the back of the group of knights, the ones that had been using support magic on Bitch suddenly fell into a pit that appeared beneath them.

Eclair had almost forgotten. The first princess had affinities for Fire and Wind. While the Second Princess had affinities for Water and Earth. Her own affinities were for Light and Support.

The brown glow that had entered Bitch came off her like the green glow. And immediately after, her movements slowed, and her attacks lost the oomph they had before.

"Stop brainwashing the Second Princess into helping you!" The Commander yelled angrily at Naofumi.

Naofumi didn't even acknowledge the stuck up bastard. This time, when the viper bit Bitch again, she screamed as if she was finally feeling the pain of the bite. She backed away, gripping at her arms which were bruised and covered in bites. As if she were finally realizing how badly she'd been hurt while she'd been hurting Naofumi.

"And heal my target! **Fash Heal!**" Naofumi finally finished his healing chant, healing some of the cuts he had received. Since he had time, he also drank an HP potion to help with his gut stab wound along with another Soul Healing potion because of the number of times he'd used **Snake Venom Fang (Medium)** on the Bitch. He looked back to Eclair and Melty. Melty looked exhausted again from her last spell.

"Keep it up! I want no more interference from those pathetic bastards!" He yelled before he faced Myne. '_Damn it! Why hasn't Raphtalia opened those gates yet!'_ He didn't know how much longer he could keep the duel up with the knights choosing to interfere again and again! He charged Bitch with his shield up in front of him to slam into her as she was about to drink another vial of the elixir she was drinking.

Filo helped by pointing out the groups of knights that tried to gather to cast more magic. Another group of knights tried to interfere, but Melty sent them falling into another **Earth Hole** spell to stop them.

Myne, on instinct, dodged to the side and attacked his shield again. Which, again, activated the Counter **Snake Venom Fang (Medium)** against her. "Aughhhhhhhhhh!" She screamed in pain. She'd forgotten to drink the elixir she'd tried to pull out from her inventory.

"**Air Strike Shield!**"

Bitch dodged to the side, barely avoiding the flying shield.

"**Shield Prison!**" Bitch again barely avoided being encased in the ball of green plates and chains again.

"Ahhh!" Naofumi once more tried to punch her in the face.

**Clang!**

Only to get the same damn sound he'd gotten before. His attack stat was still too low to damage her.

"**Zweite Fire Blast!**" Bitch didn't even stumble back. She countered by throwing both her hands up into Naofumi's gut and casting one of her stronger Zweite Fire Spells point-blank.

**Boom!**

Naofumi was blasted back by the force of the explosion. Bitch was also blasted backward into a building by the force of her close up spell.

Naofumi groaned as he got back up. Despite his healing spells and the HP potion he'd taken, his gut still felt sore. The close up spell exploding on his gut also hadn't helped. He checked his wounds, and though his armor was smoking and cut in places, and stained with his blood, his gut was fine. Except for a scar and some burns.

"**Fast Heal.**" A green glow covered him. The burns faded away, but the scar remained. There was likely a similar scar on his back where Bitch's sword had exited him.

Bitch stumbled back up out of the building she'd crashed into. Laughing a little too crazily as she pulled out another elixir from her inventory. '_Come on! How many of those does she have?!'_ Naofumi thought irritably.

She drank it down, and, once again, her HP bar, which had dropped to half because of all the Chimera Viper Venom, refilled to full. Her poison status effect also disappeared. And, you guessed it, her MP was also fully recharged. Which meant-

"This time! I'm going to destroy you!" Bitch yelled crazily. It was time for another Drifa spell. "As source of thy power and as the next Queen I order thee!"

Naofumi started to look through his list of skills. He was running low on mana, so he quickly drank a Magic Water potion. He was burning through his potions like crazy. And he didn't want to try and tank another Drifa level spell. He needed something he could defend himself with!

'_Come on! What is there to use! What is THERE TO USE?!'_ His Air Strike Shield and Shield Prison were still on cooldown. He wasn't a high enough level yet to use Meteor Shield. '_Lasso, no! Dog Bite, no! Hook, no!'_ None of his available skills weren't meant to be used to block this type of spell. None of them except-

"**Royal Shield!**"

A gold barrier with the crest of a crown appeared five feet in front of him. He grimaced as Myne continued to chant. "Decipher the laws of nature. Burn my target with a ball of fire so great as to leave nothing but ash in its wake! Burn everything in your path, and leave none standing!"

'_It hasn't worked on the royal knights. It didn't work on that king boss monster in the_ forest.' That was why he'd avoided using it the whole duel. It had been next to useless ever since he'd unlocked it from the **Royal Guard Shield**._ Please, if it can work on anyone, make it work against this annoying Bitch!'_ He thought pleadingly to any power that might be listening. He held up his **Light Metal Shield**. Just in case the skill proved to be useless once again.

Bitch finished her incantation. "**Drifa Fireball!**"

The biggest ball of fire Naofumi had ever seen came blasting through the air at him. This thing was huge! The fast fireballs were like the size of baseballs. The Zweite fireballs were the size of exercise balls. This thing was the size of half a carriage!

He dug his feet into the ground. Preparing to tank the spell if he had too. '_Who am I kidding? This skill is going to fail. I'm going to get hurt again. And then I'm going to have to come up with another plan for buying enough time for-'_

And then, the impossible happened.

The spell slammed into the gold-colored barrier, and instead of it shattering like it had every other damn time he'd tried to use it for defense, the crown crest that was in the center of the barrier activated! Glowing an even brighter gold! '_What the hell?'_ That had never happened before.

"What, what sort of devilry is this-" Bitch was saying in confusion. His barrier should have shattered instantly after being hit by a spell that powerful.

Suddenly, the fireball disappeared into the crown like a sponge absorbing water. Then, in a blaze of glory, another fireball just as large (with half of the original attack) came out of the barrier towards Bitch.

Bitch, in complete and utter astonishment at what had just happened, didn't even think to dodge as her own spell flew back and slammed into her.

"Ah! AHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed in pure pain. It might have been halved, but a half damage Drifa level spell still hurt much more than the average Zweite spell! And it was way more than what she was expecting from a pathetic peon like Naofumi.

'_Yes... YES! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!'_ Naofumi looked ecstatic! He wanted to sing! He wanted to do a victory dance! He wanted to run up to somebody (preferably Raphtalia) and kiss her on the lips. Because he'd finally done it! He'd finally done major damage against an opponent! And even better, it was freaking BITCH he'd managed to do it too! It was amazing! It was a miracle!

And boy was it a game-changer for his mind.

'_Why am I thinking about running from this duel early?! I'm not stopping here!'_ With new confidence and hope surging through his veins, Naofumi rushed towards Bitch. Who was still trying to recover from being hit by her own powerful spell.

**Pow!**

It got even better. His Royal Shield Barrier, which was still up, slammed into Bitch like a battering ram. While it didn't really damage her since it was meant more for defense. It still sent her flying like a rag doll through the air.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" She screamed.

The cooldown for a skill was finally done. "**Air Strike Shield!**"

Bitch slammed into a green Shield with a groan. "**Lasso!**"

She was bound to the Shield by the rope that appeared from it.

"**Fast Fire-"** Before she could finish the spell, Naofumi slammed his Chimera Viper Shield into Bitch's face. **Snake Venom Fang (Medium)** activated once more, biting her forehead. "AHHHHHH!" She screamed in pain.

'_Not today!_' She was not going to escape this combo. "**Change Shield!**" Almost as if on instinct, Naofumi jumped back and drank his last Soul Healing Potion. As if he'd realize what he needed, no, wanted more at this moment than anything else.

His **Chimera Viper Shield** changed to the **Light Metal Shield**. And then the **Light Metal Shield** changed. Becoming translucent, and releasing a blue glow that bathed him in light.

"No way!"

"What's happening!"

"What is this!"

The knights who'd still been trying to follow their Commander's orders to interfere despite the Second Princess's interference went wide-eyed at the new shield. Motoyasu himself went wide-eyed, but it was because he'd seen that same shield himself once before.

Raphtalia finally jumped down from the wall of the Tower. She would have come down immediately, but when she'd ran down to the level with the levers, another group of knights had charged into the room that she had to deal with. They'd taken too much of her time defeating them. And she looked out of breath.

"Miss Raphtalia? What's going on with Sir Naofumi!" Eclair asked her in bewilderment.

Raphtalia looked in fear at the duel. Fearing that Bitch had hurt him even more badly than before. But then her face changed from fear to puzzlement. And then from puzzlement to glee. Her tail started to wag erratically. "Master Naofumi... he's..." Raphtalia said, sounding excited to finally see the Shield that hadn't appeared for over a month.

Naofumi wasn't badly injured anymore. In fact, he was just about to win. Because he was now wielding the **Shield of Hope I**.

Myne struggled against her binds. Because of the Chimera Viper Poison in her face, she started screaming and launching more fire at Naofumi himself. Yet an even greater translucent blue barrier appeared around him, protecting him from the fire attacks. The **Shield of Hope I** had a much greater magic defense than the **Light Metal Shield**. So he took no damage at all from the desperate onslaught.

"FOOLISH MORTAL!" Naofumi screamed the text that came onto his status screen that came with the skill. "YOU STAND CONDEMNED FOR YOUR UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENTS HERE TODAY! I DISPENSE MY JUSTICE ON YOU, AND STRIP YOU OF THAT WHICH PROTECTS YOU MOST! I CAST MY WORDS TO THE HEAVENS!" The Air Strike Shield and binds started to glow bright green in response to his words.

"No! NO! STOP THIS! PLEASE!" Bitch suddenly started to beg. Tears, crocodile tears, fell from her wicked eyes as she tried to give the best fearful and remorseful face that she could to Naofumi.

Yet he could see through it. He could see into her soul. It was dark, vile, evil, just like her. It was the same eyes that had stared at her little sister. The same eyes that had looked down on him in the arena. The same eyes that had planned on condemning him the day she'd joined his party. She was always the same. She'd never change her ways.

He didn't even hesitate as he closed his fist. "NOW SUFFER! HOPE! ASUNDERRRRRRR!" Naofumi's scream echoed throughout the Capital.

"NO! NOOOOOOOOO-"

**Kch!**

And then it happened.

Bitch's armor, the expensive armor she'd been wearing ever since the day she'd joined Naofumi's party, the armor she'd fooled him into buying for her… the armor she'd had special enchantments applied to, the armor she'd spent so much money improving because of how great it looked on her… her royal, expensive armor finally shattered. Disappearing into a haze of green particles. The nice flirty woman, the niceness she'd shown, everything that had been connected to that day disappeared. Leaving the girl who'd been hiding underneath it all along. The vile, dark-hearted, evil Bitch.

Motoyasu and the knights stared in shock.

Eclair, Melty, and Filo looked confused. This being the first time any of them had seen the skill in action.

And Raphtalia... she looked like she was going to explode with happiness. _'He did it! Naofumi finally unlocked the Shield from the Duel Arena!'_ And boy did it look good on him.

And who was he to think that would be such a stupid trope?

Myne fell to the ground. She was, thankfully, still dressed in clothes underneath that armor. But now there was nothing to protect her. Nothing anymore.

Naofumi had activated the other effect of Hope Asunder to make sure of it. It left him with barely any SP left. But he wouldn't be using any SP for what he was about to do next.

Bitch coughed as she tried to get back up. To continue fighting. To put the Shield Hero in his pathetic little place. "If you think that stupid shield of yours is going to stop me, then-" She was yelling.

**Pow!**

When, to her complete and utter surprise, as well as everyone else's, Naofumi punched her in the face, shutting her up. Unlike before, this time, her skin gave way to the force of his attack stat. His fist slammed into her teeth. And she fell back down to the ground from the force of the impact.

It had caused her damage. Equal to the amount of Naofumi's extremely low attack stat. It was low… but it appeared even a weak and pathetic shield could cause damage if the target's defense stat was low enough.

After all, how do you defend against damage when your own defense is currently a big, fat, ugly, low-rotten **0!**

"Stop! Stop it-" Myne tried to get back up again. But Naofumi again calmly punched her in the face, sending her back into the ground. Then he jumped knees first onto her gut, knocking the breath out of her. He grabbed her by the sleeve of her shirt. And started to punch her in the face again, and again, and again. Each punch landed, and each one hurt.

"Augh!-" Myne angrily swiped at Naofumi with her fancy sword, but he grabbed her wrist with the hand formerly holding her up and then headbutted her face. The action caused her head to hit the ground and she dropped her sword. His face was a mask of calm as he continued with his calm, calculated assault on her precious, manipulative face.

Hope Asunder's other effect, which could be used to drop a target's defense by one point for every point of SP he used and deliver the target half the damage, would only last for five minutes. She had already taken damage from her own spell along with the effects of Hope Asunder. And he wasn't going to stop. Not now. Not when he had her at his mercy.

And so, for the next couple of minutes, he continued to punch her. He didn't even give Myne time to speak anymore. He just treated her like a punching bag, punching, repetitively, without pause, without a smile. Without a thought. Bitch went from screaming in anger, to begging for her life, to moaning in pain, and then to plain submission, as the beating continued.

The Knights, the Commander, and Motoyasu watched on in horror. And while Raphtalia, Eclair, Filo, and Melty had been watching with bright eyes at first when Naofumi had unleashed his skill and started the beating, now they were starting to look horrified too. Especially Raphtalia.

'_No…'_ The bright blue that had been surrounding Naofumi because of the **Shield of Hope I** was beginning to fade away. Being replaced by a darker aura. The Shield was losing its glow. '_Please... not now…'_ She internally begged. '_Not when he's finally won... __Please, don't take him away from me!'_

Naofumi paused. Bitch's HP bar was almost empty. '_I can end this all right now…' _It'd only take a few more punches. He could do it. He could finally end this pathetic Bitch's life. The dark aura was intensifying. Calling out for her blood. Calling out for her death.

'_I can do it... I can kill this-'_ Naofumi was thinking darkly as he raised a fist.

Raphtalia took a step forward. "Master Naofumi! Please! Stop!"

Naofumi suddenly snapped back to himself at Raphtalia's voice. '_What the hell?!'_

"Please! Don't let her destroy you like this!" Raphtalia cried pleadingly.

He looked at his fists, covered in blood. He then looked down and saw Myne beneath him. Her face was all beat up. Bruises were appearing on her arms, shoulders, chest and gut. Her face had taken the majority of the beating.

'_Holy hell…' _Somehow, without having meant too, he had beat her within an inch of her life. His hatred for the Bitch had shone so strongly through all the Hope that had carried him to her defeat and had made him lose control. The glow that had been surrounding him before was almost entirely gone. The Hope having given way to something much more sinister. His shield looked to be on the verge of changing into something far worse. '_I… I almost lost it…'_

He took in a deep breath to calm himself. He hated the Bitch. He hated her a lot… But he wasn't going to just kill her when she was already beat. He wasn't going to sink to her level. He switched from the **Shield of Hope I** back to the **Chimera Viper Shield**. The remainder of the blue glow around him disappeared, and his shield's gemstone went back to normal.

Besides, he couldn't say he was displeased with the way Bitch looked beneath him now. It'd be a shame to end her suffering so prematurely.

He got back up. Wiping Bitch's blood off on his cloak. "Well well, so this is what the Bitch Princess is capable of without her pathetic schemes or loyal henchmen to back her up." He said down to her mockingly.

The Commander finally sputtered back to life. "You, you devil!" He tried to charge past a stunned Motoyasu but was held back by his own Captains. After seeing what they had, they did not want to lose their Commander too.

"What's the matter?! Too afraid to take on the Shield Devil!?" Naofumi yelled at the knights. Almost all of whom backed away in fear.

Raphtalia sighed in relief. A part of her knew that Naofumi could have continued beating on the downed pig since her defense stat was still at 0 for another minute. Yet he knew he had already won. And was refusing to lower himself to Bitch's or the Commander's depravic levels. The dark aura she'd sensed from him before had already faded away.

Seeing that no one else wanted to run forward to interfere, Naofumi looked back down at the pathetic Bitch. "You know, I say if you want something done right, it's better to do it yourself. But I don't think you're capable of that since you can't beat someone with a ZERO ATTACK STAT!" He emphasized at the end.

Myne moved, rolling over onto her hands and knees. Blood fell from her bloody nose onto the ground. She spat out a tooth he had managed to dislodge from her mouth. If she was saying anything in spite, he couldn't tell.

"The funny thing here is that I don't even need to continue this duel anymore because I already won! Your pride has been shattered to pieces, that stupid armor you fooled me into buying for you that day is destroyed, and I've pretty much humiliated you in front of your knights and pole boy over there in every way imaginable!"

Myne was definitely mumbling something under her breath. But he didn't even take note. She looked so pathetic that she might have been cursing his grave for all he cared. She was a joke. To think he'd been afraid of this whore, this trash, this freaking Bitch. "Hell! You were so damn sure of yourself just because you were "royalty" that you never thought anyone could put you in your place… especially the "weak and pathetic shield demon" you tried so hard to put down! But hey, I guess you finally know what it feels like to lose at your own game you pathetic whore!"

Myne was still muttering under her breath. Her words sounded clearer now but weren't loud enough for him to pick them up. He bent down low. "And let me assure you, I'm done with you trying to ruin my life and the lives of those I care about the most… if I ever find out that you are trying to cause more bull crap to me or my friends again...I'll find you. And I won't hesitate to kill you."

Myne's muttering finally stopped. He took that as meaning she had been sufficiently scared. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got important things to do. Like getting my party out of this craphole you call a country and preparing for the Waves of Catastrophe and all that nonsense. So if you'd just go back and cry to your trash father or throw some other tantrum when I'm gone; I-"

Before he could stand up, Myne suddenly reached out, gripping the metal of his chest plate. His eyes widened at how quick the action had been. '_What the-'_

She looked up at last. Her face was healed. An empty vial of elixir laid on the ground beneath her. He hadn't even noticed her pulling it out. Hell, he should have seen this coming. He'd destroyed the armor, but she still had an inventory! And that mumbling sound she'd been making. "Did you really think I'd just let you end it here like this?!" She shouted at him, fury coating her every word. "I will never bow down before a weak peon such as yourself!"

Before he could even react, Myne jumped back from him, pushing him away in the process. He didn't realize it, but she was putting as much distance in between them as possible. Because the spell she was about to unleash this close would have hurt way more than a point-blank Zweite spell. And, fortunately for her, Naofumi didn't realize until it was too late that what she had been muttering under her breath had been-

_What Bitch had mumbled during Naofumi's 'Victory' Speech:_ "As source of thy power... I order thee... decipher the laws of nature... bring up from the fiery depths... raise up hate unquenchable... a fire ever burning... make the pathetic peon pay... make it so he'll never rise again... exact the toll from his life and more..."

_Present:_ "Go! **Drifa Fire Dragon's Roar!**"

AN INCANTATION!

A large blaze of fire burst out from Myne's hands at him. Taking on the shape of a roaring Dragon's head. "**Royal-**" Naofumi didn't have time. His Hope Asunder skill had drained almost all of his SP. And the strong spell was slamming into him before he could finish saying the name of the skill. His off-balance, the wrong shield being equipped and to the side, the soreness he felt from the injuries Myne had inflicted on him, all of this combined together for Naofumi to be bit down maximum power by Myne's strongest fire spell.

**BOOM!**

There was a big explosion. Naofumi was launched across the square so quickly, he didn't even have time to brace himself.

**BOOM!**

His body slammed into the outer wall. Leaving a smoking indent of himself in the stone. With a groan, he collapsed onto the ground.

His HP bar had dropped to a quarter of his health because of the powerful attack.

"MASTER NAOFUMI!" Raphtalia tried to rush to where he laid to help him. But Eclair stopped her. "Eclair, let me go, Master Naofumi is hurt-" She tried to tell the knight off.

"I know! I see it too!" Eclair yelled over the frantic Raphtalia. "But he's still in the middle of a duel! We can help with magic since the enemy did so! But if we try to step in to interfere ourselves, then it'll be an all-out battle!" Which meant there'd be nothing left to hold the knights and Motoyasu back from attacking them.

"But… but Eclair-" Raphtalia was crying. She looked extremely guilty. She couldn't bear that her kind Naofumi had been about to kill someone, and had thus cried out for him to have mercy. And now, his mercy was going to cost him his life.

Bitch approached the downed Naofumi, who was slowly getting onto his knees. Yet pain, exhaustion, burns, hunger, fatigue, and other factors made him fall back down again. It simply hurt too much to try and get back up. Even thinking hurt by this point.

The sight made her smirk evilly. She'd already drunk another elixir to fix up the rest of her wounds and to replenish the mana she'd used for the last spell. Now, all that was left was the finale.

"It's too bad. It looks like this will be the pitiful end of the Devil of the Shield. Who failed to save his 'friends' from being brought to justice alongside him." She said in her classic bitch tone. Any sign that Naofumi had angered her to the point of murderous intent was gone. Like it had all been an act for him to drop his guard for precisely this moment.

Not that she was really that smart. She was just good at planning and taking advantage of things in the moment.

Naofumi groaned again, trying again to get back up. But Myne placed a foot roughly onto his back, digging him back into the ground. He weakly punched at her other foot.

**Clang.**

Her defense was back to its normal stat without armor. His weak punch did nothing. He didn't even have the SP left to activate a counter.

"Eclair, please, we have to help him!" Raphtalia begged to Eclair. She couldn't stand by and let this pig hurt Naofumi anymore!

"But then-" Eclair turned her head to the side. Her eyes widened. "What's going on out there!"

Raphtalia looked to the side, and her eyes widened at what she'd forgotten to inform Eclair about. The knights she'd seen on horseback before were already dismounting on the bridge. Some were pulling out ladders to set against it so they could climb to the guard tower.

"Hurry up! We will not allow the Shield Demon nor his party to escape!" Altara yelled from on top of her horse. She was still dressed in the robes of a nun. Even the top of her head was still covered with the hood of her robes. She looked like she should have been completely out of place in such attire. But she held a commanding presence that inspired the knights under her to obey her wishes.

"Miss Raphtalia, why didn't you tell us our escape route was being cut off!" Eclair asked Raphtalia.

Melty was clinging to Filo. Who was also clinging to her. Both of them looked scared. "I, I was going to, but then I saw Master Naofumi's battle. And then-" Raphtalia looked really nervous and scared. Their entire plan to escape was falling apart! It couldn't have been any worse!

Myne got on one knee next to Naofumi and whispered so softly that only he was able to hear. Not even Raphtalia, who had tears coming from her eyes, trying to explain what had happened to Eclair, could hear what she was saying.

"If I'm being honest, I'm glad you survived the assassination attempt in the dungeon… I want you dead, don't get me wrong. It's just, after all the pain you've caused me before today Naofumi, I want to be able to return the favor before you die." It was, in his memory, the first time the Bitch had ever called him by his name. It was like acid dripping off her tongue. It held none of the love and affection he heard whenever Raphtalia said his name and only his name. Without the title of master with it.

He tried to grab weakly at her foot with Shield arm. But then Myne hit the unshielded and unarmored skin with her sword hilt. She must have had another attack boost before that he hadn't noticed, because the force of the hit broke his arm. "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Naofumi screamed.

Raphtalia immediately turned away from Eclair, looking at Naofumi in horror. "No… Naofumi…" Raphtalia whispered.

Eclair looked from Naofumi to the gate and back again. Now she was unsure if holding back and not involving themselves would matter anymore. Since, at any minute, the Church Knights would open up the gate, and then they'd be surrounded.

"I know. I think I'll start with your companions." Myne whispered while Naofumi moaned in pain. Trying to reach into his inventory so he could pull out an HP potion to stop the pain.

"Specifically... the demi-human and the fat bird," Myne said as if she was contemplating an evil thought.

Naofumi's blood ran cold. He no longer tried to access his inventory. "What... do you mean?"

"They're important to you... so I'm thinking about selling them off to that one noble. What was his name… I know I've met him before ... Idol… ... Idol Rabier?"

...

Naofumi finally looked afraid. '_No… how could she know that facet of Raphtalia's past…'_

"Yes, that's the one. The one who pays for the chance to torture demi-humans." She said with a bitch like chuckle, before leaning down closer to Naofumi. "I'll pay him top dollar to come to the Capital just so he can torture them in front of you. And I'll pay him to use more than his personal whip. No, I'll have him use methods that will leave you with nightmares for the rest of your life as you are left with no choice but to watch. Unable to help as those who showed an ounce of care towards you are tortured before your eyes. And I won't let him stop. I'll pay him to finish the job he started, and torture that poor demi-human girlfriend and that bird monster of yours until they die, crying out your name like the pathetic scum they are." She whispered the last part spitefully. "And then, when you're broken beyond all repair, I'll finally come down, and remove one of the last obstacles in my way of becoming the next Queen of Melromarc."

Naofumi went stock still.

Myne got back up, laughing into her hand bitchily. Oh, how she liked to stomp on those who got in her way of becoming Queen. And judging by the noises she was hearing from the other side of the gate. The Church reinforcements had finally arrived. "Yes, that's what I think I'll do. Since none of you will be escaping today. Not even my precious little sister and the annoying knight."

Naofumi was still stock still as Bitch laughed.

"Daddy, no," Filo said, anguish in her tone. Even she could tell that Naofumi was badly hurting at that moment.

"Eclair," Raphtalia begged Eclair.

"We can't just stand to the side here and let this happen," Melty said. "Even if we have to fight off all the Knights in the Capital, we have to help Naofumi!"

Eclair looked at all three of them. She then looked at Motoyasu and the knights who were still standing in their original spots. Some watching what had happened were stupefied, others were on the verge of cheering as they were coming to realize how Myne had come around and was about to win.

"Alright-" Eclair was saying. Their original plan to escape was toast anyway. As minuscule as the chance was, the only way they were going to escape now was if they knocked Bitch out themselves and-

"And now, it's time I won this duel and saved my precious little sister from your clutches, Devil of the Shield!"

Myne raised her sword up high and then brought the sword hilt down to impact with Naofumi's head. One final knock out that would lead to her victory.

"No!"

"**Fast Tor-**" Filo started to chant.

"**Fast Aqua-**"

She laughed bitchilly one last time.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. What a cliffhanger. I feel so proud of myself that I want to pat myself on the back. I managed to write the majority of this fight scene last Monday after posting the last chapter. Some parts of it surprised even me when I wrote it, but besides the length of this (and how mad I am with Bitch at this ending), overall I'm satisfied with how it turned out (even if you all are also mad that I'm cutting it off here).**

**To the one guest who asked for it. I'm sorry, but Eclair being Naofumi's companion is actually something Aneko has already explored in one of the spin-off reprise LN's. Along with that, I'm not really much of a fan of that ship. Since Eclair in canon is explored to be one of Ren's potential love interests (that, funnily enough, is one-sided on Ren's part since Eclair's love interest is practicing her swordsmanship. Her feelings for Naofumi are a headcanon since you people voted in the polls for more girls to fall for Naofumi). Also, don't expect Glass to be falling for Naofumi. She's also hinted to have feelings for someone already (you LN readers probably know who I'm referring to).**

**But since I'm so nice, I'm not only going to leave an omake (Thanks to Pretty Lazy for inspiring the idea), I'm going to leave a spoiler for next week. Part One of this duel is over. Part Two, however, is about to begin. It almost made an appearance actually. And if the title with this duel was Hope, I'm guessing you all can figure out what the title for this next part will be.**

**Prepare yourselves. Crap is about to go down. *Laughs evilly while fading into the backdrop of the omake***

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_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**20 Portraits of Bitch**

* * *

"Now I know some of you must be wondering, how was I able to hurt the Shield Demon? Well never fear you worthless peons! Malty is here to tell you it's all because of my fancy new sword!"

The other four heroes sat. Three of them dumbfounded, wondering why they were watching Myne give a presentation about some random sword she'd used to slice the crap out of Naofumi.

"Do you know what's going on?" Naofumi asked the others.

"Nope." "Beats me." Ren and Itsuki both said.

"Quiet! Myne's trying to tell us about how she used her awesome sword to kick your butt Naofumi!" Motoyasu said excitedly.

"Don't remind me about it," Naofumi said lowly while rubbing the new scar on his gut.

"You see, this sword was made by one of the finest blacksmiths in the world. A man currently living in Q'Ten Lo! It was painstakingly crafted using the perfect mixture of iron and ground dragon bone. And enchanted with the boosts **Magic Up (Medium) **and **Attack Up (Medium)**. That's how I was able to hurt the devil Naofumi! Not to mention, of course, the ruby in the pommel that matches so wonderfully with my hair!" Myne said, showing off her hair to Motoyasu.

"Ugh…" Naofumi, Ren, and Itsuki fake vomited to the side. Who was this Bitch trying to fool?

"Yeah! You're so hot, Myne!" Motoyasu yelled encouragingly.

"Thank you Sir Motoyasu." Myne bowed gleefully to the naive Spear Hero. Apparently, she was fooling Motoyasu.

"Where did you even get a sword like that?" Ren muttered to himself. He was trying not to eye it too jealously.

"That's the best part, I was able to win this for a cheap price at an auction in Zeltoble!" Myne said cheerily. "I saw it, and I knew it and me were meant to be!"

"Okay... How much was it?" Ren curiously asked. "10 Gold Pieces? 15 Gold Pieces?" He could really use a sword like this in his arsenal of copied swords. Who knows, it might even unlock another awesome dragon skill for him to use.

Myne thought to herself for a moment. "If I remember… I won it for around…" She smiled broadly. "2500 Gold Pieces!"

"... ... ... WHAT?!" Ren, Naofumi, and Itsuki all stood up in shock. "2500 GOLD PIECES!?" That was way more than what any of them had ever had up to this point.

"Yes, not like you hopeless peons could ever hope to afford it. I was only able to buy it using the royal funds!"

"The... royal funds?" All three asked confusedly.

"Yes, the funds that exist to make me and Sir Motoyasu's party as happy as can be!" Myne said happily. Like it was perfectly okay.

_Over in Faubley_

"SHE DID WHAT?!"

The Shadow stayed respectfully on one knee in front of the shocked Queen. "I daresay, I'm afraid that I recently learned your daughter wasted 2500 Gold pieces on a sword that was only worth around 5 Gold Pieces. Because, as I heard, she wanted to see how much money she could waste in a single day."

The Queen looked enraged. It was one thing for her daughter to be a problem child. It was another for her daughter to be working with the Three Heroes Church to have several of the Cardinal Heroes killed off. But for her to blow that much of the royal treasury on one, damn sword!?"

"BRING ME MORE PORTRAITS OF MY FIRST DAUGHTER!" She yelled to her maids, who were already carrying them in as they'd seen this coming the moment the Shadow had said she had news about the Queen's daughter.

Actually, the maids were so used to it by this point, they'd made up a song up to pass the time. One which all of them started to hum at the same time while the Queen chanted.

"20 portraits of Bitch on the wall, 20 portraits of Bitch."

"-decipher the laws of nature, and turn my targets to ash! Leave nothing to remain!-"

"You take some down, burn them around."

"**DRIFA INFERNO!**"

One of the maids counted five of the portraits being burned at the same time. When she was sure that was the number being burned by that spell, she indicated the number to the rest.

"15 portraits of Bitch on the wall."

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	35. 35: Naofumi vs Bitch, Part Two, Wrath

**I know I probably shouldn't be taking pride in blue balling you all. But I know I did a good job on a cliffhanger when it leaves readers screaming in frustration at their computers! Though I'll try to keep myself from doing something like this again down the road.**

**I'm happy to see this story has at last taken the crown for reviews. I can't wait for when it takes the crown in favorites and follows too. Thank you, and keep up the support!**

**Also, Raphtalia didn't stop Naofumi because of a black and white issue of him being a hero. She was prepared to slaughter the knights of Melromarc if they'd harmed him. And why are you mad that Raphtalia kept Naofumi from killing Bitch? Death would be a mercy at this point. No, Bitch is the worst character in the face of the world. Her death will not come so easily and so early. She has to suffer more, a lot more. And this chapter is seeing to that!**

**You people asked for it. A lot of you guessed it. I should probably say something like be careful what you wish for or God have mercy on these characters. But honestly, let's just unleash some hell this chapter! Goodness knows how much some of these characters deserve it for all that they've done! (Thanks to CannonJet and others for proofreading over this chapter for me)**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _21 more Favorites, 21 more Followers (Total: 1125 Favorites, 1311 Followers)_

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**Updated:** _March 23rd, 2020 1:25 (EST)_

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**Chapter Thirty-Five:** _Naofumi Vs. Bitch, Part Two, Wrath_

* * *

Naofumi went stock still.

Myne got back up, laughing into her hand bitchily.

Her laugh faded into the background. The voices of the knights, Raphtalia, Motoyasu, and everyone else faded away. When he looked up, there was no one around him. The weight of the foot pressing down on top of him, the pain in his arm and gut, everything had disappeared. Even the wall and buildings.

"No…" He was alone. All alone now.

...

**Crack!** "Auhhhhhh!"

He could see it. He could hear it.

The shadows to the front right of him parted. A grown Raphtalia was hung up, her hands tied to shackles she had described to him on a bad night in her teenage days. Besides rags that covered only the essentials, her body was exposed to the crack of a glass sharded whip. Her exposed flesh was torn and bloodied. Blood dripped slowly onto the stone beneath her.

"Please, Idol, stop-" **Crack!** "Ah! Nao-" **Crack!** "AH! Naofumi!" She cried to him in pain as the whip struck across her back again and again.

"No... Raphtalia-" He weakly reached out for her silhouette. He had to stop this. He had to help her...

**Crack!** "AHHHHHHHHHH!" A large splash of blood hit the ground behind her.

"No-" He reached out, but his hand passed through Shadows. He stumbled to the ground. The scene had already disappeared around him.

"Raph…" Tears pricked at his eyes. "Talia…"

Another silhouette started to appear in front of him to his left.

"Gah! Dad- Daddy!" Filo cried. She had a brace stuck to her ankle, keeping her stuck in her little kid form. She was tied down to a table. Rope bound her feet and wrists together. A creepy old man that looked a lot like Firo stood behind her. Cranking a lever, laughing maniacally as the poor little girl's body was stretched taut by two hooks pulling the rope binding her in different directions.

"PLEASE! STOP! FILO HURTS- AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Without being able to transform, Filo could only scream as she was tortured.

"Yes, this will provide me with excellent insight on your unique species!" Firo cackled maniacally. "Let's see how far you can grow without your magic helping you!"

"No, please-" Naofumi collapsed to the ground. "Please, stop this…"

Filo's pleading was already fading away. Along with Firo's maniacal laughter. Disappearing into the swirling shadows around him.

More silhouettes appeared around him. And Naofumi curled into the fetal position. He covered his face with his hands.

"Sir Naofumi!"

"Naofumi!"

"Help us!"

"Please!"

"HELP!"

He shut his eyes tight, too pained already to want to see what Melty and Eclair were being put through. Too pained to see how they were suffering because of him. Because he had failed.

It was too much.

Far too much.

"Please, make it stop!" He yelled to the shadows around him.

"Sir Naofumi!"

"Naofumi!"

"Daddy!"

"Master Naofumi!"

Stop the pain.

Stop the agony.

He already had no hope left.

He just wanted it to end! He wanted them to stop hurting them!

"MAKE IT STOPPPPPPPPPPP!"

* * *

The screams all around him stopped.

…

Naofumi opened his eyes.

The shadows surrounded him. Dark shadows that swallowed up everything except the circle of area he was in. He shakily stood up.

Somehow, he recognized it. Even though he'd only been here briefly. Even though he hadn't been in his right mind. He knew this place. This area of his mind he'd tried so hard to cordon off.

He looked down at his shield. It was in its default form. But now, the gemstone on it had red flames coming off it.

It was real. He was finally back here.

"Wh… what's…" Naofumi was speechless.

**D̸̬̻͂$̵̖͉͖̤̱̦̉̈́͜͝ ̷̞͕͉̋͘ŷ̸͇͍̳̌̐͝͝#̶͉̈̎+̸̜̩͔̬̺́̀̚ ̴̱̹̤̻̝͖̿̈́̋̃͛̎̚ś̶̠̙̫̘͑̌̓̈̚͘)̶̢͍̮̭̎̌͊͒͠)̸̛̥̭͊̽̄̇̿͘k̷̗͒̂̐͠ ̴̪̰͎̪̪͈̏p̷͖̖͗͛*̵͙̺͂̓͠w̵͕̮̣̟̔̈̾̚ͅ#̷̗̑̀̑̾͋͠r̸͎͍̎́̃̃̅̏͠?̷̬̪̲̀̈́̃ **Messed up text, colored in red, appeared in front of Naofumi.

"What, no... no, I-" Before he could finish answering, screens appeared from the darkness around him. On them, images raced across like cutscenes from an anime.

Eclair was placed back in her terrible dark cell to live out the rest of her days all alone. She curled into a fetal position on her hard stone bed. All alone, all forgotten. With no one to save her.

Princess Melty was placed in a room with her older sister. Who 'accidentally' killed her with a fire spell while attempting to remove the brainwashing she was under. She laughed in the image after that. Melty's large dead eyes staring at nothing.

Filo and Raphtalia were lying on the ground. Raphtalia was covered in whip marks. Filo was missing her limbs. Both of them were lying in pools of blood. Their glassy eyes staring up into nothingness.

"No…" Because he'd failed...

'_Again… am I… about to lose it all again?'_ Were the people that trusted in him going to be taken away by those who hated him?

**Ḍ̸̨̝̟̜̯̻̗$̶̩̲̱̠̬̗̤̼̇̀̽ ̷̮̭̲̏̊͒̽̿y̶̫̹̫͍̼͕̱#̶͚̼͊̋̄+̸̨̠̬̝̥͓͉̿͑̀͜ ̸̧͖͓̞̮̜̺͒̇s̷̡̰͚̺͍̭̺̔̂̍)̵̲̺̘̦̞̟̑͊̆̀)̶̮͕̼͚̝̜̬͆̾̏̈k̷̫̣͎̦̙͔̲̲̄̈́ ̵̪̝̤̼̹̘͔̉̈p̷̼̀̾*̵͉͂̓͂̑ẅ̴̧̖͎̥̻#̶͉̤̻̪̮̃͋́͆͌̀ŕ̸̙͉̥̱͎̖̉?̵̧̼́̋̎̂̈̕͝ **The messed up text, colored in red, appeared in front of Naofumi again.

The images changed. Now he was seeing everything that had happened since he'd been summoned to this world. Every wrong that had been dealt to him. Every harsh word that he'd heard said about him. Every glare, every suspicious glance, every little thing he'd had to deal with... all because he was the Shield Hero.

**...**

**...**

**...**

**Ḑ̴̨̪͙̩̯̻̫͖̮̥͍͓̬͈̲͉̩̱͍̻̻̣̲̩̑͆̋̓̏̅̾̽̓̇̅̏͑̈͂̒̋́̋̈̐͌̏̓͆̔̚̚͘$̸̯̤̙̳͉̭͓̪̰͔̻̲̤͔̮͉̠̯̄̈́̋̾̈́͂̈͛̀̀̀̎̓̂̈́̃͘̚͘͝ ̴̺̲̽͆̎̋̈͌͋̈́̏̒̇͛̕̕͝ẏ̷̧̭̘̙̩̫͖͇̙̳͔̭̥̫̥͓̻̮̤̻̱̻̥͇̭͛̈̽̔͛̈̏̉̉̑͑̏̃̇͆̈́̋̓̇͐̾̑͐͝ͅ#̷̡͕̣͓̟͕̯͇̼͉͉̠̽̀̎̆̈̋́̓̾͊̕͠+̶̢̡̧̧̥͉̺̹̩͕͙̺̲̜̘͉̱̗͙̯̦̝̗̼̦̼̈́̃͌̀̅̓͂́̚͠ͅ ̸̛̳̖͇͈̙̫̠̺͋̍̾͊͛̏̐́͆͐̿̈́̏̐͘͝ṣ̷̢̛͍͉̤̩͕̺̳̣̮͎͓̮̗̪̩͎̖̻̮̜̽̽̂͛́͊̿̓͒͌)̸̨̢̦̯̠̭͎͎͍͖͙͓̖̼̫̗̟̞̦̮͔͒͐̄̀̎͊̅̀́̍̍̀̉̂͋͘͘͘͜͜͠ͅ)̵̧͔͔̞̪͉͍̺͙̩͓̼̗͖̹̺̥̜̗̘̞̣̺̣͉̣̀̽͊̀͘͝ͅk̵̛̜̠̮̯̱̮̝̰̦̹̮̦̭̽̐͌̍͑̔̽̅̓͂͂̒͌͐̄͜͝͠ ̵̢̡̬̫͕͉͓̞̲͓͕̦͙̟̬̅͆̒͐͋̇̓̒̈́͘ͅp̶̨̧̨̡̨̨̡̩̤̬͚̭̦͕͖͈͓̦̞̘̠̼̖͖͈̺͇̩̐̀̈́́͊̒͐̄̿̒͛̄̾̑̇̀͝*̵̨͔̲̩̖͕̮͉̣̠͐͐̄̈́̽̐̓́̌̑́͒́̒̐̏̋̎͋̂͒͌̈́͑̐͒̈͠͝w̵̧̲̹͈̯̞̞͍̘̗̰͈̻͇̗̭͐̔͂͗͛̔ͅ#̸̣̃͌͆̾̽̈́̏͆̈́́͐̏̓̌̋̓͆̒̚̕r̴̢̢̧̢̖̺̩̩̻̝̭̻̟̯̙͔̪̼̱̪̤͈̦̦̠̗̄̃̽͒̀͂̍̉̚̚͜ͅ?̷̧̝̩̞̳̬͎̼̮͔̺͕̲̟͙͉́͗͗͗͒͊̿͘͜͝͝ͅ**

...

...

"I… I..." He sounded less sure than before. '_Is this world…'_

Shadows condensed into people walking by him. The followers of the Three Heroes Church. Every Church Knight that had called him a devil. Every priest that had tried to slam a door in his face. Every nun that had looked at him harshly. Including Altara, the most evil of all the nuns.

He remained silent as these shadows walked amongst him. On the screens, more images were passing by. Images of memories he'd almost forgotten. Images of Firo the Beast Tamer calling him a devil. Images of the Church Shadows who'd tried to kill him and his party. Images of the people he overheard in the villages he helped, even some of the customers he sold medicine too, talking about how horrible the Shield Demon they'd never met was.

All on the basis of a few rumors they'd heard… all because their country's religion had said so.

**...**

**...**

**D̵̢̧̧̢̧̞̣͓̲̰̟͙̜͍̟̭̮̜̗̣̰̃̀͋̎͑̈́̀͒͗̉͋̉͂̔̈͐̀̚͠$̶̛̭̦̗̗͍̹͚̥͈͕͓̰͈̫̜̭̟̟̘̤͖̲̎͑̉͛̓̈̓̀̌̆͐̄͗̇͗͐̕̕͜ ̷̢̢̡̛̖̜̟͖͔͍̤̪̣͕̞͚͕̩͈̞̼̮̮̹̘̲͐̌͑͋̀̐̾̊̀̔͝͝͝ͅy̴̡̢̡̼̤̬͕͕̗͇̻̣͓̹̭͓̯̱̦͉̦̬͉̑͋̄̀͑͐͋ͅͅͅ#̵̢̧̪͙̤̦̰̞̺̙͔̦̺͓̼̼̩̘̩̰̗͉͙̞̘̤͊́̾̌̆͛̓̈́́͌̄̐͐͆̒͗͋̚͘͜͜ͅ+̷̛͖̠̭̙̣̬̤̼̺̥̤̱͉̝͙̺̪͑̃͒̈́͛̄͊̆͐̔̊̽̀͑͆́̌̌͐̕͘͝͝͝͠͝͝ ̶̲̜͕̰̏̉͂̿̓̂̔͆̊́́̈́̓͛̑͛̾̈́̆̕̚̚͝͝ș̷̢̨̧̲̰̰̟̼̣̮̥̯̹̪͍̏ͅ)̵̮͉̠̝̜̟͈̬̻̠̺̬̪̺̱͖̙̫͒ͅͅ)̸̧̮͈̳̖̘͕͖̻͍̬͖͔̩̰͐̄͋̅̆̊͌̀͛̔̌͋́̊̈́̏̈́͝͝ͅķ̷̡̥̞͍̩̰͎͈̭̯̯̟͚̙̠̳͗̔̋̈̏̀̈́̄̃͊́́̇́̀̎̎̑̍͐̚̚͘͜͜͠͝͝͠ͅͅ ̷̧͙̥̮̼̙̀̌͋̐̈́͒̃̅̾̾̃͗̏̑̄̈͊̅̀́̕̚͝͝͝p̷̨̡̞̤̗̳̖̦͉̪̺̬̖͔̺̺̜̭͕̜̞̰̱͙̲͚̘̃̋̓̔̀̎̆̏̉͊̇͐̏̑̾͊̊̌̆̊͌͘͜͠͝ͅ*̸̼̮̟͔̗̃̄̆́̀̾́̆̔̽̽͝w̶͍͉̣͕̓̈́͌̀̆̃͂̍̀͊̇̈́̈́͗̊̄̍̅̅͛̏͝͠͠#̴̢̨̥̩͍̘̺̼͕̽̊͆ͅŗ̸̛̖̗̺̻̝̮̗̥̀̈́̐̍̒̅̅̍̀̈́́́͝?̷̧̢̛̣̝̖͎͕͙̲̦̤̰̘̲͔̫̥̭̮̰̜͖͎̯̝̾͊͊̐͂͛̂͐͆͑̃̒̈͌̾̿͑̑̈͆̅̅͝**

...

...

Finally, came the worst of them all. The last images and one of the shadows around him took the form of the one he despised the most. The one at the center of it all. The Bitch herself.

"Ahahaha!" The Bitch shadow laughed into her hand bitchily.

He hated the way she laughed, the way she breathed, the way she'd tried to have him crushed on his first day in this new world. He hated her. He hated everything about her. And the Church knights, nuns, priests, all the shadows around him laughed just like her.

'_Are they… are they going to try and take everything from me again?!'_

The Hope and determination he'd felt so strongly before... what little he had left drained away. Leaving a void of dreams and ambitions that had come to naught. All his hard work had failed. He had failed. Those he trusted were already as good as dead. And now, the only thing that could fill this void, the only thing that he had left was…

**...**

**...**

**D̵̢̧̧̢̧̞̣͓̲̰̟͙̜͍̟̭̮̜̗̣̰̃̀͋̎͑̈́̀͒͗̉͋̉͂̔̈͐̀̚͠$̶̛̭̦̗̗͍̹͚̥͈͕͓̰͈̫̜̭̟̟̘̤͖̲̎͑̉͛̓̈̓̀̌̆͐̄͗̇͗͐̕̕͜ ̷̢̢̡̛̖̜̟͖͔͍̤̪̣͕̞͚͕̩͈̞̼̮̮̹̘̲͐̌͑͋̀̐̾̊̀̔͝͝͝ͅy̴̡̢̡̼̤̬͕͕̗͇̻̣͓̹̭͓̯̱̦͉̦̬͉̑͋̄̀͑͐͋ͅͅͅ#̵̢̧̪͙̤̦̰̞̺̙͔̦̺͓̼̼̩̘̩̰̗͉͙̞̘̤͊́̾̌̆͛̓̈́́͌̄̐͐͆̒͗͋̚͘͜͜ͅ+̷̛͖̠̭̙̣̬̤̼̺̥̤̱͉̝͙̺̪͑̃͒̈́͛̄͊̆͐̔̊̽̀͑͆́̌̌͐̕͘͝͝͝͠͝͝ ̶̲̜͕̰̏̉͂̿̓̂̔͆̊́́̈́̓͛̑͛̾̈́̆̕̚̚͝͝ș̷̢̨̧̲̰̰̟̼̣̮̥̯̹̪͍̏ͅ)̵̮͉̠̝̜̟͈̬̻̠̺̬̪̺̱͖̙̫͒ͅͅ)̸̧̮͈̳̖̘͕͖̻͍̬͖͔̩̰͐̄͋̅̆̊͌̀͛̔̌͋́̊̈́̏̈́͝͝ͅķ̷̡̥̞͍̩̰͎͈̭̯̯̟͚̙̠̳͗̔̋̈̏̀̈́̄̃͊́́̇́̀̎̎̑̍͐̚̚͘͜͜͠͝͝͠ͅͅ ̷̧͙̥̮̼̙̀̌͋̐̈́͒̃̅̾̾̃͗̏̑̄̈͊̅̀́̕̚͝͝͝p̷̨̡̞̤̗̳̖̦͉̪̺̬̖͔̺̺̜̭͕̜̞̰̱͙̲͚̘̃̋̓̔̀̎̆̏̉͊̇͐̏̑̾͊̊̌̆̊͌͘͜͠͝ͅ*̸̼̮̟͔̗̃̄̆́̀̾́̆̔̽̽͝w̶͍͉̣͕̓̈́͌̀̆̃͂̍̀͊̇̈́̈́͗̊̄̍̅̅͛̏͝͠͠#̴̢̨̥̩͍̘̺̼͕̽̊͆ͅŗ̸̛̖̗̺̻̝̮̗̥̀̈́̐̍̒̅̅̍̀̈́́́͝?̷̧̢̛̣̝̖͎͕͙̲̦̤̰̘̲͔̫̥̭̮̰̜͖͎̯̝̾͊͊̐͂͛̂͐͆͑̃̒̈͌̾̿͑̑̈͆̅̅͝**

...

...

The images all around seared into his mind. The messed up text, colored in red, looked all too enticing now.

"Power."

That void in him filled. With a burning, unquenchable...

"Hate."

The shadows around him vanished in a mist of red. The screens disappeared into shadows. The Shield Menu popped up in front of Naofumi. It glitched in and out as if it was surging. More images passed in front of the screen.

"I hate it." He saw the moment he'd learned the Dog monster in the mines had been sent by the Church to kill him.

"I hate it all." He saw the moment when his world fell apart while overhearing Bitch speaking to the nun that fateful night.

"I hate…" He saw the moment Myne talked to Motoyasu at the party. Planning on setting him up to fail.

"I HATE EVERYTHING!" He saw what had just happened during their duel. How he could have killed the Bitch. It would have been just like breaking a toothpick! But he had restrained himself! He had allowed his humanity to spare the Bitch so he wouldn't have given in to this cursed Shield! But now...

"I HATE HER!" Red started to gather in the gemstone of his shield. '_Did I not spare her?! Did I not allow her the mercy to continue breathing!? Is this how she thinks to repay my undeserved kindness!?'_ Naofumi thought darkly. '_Does she think she can get away with everything because she was lucky to be born!?'_

The memory of the Bitch laughing as he laid on the ground filled his mind.

"Hate…"

A red icon appeared in the middle of his Shield Menu.

"Hate!"

The rest of the icons turned red. Surrounding Naofumi in a blaze of red. His eyes turned red. There was only one thing he felt for the red-haired Bitch.

"HATTTTTTEEEEEEE!"

The last of the light surrounding him in his mind disappeared.

Ever since he'd come to this world, he had been called scum. The Shield Demon. The Devil of the Shield.

…

...

**C̶̡͓͚͉͕̻͎̟̺̻͊̇́̉͊͐̑̈̍̒̈́̐̏͘͘u̵̢̖̹͕̰̔̆̑͑̄̂r̶̢̬̭̅̄̀͋̔̃̒́́̚s̶̡̡̨̥̺̬͉̮͕̼̯̯͕͉͈͋̂̈́̆͑ę̸͉̦̤̮͚͓̪̬̗̅̾ ̶̟͗̏͂̀͌̀̂͒̅̓̍͌̒͠͠S̷͔̝̥̩̈́̐͗͛̋͌̉̈́̎͝è̸̤́͒̉̿̎́̅̑̾͂͠͠r̵̦̖̮̝̫̓̍̀̿͋͜í̷͍̫͉̠̼̙͖̤̬̤͉̺͓͚͔͋e̶̜͋̈́̈͒̑̔̏̎̊͝s̶̨͈̼̬͛:̵͚͈͔̱̥̑̑͑̓̅̋̉́́̇̚͠͝**

**̵̧̥̮͍̹̤͗̉̈́̃**

**̷̛͓̩̮̼̻͇̤͙͚̬̮̮͌̏̋͒̾̐̓̐͌̕͜S̷̡͈̻͔̞̰̺̟͙̥̲̭̥͛̂̀̆͆͝h̵̢̢̢͙̙͖̦̱̘̫͙͉̒͑i̴̢̨̨̘̱̮͖̬̞̻͇͉̱̇̂̀̓̄̑̾́͋e̵̪̅̍̍͠ļ̴̥̞͇̋́̎̾͛d̷͚͐͐̉̔ ̸̢̢̨̱͖̻͎͖͈͓̭̏̑̀ò̸̥̽͆̕f̷̡̳̘̟̲̬̜̱̻̙̭̠̺̩̬͛̔͆́͛̀͊ ̸̡͇̭͈̦̞͚͙͎̳̻̩̎̔R̷̨̬͓̣͇̪̹̦̦̥̙̥̲̰̺̈́̀̔̽̉̾͑a̸̛̞͌̿͒̂g̶̖̞̬̦͔͖͕̝͓͈̹̬̋̇͒̒̈́͐̌͋̑͝ͅͅe̵̢̡̲̪͆͛̋̆̎ ̵͐̆̂̊͠ͅȊ̴̳̋͆̓́͌ͅ ̴̢͖̙̞̻̪͍͕̖̫̺͊͋͂̓͋̈̕U̵̡̟͍͇̽͋͛̐̍͘͘͠n̶̨̖̳͇̘̣̰͙̈́͌͛̈̔͗̉ͅl̵͍̠͓̮͕̯̗̬̥̖͔̈́͑̒́̍o̵̼̲̹̖̒͊͒͒̏̉̚c̶̢̢̢̨̥̗̘͈̘͍̳̫̖̖̮̏̓̒̿͒̏͆̓̆̔̕͠k̶̛̳͕̟̩͔̥̭̅͂̄̓̇̈͋̕͝è̷̦͖͙͐̄͑̾̅̾̈́͠͝ͅd̶̨̨̝͖͕̩͎͙̠̾͗͛̑̓͆̊͋̔̕̚͘͠͝**

**̵̡̨̱͍̬͚͚̪̘͑̔É̸̢̡̱͕̱̼͒ͅq̷̛̩͔̠̖͔̣̗̑̍̍̎͑̎́ű̵͉͇͓̜̪̭̺͌̆̈͗̄̆͌̍̏̆̚ḯ̷̝̌̅̈́̾̒̐͂͗̆̚͠͝p̵̛̯̐̊̊̀̏̈͌̀͑̏̊͝ ̷̧̛̛̟̳͖̳̩͚̟͖͒̎̌͒͂̃̆B̴̲͑̀͛́̿̊̌̂̀̾̈̎o̴͓̘̩̣͙̜̳͙̩̮̠̓̀̀̀͋͂͝ṇ̴̢͕̫̣̭̮̭̰̤̥̅̈̑̎̓͑̈́̂̇̈́̄̃͋́̕ŭ̶̧̠̳͙̫̗̰̞̟̲̯̜̹́s̶̡̫͚͖̻̲͕̣͖̹̔̒́́́̉͛̍̇̉́͠͝:̵̘̜͈̼̲̬͝ ̵̲͋̈́͂͗͒̿͂̎̊͌̋s̷̢̺̳̉̋͌̒͐͑̉̀̅̓̈͝k̸̢͕͔̩̟̫͔͌̓̃̓͜ͅi̴̛̛̬̫̤͆ļ̵̟̩͚̯̬̖̺̮̠͒̿̿̑̑ͅl̵̺͉̽̾̏͒́̈́̓͒̚ͅ ̸̡͖͚̫̼͙͈̠̼̞̀͂̐̅͒"̷̡̳̬͕̼̫̯͎̘͕̳̆̕͠ͅͅĈ̴̲̖̺̮̗̖̍͗͆̿͗̐͊͆̽͒͊͠h̷͓̝̊̆͑̍͒͐̄̔a̶̭͎̘͈̔̆̆ṅ̵̛͙̎̀̏͆̔̊̓̀̈́̒ģ̵̡̞̣͍̣͉̯̊̎͋̒̅ę̷͉̬̻̹̣̟̱͖͖̖͎̬̰͆͑̀ ̴̢̡͖͉̫͙͈̀͑̑̇̓̌̈́͑̍̏͛͜͠͝ͅS̴͍͉̼͎͎̎͊̈́̏͑̅̕̕͝ͅh̸̡̻̘̤͓͉̞̹͕̗̬̦̐̽̃̌̋̈͜͠ͅi̵̛̞̯̟̖̞̘̘̲̺̭̺̇̄̅̋̅̀́̑̊͂̕é̴̘̙̩̍͜l̵̡̯̹̩̼͎̞͉̿̑̌̄̓͌͌̉͐̈́̕͘d̴̡̡̧͔̱̘̟͎̩̫̫̔͜ ̵̨̯̱͍̝͙̋͐̂̒͌̅(̴͙̹̮̟̺̝̀Ẫ̴̡̢͔̻̺̠̗̮̒̒͗͗̇́̇͒̑t̶̨̢̧̙̫͎͔͚̋̈́͂͘͜ͅt̸̮͇̪͎̹̭̙̯͊͐̈́̄̿̓́͛͘͜͠ả̵̭́̈̊̽̆̀̽̍̇̈́̉̕͠c̴̛̺̾̒͆͒k̷͎̝̮͕͙̰̤̀̌)̵͖͉̘̘̬̘̜̘̞̫̙̱̘̿"̸̖͓̰̝͔̩͙͉͉͍̓͐͒͋̓̍͋͗̀̅̎͂͗̆͜͝ ̸̡̢͖̯̬̖͙̏́̆̆͑͊̑̎̕ä̴̛̻̗́̾͛̏̎́ͅͅn̷̳̐̅͛̉̍̌d̷̛̘̤̯̪̗̯̥͈̭̒̑͆̈͗̾͆̔͌̕͜͠ͅ ̸̭̟̈̂͑͂̊"̸̡͓̖̫̰͓̐̇̈́̓İ̴̢̡̹̱̻̞̦̻̫͍̓̃̔͗̌̉͝͝ͅr̶̨̬̦̺̬̟̯̭̠̹̉̐́̊͑́̋͋̕̕o̵͎̠̝͔̲̟̭̤͉͇̪̎͆̒̈́̐͌͋̓̐̾͗͝͝ͅͅn̸͈̮͔͈͓̲͍̥̭̣͓̆͐̓̉͜͠ ̸̹̤̞̞̞͕͖̳̺̏̐̑̋͛͗̀̂̀̽M̵̝̏a̸̭͓̭̯͍̖͕͎̫̹͕͍̥̎̈́͊̾̐̒̂̾̈́͋͑̂̔̌͝į̷͖̖͇̺̦̳̱̰̼̤̩͎̦͑d̵̡̡̨͎͓̝͓͖̞͕̓̀͆̍͒̏͠ẹ̷͕̞̯͖̦̍̔̀̐͊ͅn̵̢̛̗͚̼͎͉̬̯̦̙̙̕͜"̸̢̪̠͓̳̞̱̳̇̈̏̋̀̈́̓̏̂͜͝**

**̴̨͓̔͛̐͂S̶͉̤̰̲̳̱̱̮̳̀̾͜p̷̦̺̥̮̈́̈́̿͑̾̃̈́̇͗͝͝͝ě̴͎̝̭͍̮̓͛͆̋c̴̨̧̝̲̭̠̳̖͍̘̣̩̈́͋̎͂͑̄̇̕ï̴͔̒͗͑̈́̀a̷̢̛͉̞̙͕̻̒͊̄̅̋̈͘̕͘͜͝ͅl̶̨̨̙̖̺̖͎͙̩̼͔̙̞̿͑͛͊̒̃̄ ̶̢͈̹̲͒͗̿͆̌̊͊͆̄̄̀̇̽͘͝E̴̯̗͉͍̱̯̫̹̭̪͋̽̍͑̈́̉̏́̕̕ͅf̵̤̲͋̿͛̓̍̇́͌̆̔͜f̶̯͑̔̊͛͗͒̅͗͌̈́̓̊̚ͅę̸̡̨̟̼͔̹̭̹̣͔͈̫͑̌̓̌̽́̂̌͋̿͜͠͝c̵̭̭̲͕̬̔̓̈t̷̡̛̲͍̞̯̣̤̙̳͕̰̙͇̲͒̋̏̍̉̐̚͠:̸̧̪̟̙͓̘̠͍̞̳̫̲̋͊̇̈̄̉́̀͛́̓̍͝ ̷̻̤̞̤̗͇̉͛̃̌̔̍̍̌̏͐̒̃͠͝S̵̛͎͖͊̀͛͑͒͒͝ͅē̸̢̺̤̼̳̩̅ḻ̵̣̤̰͔͓͇̣͒̿̌̈́̆̈́̆́͌͜͝͝͠f̵̢͇̙̬̥͍͉͂̄̓́̎ ̶̨̱̬̬̟̺͈̉͝ͅC̸̛̭͈̆̒̍͐̒́͑͑͌ͅù̴͈̥̗̦͚̠͈̃̒̈́͗̀̅̈́́̕͠͠r̷̡̯̙̫̦̆̋̉̅͐̔̋̐͗̌̕s̸̛̥̗͙̘̏̎̓͂͊̓͐̑̅̈̉̕͝ę̵̤̫͖͙̩̰̹͈̭̒̒̓ ̸̧̧͖̥̥̩͕̘̺̭͑̾̎͐̾́̀̄Ḅ̸̢̺̗͖̘̘͔̣͙̹͒̑̿̈̏̀̇̈́͋͒̈́̀͝͝u̷͉͖̝͎̳̦̰̓̑͋̎̏̆̾̓̕ͅͅr̷̠̓͑̎̀̂̃͌n̷̠̼̟̠͓͕̬̯̠̰͚͒͋͆̋͐̍̄i̵̧̠̮̙̫͉͔̒̏͑̈́͑̍͛͜͠n̴̢̛͈̻͉̭̼͉̼͈̈́̀͒͗́̉̀̌̓g̵̡͍̙̲͆̉̐,̶̯̥͈̖̟̮͎̄͑̆̀͝͝ ̴̛̠̥̭̦̮͕͖̱̙̓̔͒̀̉́̈̒͊̈̏͝S̵̭͈̣̜͖̃̉̃́̽͋̕̕͠͠͝ͅt̸̢̳̳̗̥͇̪̙̗̲̹̱̺̔̎̀r̵̡̛͈̠̮̝̯͎̼̜͇͕̣͍̝̪̎͒̒̉̍̑̾͑̈́͘̕͝ḝ̴͈̤̪̰͈̫̓͒̃͗͊̾̈́̕͝͠͝n̸̡̢̪͙͉̭̫̅̿͆̈́g̷̢̝̮̮̤͉̘̱̞̪̙̐̔̑͊̆́̂̚̚͜͝͝ͅţ̴̛̞̲͎͉̝̭̞̺͒̔̓̍h̶̨̛͉̣̹͍̘͈͉͕͓́́̔̇̋̊̐̓̅̎͘͝ͅ ̸͕̙͍̝̰̰͓̒̚Ứ̸̧̩̣̗̬̲̒͛̿́̈́̂͗̔̇̚͜p̴̪̖͐͆̀**

**̴̢̡̫͍̻̻̫̻̳͇̟̹́͘͜**

**...**

**...**

...

It was time this world learned what a devil really was.

* * *

_Present_

"And now, it's time I won this duel and saved my precious little sister from your clutches, Devil of the Shield!"

Myne raised her sword up high and then brought the sword hilt down to impact with Naofumi's head. One final knock out that would lead to her victory.

"No!"

"**Fast Tor-**" Filo started to chant.

"**Fast Aqua-**"

She laughed bitchilly one last time.

**Bam!**

Bitch's sword hilt hit against something solid.

Filo and Melty stopped trying to cast their spells in astonishment. "Sir, Sir Naofumi." She said in surprise.

Eclair was wide-eyed. "Did…"

Raphtalia rubbed at her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things. "Master… Naofumi?"

Myne opened her eyes in slight confusement at the sound, and then she stared down in astonishment. She'd hit something solid. But it wasn't Naofumi's skull.

Naofumi's broken arm was raised, blocking the strike to his head with his shield. But it wasn't the Chimera Viper Shield he had equipped. It was something else entirely. It was like his default Small Shield, but it was black. The gemstone glowed an ominous red.

"What is-" The red icons that had appeared in his mind appeared around Naofumi. With their appearance, a vortex of wind blew around him, knocking Bitch away. "Ahhhhhh!"

"Ah!" Melty gripped onto Filo's back while Filo covered Eclair and Raphtalia with one of her large wings to keep them from being blown away.

"Miss Raphtalia, what's going on?!" Eclair held onto Filo's wing for dear life amidst the storm of wind.

"I, I don't know!" Raphtalia responded fearfully. This had never happened before. Naofumi's magic attributes were Healing and Support. He wasn't capable of any wind spells.

"What, what is this-" The Commander looked astounded as he almost lost his footing. The blast of wind was so strong even from far away, he stabbed his sword into the ground to keep from being blown away.

Motoyasu dug his spear into the ground to stay upright. Behind him, a majority of the knights fell to the ground. Some from the blast of wind. Some in terror. "Myne!" Motoyasu yelled in worry. Then he looked to Naofumi and gasped in shock. **'**_There's… there's no way…'_

Beneath the red icons, red symbols had appeared on Naofumi's skin. He was smiling menacingly. Like he was a… a...

The Church Knights outside the walls and those climbing the ladders stilled. Feeling a chill traveling down their spines. Even Altara felt it. Something was off.

Something bad was about to happen.

"Miss Raphtalia, what's happening to Sir Naofumi?" Eclair suddenly asked. She could feel it too. Just like every other knight in the area. Something bad was about to happen.

Raphtalia peaked her head out from under Filo's wing. "Master-" She gasped in shock and terror. The dark aura she'd felt before. The dark aura that she had tried to prevent him from falling into. It was back. Stronger than ever. It had consumed Naofumi. It was like Naofumi wasn't even standing there anymore.

Naofumi slowly walked away from the wall. The red icons finally dispersed from around him. Then, a final burst of wind whipped around him as a ball of red energy pulsed out, forming a crater under his feet. His gemstone turned a brighter red. His skin, now devoid of the strange symbols from before, was as pale as a demon's. His pupils were barely visible behind a layer of red. His teeth looked more canine than before. And just when it looked like he couldn't appear anymore frightening, a wave of fire came out of the Shield's gemstone, covering the new shield in dark flames.

It was the Shield of Rage. Under the fire, it had an ornate red and black design surrounding the gemstone. Like lava mixing with brimstone. It had a very sinister aura coming off of it. An aura as sinister as his smile.

"What, what is this?!" Bitch yelled in surprise as she stood back up. The blast of wind had sent her flying and rolling a good eight dozen feet back into the square. Only a little more than a hundred feet away from her pole toy and knights.

"Naofumi…" **'**_He didn't… he couldn't have…' _This dark, menacing aura that was coming off him in waves… it couldn't be… the same thing from the Duel Arena...

As Naofumi slowly approached, the Shield lowered a little bit, revealing his pale face… it took a second to capture the true horror of what Bitch was seeing. Faint red lines that ran down both cheeks. The barely-there pupils that could hardly be seen under all the red. There was no humanity in those eyes. And he was smiling like a demon.

No, he was a demon.

It had happened. Naofumi had finally given in to his anger and hatred. The thing Bitch had parroted so much but hadn't really thought was possible. Naofumi had turned into the demon she'd accused him of being all along. And his party stared in shock no more than a few dozen feet away from him by the gates. Speechless, and frozen in shock.

Myne recovered her composure. "At last! The Devil of the Shield has shown his true colors!" Naofumi might have gotten a few cosmetic enhancements. But they were just that. For show. Something that could really hurt her.

She charged towards Naofumi again. It took her slightly longer to close the distance between them, and swinging her sword was considerably slower than before. **'**_I don't care if I've lost the agility enchantment my armor was giving me! I'll still beat this little peon into the ground!'_She thought, assuming the rest of this pathetic short duel would be easy. "And now, I will slay the devil of the-"

Her sword was stopped by the fiery shield.

Naofumi said two words.

"Now burn."

And that was when the duel resumed.

* * *

"Ahhhh!" Naofumi's shield came alive where Bitch had struck it with her sword. Flames, dark cursed flames, leaped up from it, slamming into her. She screamed in pain as she immediately backpedaled away.

"Myne! No!" Motoyasu yelled in worry. Even he could sense it. Something was very wrong with Naofumi at that moment.

Once she'd backed away a few dozen feet, she looked down at her arms. There were patches of black burns, cursed burns as her status magic said.

Eclair's grip on Raphtalia loosened, Filo's wing stopped covering them, but none of them moved. None of the knights outside the duel both outside the square and on the walls moved. They were all watching Naofumi. Filo in worry, Eclair in shock, Melty in confusement, and Raphtalia and the rest of the knights in horror. "What's… what's happened to Sir Naofumi?" Eclair asked.

"What's happened to daddy?" Filo asked worriedly.

_'No, Naofumi is… he's...' _She thought fearfully. Still frozen in her spot in fear and anguish.

"What the…"

"Is that…"

"The devil of the Shield's…"

"Ultimate form?" The knights behind Motoyasu and the Commander looked very afraid. Some were still getting up off the ground. Those Church Knights who had climbed the wall were frozen in terror. A few were on their knees, praying to their Gods for mercy.

The Commander himself placed a hand to his chest, looking like he was about to hyperventilate from what he was seeing. "No, it can't be… it can't be!" It was like his worst nightmares come to life.

Naofumi's shield was still burning with dark cursed flames on his arm. It was almost like the flames were healing the broken bones. Moving them back into place and welding them together like a welder melding metal. He continued to smile evilly as he stared at the heavily breathing Bitch.

_'Hate…'_

Naofumi began to slowly walk forward, approaching like an inevitable avalanche. To think he'd shown mercy on Bitch. To think he'd been graceful enough to allow this horrid creature to live. How foolish of him. It was a mistake he needed to correct.

"Stay, stay back-" One of the more brave knights charged the distance and tried to attack Naofumi head-on. However, he blocked the strike with his shield. More cursed flames leaped off from it and covered the knight. "AHHHHHHHHH!" He fell to the ground, screaming in pain and agony. Naofumi continued past, not even glancing at the knight.

Myne hadn't realized it, but at seeing Naofumi so easily dispatch a royal knight, without having to do anything more than block, she finally recognized what she was feeling. Fear, genuine fear, thick enough that she could feel it coursing through her veins.

She was afraid of Naofumi. Deathly so.

She scowled angrily and raised her hand. _'No one can ever be allowed to make me feel afraid! I am above everything as the next Queen! Even fear!'_"**Zweite Fire Arrows!**"

A dozen arrows made of fire appeared around her and flew at Naofumi. They impacted against him and his shield and blew up in a haze of smoke, covering Naofumi. Malty stared at the smoke cloud, waiting to see what damage she'd done.

Naofumi came walking out, looking unscathed by the attack. He raised his shield in front of him. Memories of Bitch appeared in his mind like drops falling onto a burning ocean of hate. _'Suffer.'_

"I will not be beaten by some-!" Bitch, for some, stupid reason, tried charging and attacking with her sword again.

"**Self: Curse burning."**

More dark flames burst from Naofumi's shield when she struck it like a volcano. Malty didn't think she'd need to dodge. The shield was supposed to have no attack power! Yet, when the flames slammed into her chest, the area around her was covered in cursed dark flames. Painful, cursed flames.

"Ahhhhhhh!" She screamed in agony.

"Mommy! What's happening to daddy?!" Filo asked worriedly.

"What's happened to him?!" Melty asked in fear.

"Nao… Naofumi…" Raphtalia clutched at her chest in pain.

She could feel it like Filo was. The Naofumi they knew and loved (one as a daughter, the other as a companion) was disappearing inside of all that hate. It was consuming him, just like the fire covering him. It was taking him away both mentally and physically.

"What's going on over there?!" Altara the nun yelled to her Church Knights. "Report! What is happening on the other side of the wall!?"

Malty somehow managed to back out of the fire. She leaned against the wall of a building on the side of the duel. The outer portion of her shirt sleeves had melted from that fire, and the burnt parts were hurting her chest. She was covered in more curse burns.

"Myne, are you alright!?" Motoyasu asked worriedly.

"Of course I am!" She tried to reply confidently, but she couldn't hide the growing fear from her voice. And Motoyasu, the Commander, and the rest of the knights finally realized it.

Even the Church Knights on top of the wall had realized it.

The First Princess was in legit danger of being killed.

They had to act now.

"The Shield Demon's transformed!" A Church Knight yelled down at last.

"He's finally shed his human appearance!"

"He's going to kill the First Princess!" Another yelled.

Altara was stunned by the news for only a second. "Get those gates open now!" Altara yelled to the Church Knights.

"We have to stop this! Naofumi wins! The duel is over and he and his party can leave-" Motoyasu tried to yell. He recognized Naofumi's transformation. A similar thing had happened the first time he had unlocked a similar weapon. They needed to get everyone away now, before-

"Ahhhhhh!" Naofumi charged out of his flames towards Malty. Fire cascading off him like a waterfall.

Myne drank another elixir from her pouch. "As source of thy power and as the next Queen I order thee,"

"No, Myne, you have to stop-" Motoyasu tried to say.

"Decipher the Laws of Nature, and burn my target away until there's nothing but ash that remains!" Myne continued bullheadedly into the fight despite Motoyasu's pleas. "**Drifa Hellfire!"**

The charging Naofumi raised his shield up. The blast of fire slammed into him, but it didn't do anything. He continued to evilly smile as he ran through the flames. Until, at last, he came charging out, aiming his shield at Myne's face.

This time, she was smart enough to dodge the attack. Naofumi's shield slammed into the wood of the building behind Myne. Dark flames leaped from his shield, licking at the wooden structure.

"We have to stop this!"

"He's going to burn down the whole city!"

A few of the knights who knew water magic positioned themselves near the fire outside of Naofumi's view. "As source of thy power, we order thee, decipher the Laws of Nature, and summon a storm to quell these flames. **Zweite Aqua Storm!"**

A storm cloud appeared over the building. Raining water in thick drops onto the slowly growing green flames. However, the water wasn't working very well. "These fires are cursed!" One of the knights yelled to some of their compatriots.

"We need light magic over here!" Another knight yelled.

"No! We need to stop the Shield Devil from burning down the city!" A group of knights yelled as they charged Naofumi while he stood in front of the burning building.

Motoyasu looked around whilst grimacing in indecision. What could he do?! This wasn't like Emerald Online! This was far from it! Did he take care of the fires, did he try to stop the duel, did he try to protect all the NPC's while Naofumi was out of control, what should he do?!

"**Zweite Fire Blast! Zweite Dragon's Breath! Zweite Fireball! Zweite Hellfire!" **Myne launched quick spells in succession at Naofumi. Again, he didn't try to dodge them. He simply let them hit against him or pass him. The ones that passed him hit more buildings, causing more fires.

"Protect the First Princess!" The first group of knights finally arrived. A few of them swung their swords at him but he calmly blocked their attacks with his Shield. Letting his cursed flames slam into each one that tried to attack, causing them to fall to the ground.

"AUGHHHHHHH!" The level 30 or so knights screamed as new cursed burns appeared on them. Even those whose armor had enchantments to resist fire damage. The rest of the group immediately backed away, looking wide-eyed down at their comrades.

That was the thing. Naofumi wasn't doing fire damage. It was 100% curse damage fueled by hate. The enchantments needed to resist that kind of damage were rare. And Naofumi had a lot more of it to give.

He stepped over one of the writhing knights on the ground and charged Myne again.

"And give our target a boost! **Asgard's Might!"**

A light blue glow surrounded Myne as Naofumi charged. She jumped to the side. Avoiding another strike from Naofumi's shield. "Hah!" She struck at his offside, but her sword glanced off, doing nothing. Even with the increased speed and power boost that came from the support spell. She couldn't touch him.

But his flames definitely touched her. As they leaped off his side and covered her again. "Ahhh!" It was only because she was level 66 that his flames weren't putting her down immediately like the lower leveled knights.

"No, Naofumi, please stop!" Raphtalia finally yelled.

Naofumi was smiling cruelly as he turned to the heavily breathing Bitch like he had all the time in the world. His Shield of Rage was raised in front of him. This Bitch, who had tried again and again to take everything from him. To crush him into the dirt.

"Naofumi!"

"**Zweite Fire Arrows!" **Myne launched more fire arrows at Naofumi. Most of them hit. But again, a few of them flew off. A couple hit the ground. One caught another building on fire.

Oh yes. This Bitch was going to pay.

The Commander spoke up before Motoyasu could. "All knights! The duel is officially over! Get in your squads and subdue the Shield Demon!"

The knights complied to the Commander's orders. The Captain who'd informed the Commander about the events grimaced, but for once he agreed. Naofumi was definitely out of control. They had to protect the city.

"Knights! Phalanx formation! Protect the mages!" A Captain ordered.

"Three Eagles Formation!"

"Wings Formation!"

"No, we can't!" Motoyasu tried to yell. But no one was paying him any attention anymore. They were organizing for battle. "Damn it!" He charged into the fray. Equipping one of his better spears in the process. "**Air Strike Javelin!"**

Raphtalia's face hardened. She couldn't stand by and watch anymore either. Not just because the fight was getting out of hand! Not just because Naofumi was ignoring her yells. Not just because a horde of Church Knights was on the other side of the wall. She could see it! These flames he was using were dragging him deeper into himself! While each use damaged his opponents, they fueled his own anger and got more powerful, taking him deeper and deeper into the dark abyss consuming his mind.

This was no time to stand around and have a pity party! They had to act. NOW! BEFORE IT WAS TOO LATE!

"Filo! Get up to the guard tower! Keep those Knights from opening those gates and harming Naofumi!" She ordered her daughter.

Filo shook herself out of her stupor at seeing Daddy being so scary. "Okay! Get off Mel!"

"Wha-" Filo nudged a surprised Melty off with one of her wings. Then she bent low and jumped high into the air. Landing on the top of the wall above them.

"Hey, what's- AHHHHH!" Several Church Knights who'd been positioned to send spells flying at Naofumi went flying off the wall onto the other side.

"Stay away from my Daddy!" Filo lashed out with her wing, knocking another column of knights back over the edge before she broke down the wood door on that side and rushed into the Guard Tower itself. More screams of surprise came from inside. The gates had been in the middle of opening. But then they stopped and lowered back into the ground. The few knights who'd been trapped between the gates ran up into the passageway while more knights were launched out of the guard tower.

"No, what's going on!?" Altara yelled angrily on the other side.

Melty got back up, dusting off her dress from the surprise fall. "Eclair, Melty, help put out those fires!" Raphtalia ordered. "We can't let the city burn!"

"Got it!" Melty started to run for where the fires were starting to spread.

Eclair was following when she stopped and looked back. "But what are you going to do Miss Raphtalia?" Eclair asked.

"I'm going to help Naofumi! I have to get him to change out of that shield!" Raphtalia ran towards the duel. That was escalating in ways no one could have ever imagined.

"Hah!" She knocked a knight that tried to attack her to the side. Then she drank a Magic Water Potion.

No one was going to get in her way.

* * *

"Fire Arrows!"

A long line of Knight Archers released their strings at a Captain's command. A wave of arrows flew into Naofumi's raised shield. Burning away.

"Mages!" Another Captain ordered.

"As source of thy power, we order thee, decipher the laws of nature, and strike down our target." Several lines of mages chanted.

"**Zweite Fireball!"**

"**Zweite Aqua Shot!"**

"**Zweite Air Shot!"**

"**Zweite Earthball!"**

Multiple knights chanted the different spells at the same time. Unleashing the different element spells on Naofumi after the wave of arrows. But again, none of them damaged him. All the attacks burned to ash without causing him any damage.

The only upside was that the ranged attacks didn't trigger the counter effect. So the knights had that going for them.

"Urghhhhh," Bitch growled as she drank another one of her elixirs. She was beginning to notice that while her MP gauge was refilling, her HP gauge wasn't. And her burned injuries weren't disappearing. She still had burns on her arms, hands, and chest where she'd been hit so far. And while the elixir slightly healed her HP, it did nothing more than that. **'**_These elixirs can't heal curses.' _She growled at Naofumi again. To think he'd had such a power hidden up his sleeve! "I won't let you make a fool out of me! **Zweite WindSlash!"**

A large slash of wind flew at Naofumi. But again, he blocked it with his shield. Grinning evilly all the while. Oh how he hated this Bitch.

He had never felt hatred like this before. It consumed him, and made him feel like he held all the power in the world at his fingertips. And right now, all this power, all this Rage, wanted to inflict itself against this horrid vile creature in front of him.

"Ahhhhh!" Myne charged at Naofumi again. Since she was still buffed from several groups of knights that were remaining back, she had a major speed boost.

Naofumi punched at her, and she ducked the strike. Giving a quick strike to one of his sides as she ran by. Naofumi took no damage, but the flames that leaped out from him in retaliation failed to hit Bitch. Who got away before they could hurt her. The flames continued on past knights who ducked for cover until they hit a wagon. Bursting it into flames.

"**Fast Aqua Storm!**"

Melty cast a spell over the wagon.

"I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature, and infuse my target with a cleansing light!" Eclair reached towards the flames. "**First Cleansing!**"

The combination of water and holy magic put out the cursed fires.

Myne struck at Naofumi again and then jumped to the side to avoid the flames again. He didn't mind that his flames were missing. It was always better when the one you hated struggled for their life. Giving up too soon got rid of the fun of causing them pain. Well, most of it.

"Ahhhhhh!" More knights charged at Naofumi after Myne backed off from her attack to be buffed up some more.

Naofumi turned towards them. He raised his shield, blocking one strike. Then he put more of his hatred into the flames, causing them to explode outwards like a volcano around him. More knights screamed as they fell writhing to the ground. The rest of the group, which included some burned elite knights, backed away to look for another opening. Of the hundreds of knights that Motoyasu and the Commander had brought with them, a few dozen were already incapacitated due to curse injuries. But none of the elite knights wielding the magic Mithril swords had gone down to the flames yet. Since their average level was around 55-60.

"Fire Arrows!"

The archers prepared to fire another volley at Naofumi at the Captain's Command.

"**Blade of Illusion!" **Raphtalia reappeared behind part of the Phalanx formation. All of whom turned around in surprise at her shout. "**Light Piercing Slash!" **Her sword shined as bright as a star, blinding the knights. And then they were all hit by a long arc of light. The entire right side crumpled to the ground in pain.

"You damn demi-human!" The Commander yelled angrily as he tried to swipe at Raphtalia from behind.

Raphtalia quickly turned and parried the Commander's attack. "You will not hurt my Naofumi!" While he was off balance and surprised, she slashed his chest plate, drawing blood from the strike. Then she kicked him hard. He was sent flying back into the backline of mages that had been casting spells at Naofumi. His slashed chest plate slightly dented in from the force of the kick.

"Commander!" The rest of the mages and the two Captains focused on their bleeding Commander. And on the knights on the ground around them. They started to work on casting healing magic. The other knights pulled back for Myne and worked on resecuring their formation.

'_Now that the immediate knights are taken care of.'_

"Urgh!" Naofumi tried to slam his shield down at Bitch. But she jumped back, avoiding the attack. But then she retreated further when his flames flared up from the ground like the jaws of hell.

He rushed forward. This Bitch had hell to pay. She had to be-

"Naofumi!" Before Naofumi could continue forward, a hand gripped his arm. A soft, slender one. A familiar one. Raphtalia got in front of his face. "Naofumi, please, we'll fight her together. We'll put a stop to all this." She was looking at him in the eyes. Smiling reassuringly to him. "We can do it. But first, I need you to change off of that shield-"

He didn't recognize her. Whoever it was was in the way anyways. So he grabbed her arm and then threw her away from him.

"Naofumi-" She crashed into the side of a nearby building. "Ahhhhhhh!" She screamed in pain. Not just from the impact, but also because her arm was burned where he had gripped her.

'_Hate… hate...' _Naofumi turned, resuming his fight against Bitch who tried striking at him again. He hadn't even recognized he'd hurt Raphtalia. He was so consumed with rage, he could mistake anyone for friend or foe if they got in his way.

As Raphtalia got up on one knee, a small cursed fire was already beginning to grow behind her. The leftover cursed flames on her arm had transferred to the wood. Several other cursed fires from where other knights had been flung were also beginning to grow.

"As source of thy power, we order thee!"

"Decipher the laws of nature, and bring forth a mighty blessing."

"Bring forth a torrential rain. A downpour like no other."

"Create a storm! Infuse our targets and rid the world of these flames! **Blessing of the Divine Rains!"**

A storm appeared over a wide area. Raindrops fell onto Raphtalia, the knights, and the cursed fires. Unlike the other knight's attempts on the cursed flames, the cursed fires grew smaller. Gradually disappearing under the downpour. Black mist came off of Raphtalia's burns, making them hurt less. But it didn't make them go away entirely.

"Miss Raphtalia, are you alright?!" Eclair ran up to check on her. Melty was also hurrying up. Drinking down a Magic Water potion after performing the combo spell with Eclair. Some of the knights bowed gratefully to the Second Princess before running off to fight more fires.

"I'm fine. But Naofumi… it was like he didn't recognize me."

Naofumi screamed, this time in frustration, as Myne, with the addition of another buff, managed to finally leave a gash along one of his shoulders. The Phalanx formation was back at the head again, with the elite knights charging in afterward to strike at Naofumi's HP bar again.

Motoyasu charged in after they retreated back for a respite from the flames. "Naofumi! Just give up already! You're making yourself look worse by-" Naofumi punched Motoyasu away before the blonde idiot could react. His punch had packed a surprising amount of force behind it. Motoyasu slammed into the retreating knights, disrupting their formation.

**"**More support magic! Buff the First Princess as much as possible for her next strike!" A Captain ordered.

"I couldn't reach through to him." She had been right in front of him. She had looked him in the eyes. "I tried… but it was like he didn't recognize me." Raphtalia said sadly.

"As source of thy power, we order thee! Decipher the laws of nature, and strike down our target!" The mages who'd just finished healing their Commander and treating some of the knights focused on attacking Naofumi again. This time they were attacking from different angles. While they didn't do much, if any, damage; their bombardment of spells obscured his vision. The few Church Knights on the wall that weren't trying to deal with Filo also fired spells down at Naofumi from above. And some of the back formations cast more support magic on the First Princess.

Taking on an army really could be hard.

"Then try harder Miss Raphtalia. We're lucky that our magic is enough to work on his cursed magic." Eclair said, looking towards the next set of fires she and Melty needed to put out.

"Huah!" Filo kicked another Church Knight over the wall. His body slammed into one of the ladders, sending it and the small group of knights climbing it backward into the small army.

"If Sir Naofumi's cursed flames get any stronger, then we'll really have a problem on our hands-" Melty was saying. If the curses were even stronger, then their magic wouldn't be powerful enough to put them out.

Bitch left another quick gash on Naofumi's other side. Making him scream in pain again, interrupting Melty. Bitch was moving quickly thanks to all the different buffs. She had to have at least a dozen of them on her by this point.

She stopped a few dozen feet away from Naofumi. Even without her armor and with black burns covering much of her upper body, she stood arrayed in all her bitch-like glory. "Finally, you're back to the weak and pathetic peon that you were before!" Bitch yelled in triumph.

"No, sister, stop doing this," Melty started to yell at Malty. Naofumi was breathing angrily and gripping at the gash. "Stop before you make him-"

"To think I was afraid of someone as weak and pathetic as you! You're lower than vermin! You're lower than peasants and commoners! You're nothing before me!" Bitch maniacally laughed. "You and your whole party will pay for your sins! I'll see to it myself!" Bitch prepared to run in for another strike.

Naofumi's eyes flared a brighter red. Despite all the spells being launched at him, he focused on her. For once more calling out her intentions to hurt his girl and his kid. **'**_Hate! Hate! HATE! HATE! HATTTTEEEE!'_

What he had now was clearly not enough to properly deal with her.

...

**C̸̢̗̣̫̠̞̓̅̊̓͛͋̄͊̚ͅṵ̶̡̢̨̟̫͇̓̒̆̈̀̾̈̈́̕r̵̨̮͉̖̯͇̀ş̷͙̙̙̹͉̇͐e̷̫̞͆̈̿̾̄̽̀̕ ̸̧̧̭̰͙̗͍̭͂̓̄͋̓͝S̸̖̩̭̙̊̂̐̚ͅe̴̞̯̜̱͆̄̏̌̅r̷̼͈͔͂̉̀̈̔͗i̸̛̮̪̪̺̓̈́͋͆̉̇e̷͔̭̝̿̓̑̔͐̇̒̈́ͅs̶̢̛̛̺̦͓͐̽̔͋͘:̸̧̛̤̼͚̤̼̿̽͛͌̔͒͝͝ ̶̳̝̳͍̗̳̰̅͒͝S̶̛͎̻̳̲̘͉̓̊́͂̈́̄̏ḫ̶̦̺̔̌̈́i̸̳̹̭̟͂̈́́̾͑̚e̷̘̫̹̅̄̊̿͊̂͠͝ĺ̶͎͉̗͔̩̘̑̈́͆̈́̃͜͝ḓ̷͚̬͖͖͈̂̊ ̸̢̞̗̲̝̞̘͎̩̋́͋̏̂͂͜ŏ̶̞͓̞̆͒̌̕ͅͅf̶̧̛̮͙̜̬̼̤̀̍ ̴̧͔̝̗͖̖̜͇̱̍̎̃̑͌̃̚R̸͈̣̣͘a̴̬̿̋̍̏̕g̷̲̳̦̫̭̃̆́̀̾̉̒̈́̚ę̵̡̱̰̻̮̟͎̀̒́̌ ̷̪͂A̴̰͐͒̀͐͘͝ͅb̵̺̬̦̦̪̹̈́̎͐́̐̌͌͊͜i̷̩͍͉̟͍̥̗̭̜͚̊̌̈́̽̊̑̕͝ļ̵̛͔̩̬͖̼̪͍̈́̎́̈́̈́͝ͅi̶̛̖̺̦̜͈̩t̷̡̤̪̯͕̮͔͆͠í̸̛̻͓̤͙͚̙̯̿̅̂̓̉̇͒e̷̢̨͉͖̫͕̲̍̀̑̀͐͑̐̀͝ͅṡ̶̛̻́͋̊ ̷̺̹̯̰͚̯̯̪̅͂͐ĭ̵̤͉͓̼̬͎͒n̶͙͕̫̞͒̈́͐̑̓͊̚͠ͅc̶̦̭̱̝͈̙̫̖̐̈́͊̌̔̓̍̚r̶̡̥̪̋è̶̢͓̺̫̠̔̌͆͌̌͝͠à̶͈̍̏̏̈́̂̆̌͝s̵̢̰̤̖̬̑̏̌͑͂͝ė̸̢̹͂͘d̸̛̼̲̾̓̈́̐!̶̛̞͕̹̈͋̔́̀̊̕͠**

**̶̼͎͙͖̬͔͇̌̒̆͊̏͂̏̓̀̕**

**̶̱̲̜̓Ś̵̨͎͉͂̈́ḩ̷̡̐̆͝͠i̶̛̟͉͋̈́͑̓ḙ̷̢̢̧̛̲̤̹͌̀̄̈́͒̿͜͝l̶̡̨͕̠̜̳͈̎̓̈́̒̅͂͋͝d̵̨̜͆͂̓̈́͘͘̕͠ ̸̰̠͆͠o̵͇͓͐̈́̈́͌̋̔̾̋̊f̶͕̋͐̊ ̵͈̟̲̤͖̜̯̓Ř̴̡̙͙͕́̉͗͝͠â̷̹̱̗͔͍͔̫͓̘̆͂͊̆̕͠g̶̖̫͍̈̈́̅͆̆͗ë̴̠̖̱́̏͝ ̸̛̫̯̅͛̐͑̔͝͠͝I̵̩͎̼̮̟͌̌̑̇̊͂͘Ȋ̴͇͓͎̘̦͖͜ ̸̗̘͍̮̻̦͚̏̆̿̏̃́̓ͅų̶͈͇̜̭͈̗̊̌͒̕͜͝͝ͅn̴̨͍̪̳͍͊̉̒͠l̸̛̛̘̲͍̳̪̠̒͌͗̉͊͊o̴̰͎͖͎̗̯͇̜̽̎̌͋̓̃̔͒̔͊͜c̸̺̰͖͌̋̇̌͐̇͋́͑̚k̵̤̗̣̲͕̿́̄̌̓̅̊̀̍̕ͅȩ̸̢̝͎͊̽́̕d̸̞̘̖̪̠̻̱̲̖̍̂̈́̊͘͝!̵̟̣̮̈̓̀͒̉̃̿͆͝**

**̶̟̫̙̬̲̹͙̺̐ͅ**

**̵̳̤̟̽͋͌̏̀́͒͗͝͝E̸̡̖̫͇̲̘͗̈́͐͂̏q̸͔͍̖̱͖͍̦̫̗̾ṳ̵̦̬̥̂͒́͜ͅi̴̢̞̳͉͇͙̩̯̮̐͂͌̒̑͆͠͠ṗ̶̗̤͕̲̖͐̈́̽͠ ̵̢͖̝̗͐̀̾̓̾̑̓͠͝B̶̪̠̪̤̯̈̅̄ǫ̶̛̠̺̍̾̃͂̆n̵̨̩̖̻̑̅ͅų̸̱̥̮͎͚̳̣̇ͅͅs̸̢̨̤͙̤͇͓̄̕ ̷̮̈́̈́̂̿̒̎S̵̖͕͔͇̳̦͈̩̒͋̊̋̀̌̒ͅķ̴̢̨̘̤͖̼̃̊͋̑͜ȋ̵̢̨̠̝̗̘̻̖̳̋̓̅͊l̷̢̛̥͔̟̜̗͉͔̑̌̂͗̆̈́̄l̴̥͛͘:̷̨̖̦͉̘̪͎͕͕̥́ ̷̧̛̟͍̝̟̳̙͝"̷̪̠͑̃̇͝C̶̛̯͍̫͋̊̐h̸͈̱̠̞́̈́̃̅͘̕͘ͅa̵̢̺̰͊͆͆̂̎̕n̸͉̺̔g̴̢̣̽̊͑͋̌̽̆̂̍̂e̷̠̖̓̀͌̚ ̶̺͌̑̿̃̈́̋̈̈́͊Ş̴̢̛̙̥͉̞̭̘͍̫̿ẖ̸̡̜͎̠̤͑ͅį̸̯̙̝̰͔̅͛͊̍̕͘̕e̶̢̢̜͕̽͒̄̎͘ḻ̴̦̰̼̩̋́́͜d̷̘̝̗̞͓̓̿̀̉̈͐̈ ̵̡̲̺̳̪͚̱͙̜́̇͋̀̃͌͠͝͝͝(̷̧͇̖̥̥̳͇̤̭̩͂̇͒̕̚Ḁ̸̡̼͎̥͓̂̈͘t̷̪̖̺͋͗̂̑͠t̸̙̙͍̫̹̾̓͋̀̌̒̔͠ͅa̸̘͓̎̾̿̿̓̽̅̊͠c̵̨̻̻̯͍͕̬̩̔́̐ͅͅk̵̢̨̢͈͖̙͔̠̙̀͐̇̄́͝͠͝)̴̢̤̙͓̹̤͕͂̀͆"̶̡̡̯̪̩̼͔͉̲̀ ̸̤͍͕̾͋́͒͊͛̋̀ȁ̸̡͙͔̬͙̮͔̅̉n̶̗͉̲͇͈̣̄̊̽́̈́͋͊̓̚͝d̵̜͖̯̙̰͈̏͋͒͗̈́̌̆ ̴̨̧͉̥̩̭̦̓́̅͒̅͂̽͘"̸̜͕̮̖̗͊ͅI̴̬̦̗̥̳̳͐̏͊̈́̑̈̑͜͠ŗ̵͙̣̞̪̖͚͍͊̽́̑͘͝o̴͙̔̒̓̔̃̑͗̕͝n̶͕̈́̏̑͛̉͛̍̐ ̸̨̛͇̘̜̜͐̈͆̽͆̕͝M̶̨̫̹̝͎͚̉͊̈́͊̉̄͐̈͋͝ạ̷͇̤̣͚̊̌i̶̛̯̙͛͋͑̑̿̚̚͠d̸̝͙̰̎͋̈͊̄͆͆ë̶̢͖̣́̈́̔͐̈́̔̑͊́n̵̨̧̥̥̰̗̫͙͋̽̊̉͜͝"̸̢̧̡̘̱̞͈̖͔̖̿̔**

**̶͖͙̤̓̓̋͑̇̕̚͘͘ͅS̴͙̲̈́̓̔͑͊͊̒̕p̷͍͍̟̙̈́͌͊̆͒̃͛͝e̵̡̥͙̯̠̭͉̓̏͑c̶̡̢̖̹̣̝̥̩̹̖̅̓̓͌i̸̞̻̦͚̞͉̻͝ā̵̪̔̌͑̿̔͑̎̕ľ̶͙͓̏͜ ̵̘̤̼̠͕̫̯̙̘̿́͆͋Ȩ̷̺̰̀̂̿̾̀͂̎f̷̧̪̹̘̭̦̹̺̗̭̉̈́́f̴̢͇͔̺̳͈̜̽͗̀͋e̵͖̯͙̱̥̹͕͎̠̓̈͌c̶̝̗̻̓̈̏t̷̟̱̩̄͆́̑̎̚:̵͚̅̔̓̕ ̵̢̟̹̝̱̯̜̰̭͕͋̄̎̿̑̏͘͠Ś̵̘̫̳̼̫̬̜̳̰̎̿͌͆͝ę̵͈͓̭̩͖͇̫̾͌͛͗̉̚ͅl̸̨̡̟̔̓̈͘͘ͅf̴̡̧̜̼̰͇̟͇̥̈̍̇̽̓̆ ̴̨̛͆̿̒̂̇̏̂͝C̶͓̘͛̉͌̐̃ụ̸̖̇̆r̴̙͕̤̰̰̲̿͒̈̃͂s̷̛͉̯̳̾̓͛̈̎͠ḛ̸͓͉͎̮̺̀̓̈̄̑̓̒̉̑͝ ̶̹̀̐̉̅̒͗B̶̡͝ȕ̸̢͕̮̝̜̳̻͊͗̌̆͋͐r̴̹͇̔͋̎͋n̴̨̹͔̝̣̗͕̊̆̀į̷̢̦̫̱̣̝̗͕͖̇͂̿́̑̆̂̓̄n̸͎̬̥̙͎͕̰̽̏̑̑́̑̕g̵̝̗̝͖̠͈̘̾̑̽̆̎̽̀ͅ,̸̞͌͝͝ ̶̨̛̬̖͍͇̬̒̀̿́͋̎͑̕S̶̩͍̹̘͔̥̺̮̅̃̅ṫ̶̢̲̽r̷͍̳̔̽̏͋ė̶̜̹͇̝̮̱̤̹͐ṇ̵̯̃̽̑͂g̷̫͙̯̙̪̦͈͗͛̊͌͌̅̆̚͘͘t̴̠̹̗̍̔̏͆̅̾̚h̵̢̧̨͈͖͙̳̰̭͋̓̑̋̈͌̏͛͝͠ ̵̨̥͉͉͉̊͂̀͑̈́̀͛͠ͅȔ̸͉̙̒̏͊͗̾͆p̶̼̣͕͓̥͑̏̒͋͐̑̋͝,̸̢̡̭͚̜̙̦͖͎̄͋̊̓͗̈̕̚ͅ ̶̦͕̤̖͎͗̉͊̒̈́̊̈͑͊Ḏ̷̨̧̛̛͕͉̩̭̲̣̆̍̽̆̎̀e̶̤̓̊͆̇͝m̶̺̱͍̜͈͈͊̃̍́̃͂͊͜͝ǒ̴̡̡͉̦͙̲̠̮̼̮̉ṋ̴͇̑̍̎̿͝ͅ'̵̰̘̰͈̑͘̕s̵̯̟̲̦͓̙̟̥̤̀̎̈́̄ ̴̅́̅̊̍͋̊̇̈́͆ͅR̵̟̗͚͕̞͔̬̰̈́̏̀̏͠a̶̧̳͍͑͌̈͊g̵̬̦͍̲̥̀̏͊̏̇̂́͌̾̚ë̸͓͙̮̘̎͜,̶͎̦̰̙̳̮̝̪̈́̽ͅ ̶̺͕̥̟̥͐̈̒̈́̕͜Ŗ̶̨̛̘͚̬͒͊̚ȏ̶͇̮̮͇͖̱͂̿͂̃͊͘͘͜͝y̸̟͙̞̑̎̏̏a̷͖̭̯̩͛ͅļ̶̦̞͇̪͋̄̃̃͋̋̒͜ͅ ̶̢̟͚̲̦̔̐̂ͅṢ̸̰͉̌h̸̡̥̩̜͍̗̗̬͖̆ĩ̷̹̞̤̀́̔͛̔̕͝é̶̺̱̳̟̙̜̰͖͇͍̀̄l̷̦͖̣̱̄̿͊̍͌͆̽͜ḑ̸̹͔͈̜̍̅̈́̽̀͐̀̕ ̵̧̫͚͖̮̣͎́̎̽͌͌̄͘͜͠͝͠(̶̛͇̦̰͎͉͍̘̣̠̙͌͌̽͛͂̕R̸̻͚͑̅ǟ̷̡̧̧̫͖͓̯̤̗͆̋̚͝g̴̛̭̘͇̯̭̙̪̳̀̈́ȩ̷̮̪̝͕̔̓̿̅̽̊̍̔͠͝ ̸͍̭̅͑̆͜c̵̢̩̞͎̍̀̄u̴͇̝̬̟̦͓̯̗̫͛̃̽͒̚ȑ̷̨̨̟̞̗͓͉̳͊͘̚͜͝ş̵̢̫̻̞̤̫̪̈́̇e̸̱̠̣̥̳̓̋̿̈̌)̷̖̺͌̃̇͂̆̕,̵̧̣̣̱̙̼̞̜͖͑̏͒̂̕͜͝ ̵̛̯͔̬̻̗̲̌͆̇̋̽͂͘͜ͅS̷̭͓̙̊͐̈́̄͗̄̓h̷̖̼̤̪̽i̸̊̆̒̌̅̕͜͠e̵̜̳͐̈́̿̐̋̇́͑͠͝ĺ̸̬̪̘̖̜̫͈̜̹̓̏̔͐͝d̷̛͈̖͓̪͈͛̉̿̽̈͒ ̸̳͇̞̣̝̎̅͌̕B̷̠̹̲̘͍̫̃̒̏͑͌̌̆̊ḁ̸̧̛͉̜̂̎̀̇̐́̕ś̸̢̥͍̘̗̗̖̲̤̾̓͒̋̈̚͜h̵̠̜͈̝̟͚͊͒̓͜ ̸̡̜̰̻̓͊̈́̿̾̏͐͌̚͜(̷̫̗̻̼̦͐͂̊͂͆̈́́̕R̷̝͍̞̂̎̑̍a̷̘͖͎̤̝̙̩̟͙̾ġ̴̡̖͖̺̹͇̯̳̮̔͂̽̈́̕͘ë̴̢̢̜͖̮̫̳̦̟́̃͊̄̓̕͜ ̷̮̬̿̏̂͌͗̈́́̀̅̚C̸̡̢͕͉͈̳͉̟̲͍͛̽ư̶̻̹̙͚͓͖͗r̵͎̘̣̖̖͋s̸̨̉͂͆͆̉́͝e̷̡̖͌̐̚)̵̤̗͕̰̯̲̤̠̖͌͐͆̈́̉̂̍̿̕͘**

**̶̦̬͔̮̤͍͕̅̅́̄̂̀͘**

**̷̢̢̻̘̭̙͍͇̗̝͎̾̋̐̈͂̂͘͝**

"AHHHHHHH!"

To Raphtalia's horror, Naofumi's shield changed again as he screamed. It got bigger. The black design under the bright red gemstone changed. The red lost its luster, while the black was emphasized. The right side of Naofumi's body became encased in… armor? His chest plate changed colors. Black as night, hard as dragon scales, interspersed with sharp spikes, and with a black aura coming off just as sinister as a demon's.

All he needed was a horn and tail and he'd have the demon look down.

Bitch charged in for another slash. "Ha-"

"**Royal Shield!**" However, before she could get another slash in, a burst of energy came off of Naofumi. It slammed into her with the force of a sledgehammer and sent her flying back.

He was now surrounded by a barrier of energy. Instead of gold-colored, it was a light red. The crown crest on it was twisted, malformed, and black as coal. Dark flames flickered under its surface.

"**Zweite Fireball!**"

"**Zweite Aqua Shot!**"

"**Zweite Air Shot!**"

"**Zweite Earthball!**"

The Church Knights' spells being fired from the wall were dispelled against the more powerful barrier. Not doing anything to it. The Royal Knights' spells, however, to their complete bewilderment, were absorbed into it. Similar to how Myne's spell had been absorbed before. And then while they were still surprised, their spells came flying back out at them. Covered in dark cursed flames.

The **Royal Shield (Rage Curse) **had lost the defense bonus when protecting friendly royalty and/or rulers. But it had a higher defense rating thanks to the **Rage Shield II, **and, as a bonus, it gained the ability to not only get a bonus facing enemy royalty but against anyone loyal to royalty.

"Ah! Ahhhhhh!" Some of the Royal mages screamed in pain and agony as they collapsed to the ground. Covered in dark burns.

"Mages, fall back!" A Captain yelled to the ones that had managed to avoid their own spells.

Motoyasu got back up, staring at Naofumi in horror. Naofumi in the midst of his **Royal Shield (Rage Curse) **looked even more threatening than before.

The barrier suddenly disappeared. "No!" Naofumi fell to his knees, clutching at his head. "Stop… stop it…" Flames burst anew from Naofumi, who clutched at his head in pain.

Raphtalia stared in horror. Naofumi was trying to fight his way to the surface. "Naofumi! Please, change your shield before it's too late!" She screamed.

"I… I…" His voice sounded human for just a second. He looked at her, and his lips moved. It was barely more than a whisper.

"Run."

His eyes blazed red. Then he slammed his shield down into the ground. "I HATE IT ALL!" He screamed deeply. "**Shield Bash!**"

Shield Bash was a skill Naofumi had discovered from copying the **Iron Series of Shields **at Erhard's shop. However, he hadn't used it much, if at all before this moment, because it did no damage. It stunned an opponent for three seconds and dealt damage equal to his attack stat (so basically none). And only served to weakly knock an opponent back and stun them. However, under the upgrades from the Cursed Series.

A wave of cursed Fire surged out from the area of contact with the ground.

"Get back! Get back-" Some of the knights, including elite knights, were hit by the flames.

"AHHHHHHH!" They'd thought they knew pain before. But this... this took it to a whole new level. These flames were definitely more powerful. Even the elite knights of Melromarc fell to them.

The upgraded Shield Bash had more attack power. Along with the cursed flames and stunning effect. The best part was that it took only five seconds for it to recharge.

"Get back! Everyone get back!" The Captain who'd helped at Lute yelled in fear. "Drag the wounded back! This is too much for us to handle on our own! Get everyone back!" He ordered the squads under him.

"Yes sir!" His knights charged around the field. Helping and/or dragging their downed comrades back to safety.

"What do you think you're doing?! You're not the one in charge here!"

The Captain turned to the Commander. "I know a fight we can't win when I see it. I'm not going to needlessly throw away the lives of those beneath us!"

"He's right." Before the Commander could argue, Motoyasu approached. Holding a hand to his gut. "Naofumi is out of control. Your knights will only get in the way."

The Captain nodded to him before he looked to the other Captains. "Get every knight who can to pull out the wounded and fall back! Support the First Princess from a distance! Sir Spear Hero, please stop the Shield Hero!"

The Commander growled angrily but didn't counteract the Captain. "Yes, I will," Motoyasu changed spears. The normal ones weren't going to cut it. The only thing he could think of that could stand against a Cursed Series was another one.

His eyes turned green.

* * *

"Miss Altara! The Shield Demon is going out of control- Wahhhhhh!" The Church Knight who'd been yelling down to Altara from the wall was sent flying by a kick from Filo.

Altara grimaced. "Get that damn gate open! Before the Shield Demon grows too powerful!" She then finally got up off her horse. She'd been hoping to save all her magic power for taking down the Shield Demon. But this monster was proving to be a bigger pest than these men could handle.

'_Some humans just aren't capable of getting the job done properly.' _She thought in annoyance.

Raphtalia shakily stood back up. Gripping painfully at her sword. Naofumi had told her to run. But she couldn't do that. She had to help him.

"Are you going to be okay?" Melty asked worriedly.

Raphtalia smiled down to the worried princess. "Don't worry… I'll be fine. " Raphtalia charged back into the fray.

"Come on Princess Melty. We're going to have to work harder on these next flames!" Eclair said as she ran for the next set of fires. Melty followed.

Naofumi charged Myne again in his new, deadlier form.

"No, Naofumi! Stop!" Naofumi barely turned in time to block Motoyasu's spear. It was the same spear from before. And had a similar dark aura coming off from it. The spear was black, with green highlights. The gem on it was as dark green as a murky swamp. Along with his eyes.

Naofumi's flames activated, but Motoyasu jumped back, avoiding them. He gripped at his forehead like he had a massive headache coming on. "Stop Naofumi! You won the duel! Just take your party and- No he didn't!" It was like Motoyasu was fighting with himself. His eyes flashed from green to his normal bright orange, and then back again. "It's over! You don't have to- You took everything away from me!" He charged forward again. "**Chaos Thrust!" **His spear became a blur as he struck at Naofumi repeatedly. A look of clear jealousy on his face.

Naofumi tanked the attack. It was hurting a little bit. And his overall stats dropped slightly for some reason. But on the last hit, his Shield burst to life. This time, his flames successfully slammed into Motoyasu. "Ah!" Like he was coming to, he retreated back. One of his hands clutching at the arm that had taken the brunt of the flames.

"No! Sir Motoyasu!" Myne growled angrily at Naofumi. "As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature, and blast my target away!" She rushed the chant because Naofumi turned and started to run towards her. He was running fast, so she had to hit him now before he got close!

"No, Myne! I've got this! Get out of there-"

"**Drifa Fire Dragon's Roar!"**

A roaring fire dragon came from Bitch. Her strongest spell. It roared as it flew at Naofumi with deadly speed.

There were at least a dozen different spells buffing her at that moment. The spell had to work. It had to work! It had to-

"Gruhhhhh!" **Boom! "**Gruhhhhhhh!"

Naofumi slammed the roaring fire spell away with his shield.

It was epic.

In his enraged state. He had deflected the strong spell straight up into the air. Where it continued roaring into the sky until it lost energy and disappeared.

Myne stared up in horror. **'**_My… my strongest spell…' _Even with all those buffs, he had deflected it away like it was nothing… he didn't even have to use the Royal Shield skill.

"**Shield Bash!**"

The still screaming Naofumi slammed Bitch's face with his Shield.

"AH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The flames she was hit with were much more powerful than what she'd been hit with before. They engulfed her. Burned at her face. It was a hit that would likely leave permanent scars.

"I HATE YOU!" While she was stunned, Naofumi slammed his newly armored spiked fist (hey! He just used an attack gauntlet here!) into her gut while she was screaming in agony. With what felt like strength immeasurable, a shockwave came from him as the punch threw Myne clear across the battlefield into the side of a building. Another shockwave came out from the point of impact, along with a dust cloud. Even with her defense back at where it normally was, that punch had caused damage!

"Naofumi! Please, stop-" Raphtalia took down another knight that tried to get close to Naofumi. One of the very few Church Knights who'd jumped down from the other side of the wall before Filo could stop him to attack Naofumi.

"Rahhh! **Shield Bash!" **Naofumi turned in her direction and charged for her.

Raphtalia's eyes widened. And she barely avoided where his fist slammed into the ground. More flames erupted like a volcano, forcing her to jump back to avoid being burned.

"Get back!"

"The Shield Hero is too dangerous!" Some of the knights loyal to the Captain yelled. Those knights that were able to started retreating. Those that couldn't retreat on their own received support from the Captain's knights.

"Naofumi! Stop!" Motoyasu charged in again, attacking Naofumi's side. Naofumi grabbed the spear near the tip though and hit Motoyasu in the chest with his shield. "Ah!" Motoyasu stumbled back, gripping at his chest. Black burns covered his armor. He drove his spear tip into the ground to stay upright.

Naofumi looked around. From his perspective, he was surrounded by a horde of Mynes. Mynes dressed in armor. Mynes knocked out on the ground. A Myne leaning on a spear. A Myne or two putting out his fires or was it Myne's fire. Either way, he was surrounded by Mynes.

"RAHHHHHHH!" He charged another knight. One of the ones who had been trying to drag a friend out of the way. One of the knights who'd fought beside Naofumi at the Lute Village. And one of the knights who were grateful that Naofumi had saved his family.

The Knight turned to Naofumi in surprise. "Sir Hero-" Naofumi's Shield slammed into the Knight's chest. "AHHHHHH!" He screamed in pain as he was sent flying. Cursed fire trailing off him. He slammed into the ground and groaned in pain. The one-hit had almost emptied his entire HP bar.

"No, Sir Shield, please stop! We don't want to hurt-" One of the other knights nearby was saying in fear. One of the ones who'd been fooled because of his loyalty to the royal family.

"**Self: Curse Burning!" **Naofumi drove his Shield into the knight's gut. Igniting his shield anew with more dark cursed flames.

"AHHHHHHHH!" The knight fell to the ground. Covered in dark burns. His HP bar dropped to empty, and his movements stilled.

"No, Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled.

Naofumi turned towards her again, growling angrily. "SHUT UP BITCH!" He tried running for Raphtalia who looked like Myne, only for Spear Myne to get in the way again.

"Stop it Naofumi! You're attacking your own party member-" Motoyasu tried to say. "Who should have been my party member! **Meteor Thrust!" **Motoyasu didn't bother with forming a portal this time. He fired the ball of blue energy out of his spear right at Naofumi.

**Boom!**

Naofumi was encased in smoke for a moment, but then he came charging out of it. Barely even phased by one of Motoyasu's most powerful attacks. While still screaming viciously, Naofumi tried to punch Motoyasu in the gut, but he jumped to the side, avoiding it.

"Let's see how you like this!" The tip of his spear glowed an ominous green. "**Chain Spear Bind!"**

A pair of spears with chains attached to them appeared on either side of Naofumi, and then they rapidly spun around him, binding him in chains before dragging him back onto the ground. The spears then dug themselves into the ground, planting him in place. Naofumi growled angrily as he tried to get out of them.

"**Change Spear (Attack)**!"

The chains around Naofumi sharpened. Like he was being poked all over with many different needles. Naofumi roared in pain but didn't stop trying to break free.

"**Foolish sinner! The time of your retribution is nigh! Suffer in anguish as your entire body is stabbed and lifted to become a feast for the vultures in the sky!**

Naofumi freed his bleeding shield arm.

The ground started to shake beneath Naofumi. **"Go, Sky Bur-"**

"**Shield Bash!"**

He thrust his shield at Motoyasu, and the cursed flames flew off it. Slamming into him right before he could finish. "Ahhhhh!" Motoyasu backpedaled out of the flames, clutching at his face.

"Rahhhh!" Naofumi broke the rest of the sharp chains binding him and jumped through his flames, punching Motoyasu hard in the gut. His overall stats had dropped again. But Motoyasu still dropped to the ground, coughing from the hit.

"I HATE YOU! I HATE EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!" He yelled at the Spear Myne. Naofumi kicked Motoyasu with enough force that he was sent flying through the air into another building. His wounds were already recovering. Leaving him covered in his own blood. It made Naofumi look even scarier.

The real Myne still hadn't gotten back up yet from where she'd been hit.

On the wall, Filo was still fighting. But the Church Knights were gaining ground. She couldn't hold every section of the wall forever. And some of the mages down on the other side were casting magic up at her while Altara, who now held a pair of light swords in her hands, had climbed up to face Filo herself.

"**Zweite Lightless Slash!**" A wave of shadows came off of her right sword flying at Filo.

"**Fast Tornado!**" Filo formed another tornado, knocking the attack away. But she was running low on mana. And she had to jump to avoid more spells cast by the different mages below before she landed on top of another knight.

"Ha!" Filo raised a taloned foot in time, blocking Altara's quick attack. "**High Quick!" **Filo blurred in and out of existence, striking at the robed nun from all sides. Altara went on the defensive, blocking and parrying the attacks with her twin swords.

It was only a matter of time before they'd get the gates open and be able to charge in. But a few of the Church Knights on the walls up above wondered after looking down below if that'd even be a good idea.

Naofumi saw Mynes all around him. All of them looking at him in fear. From the wall. From the gates. From the streets and in the buildings. They were all looking at him. All of them were scared of him. At least one was on the ground dead. But there was still more to deal with. More for him to burn. _'Hate…'_

His Rage was strong. Stronger, he'd bet, than the fury of any living creature. Even that of dragons. Why had he ever thought to hold on to that weak feeling of hope when it could be so easily extinguished? He should have relied on his hate long ago. He could always have his hate. And no one could stop him from hating others.

"Naofumi! Please, stop. This isn't you-" Naofumi turned, trying to punch Raphtalia. But Raphtalia wasn't there. Yet all he heard was Bitch.

'_Is this another one of that Bitch's tricks?!'_He thought angrily. Had she learned to turn invisible just to mock him!

"Please, Naofumi, at this rate, you're going to kill everyone. Even those who want to help you. Please, just change out of that Shield-" Raphtalia was invisible. Trying to get through to him. Trying to get him to recognize it was her.

'_THERE!' _Naofumi jumped forward and to the right. Tackling the invisible Raphtalia to the ground.

"Ahhhhh!" Raphtalia screamed. Naofumi's cursed flames were burning her again.

"YOU'VE TRIED TO TAKE EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME FOR LONG ENOUGH YOU BITCH! I HATE YOU! I HATE THIS WORLD!" Naofumi yelled as Raphtalia reappeared below him. But he couldn't see anything anymore. He was becoming too blinded by his own hate. His own rage. His own desire for destruction.

"Naofumi…" Raphtalia looked like she was crying.

None of the knights were trying to interfere now. They were dragging their injured comrades to cover. Those knights that knew recovery magic were trying their best to heal them. But unfortunately, that meant no one was nearby to help Raphtalia.

"Miss Raphtalia!" Eclair yelled in worry.

"Filo!" Melty yelled. They'd dealt with the last of the fires that had tried to start in the city.

Filo delivered another powerful blow that finally knocked Altara a ways along the wall. She then looked down from up above, and her large eyes widened at what she saw. "MOMMY!" She jumped down from the wall and tried to approach.

"No, Filo, stay back!" Raphtalia yelled at her. "Protect Eclair and-" Naofumi lifted her up, and threw her. Raphtalia flew all the way until she slammed into the large wall by Filo.

"No! Daddy, please stop-" Filo cried as she ran forward to try and stop Daddy.

"**Shield Bash!" **Filo jumped away, avoiding Naofumi's reckless Shield Bash which launched more flames into the large black iron gates. The metal bent and warped under the heat.

Raphtalia coughed. She had burns where Naofumi had grabbed her. And where his body had been pressed against hers. Naofumi heard her coughing, and approached her.

Melty's eyes widened. "No! Stop! Sir Naofumi, please stop!" She yelled.

Naofumi ignored her. He picked up the weak-looking Raphtalia by the throat. She weakly grabbed at his hands. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU ALL!"

_'I have to snap Naofumi out of it… I have to save him…' _She thought. **'**_But… how…' _He wasn't just burning her. He was choking her.

"**Zweite Fireball!" **

Naofumi dropped Raphtalia to the ground and blocked the fire spell. Myne was somehow back up again and was still standing. It was, probably, the only redeeming thing the bitch had ever accomplished. She'd just, in her hatred of the Shield Hero, saved Raphtalia's life.

"As source of thy power, and as the next Queen I order thee, decipher the laws of nature, hit my target with a blazing fury and bring him down! **Drifa**-" Malty tried to chant. Had she not paused to include the part about being the next Queen, she could have released the spell in time. But unfortunately, her pride in becoming the next Queen was her downfall, as it gave Naofumi all the time he needed. He closed the distance so quickly, she had no time to react. Especially since she was no longer being buffed.

"**Shield Bash!"**

**Pow!**

He drilled her in the face again with his Shield. Cutting off her spell. The flames activated again, further burning her face.

"Ahhhhhh!" Myne flew backward into the wall. She slammed into it and collapsed to the ground. Briefly stunned from the skill.

Naofumi continued walking towards her. "Wait, please, stop! Have mercy!" Malty begged as she back crawled away from the wall. At this point, she was covered in black burns. Almost all the skin on her face except for around her eyes was darkened from the curse.

Instead of pleasing Naofumi, it only angered him more.

Had he not pleaded for mercy like this Bitch? Had she ever cared to think about how much he'd suffered since coming to this world because of her! Had she ever thought about how much everyone had suffered because of her! HAD SHE EVER GIVEN A DAMN ABOUT ANYONE OTHER THAN HERSELF! Had she ever shown mercy to anyone?! And yet she still had the balls to ask him for MERCY!?

"I HATE YOU! I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU!" He yelled as he approached the fearful Malty.

"**Fast Fireball!**" It was a desperate move. She couldn't risk higher tier magic since he'd interrupt it before she could finish the chant. It had to work. It had to!

Naofumi hit the fireball with his shield, and it deflected back into Myne. She screamed as her own flames hurt her, along with the cursed burns that Naofumi had given her. Her HP bar was getting low. She only had a couple of elixirs left. Elixirs that wouldn't work on the majority of her injuries.

"I HATE YOU! YOU DESERVE TO BURN! THIS PATHETIC WORLD DESERVES TO BURN!"

Bitch still struggled to use her curse burned hands to pull an elixir out. If it had the chance of helping her to survive. If there was some way for her to live.

Yes, it wasn't just Bitch at fault here. This whole world was at fault. This world that had summoned him. This world that had caused him nothing but pain! This world which had taken Raphtalia, Filo, and everyone else he'd ever cared about away from him, and replaced it with nothing but this whore! He hated it! He hated the people! He hated the rulers! He hated the religions! But he especially hated this pathetic little bitch cowering on the ground in front of him. Begging for her miserable worthless life when she'd taken everything from him.

He lifted his shield and aimed it at the screaming Malty. Motoyasu was still struggling to get up after the last hit. Naofumi's party was standing back, even his own daughter was watching him with fear. "I HAVE A SPECIAL PUNISHMENT! JUST FOR YOU, YOU WORTHLESS, LOW-ROTTEN BITCH!"

Myne screamed and covered her face in fear at his words. "No! Please! I'll do anything-!"

Naofumi slammed his shield into her chest again, causing her to scream and drop to the ground as flames burned at her again. "SHUT UP!"

Despite it all. Raphtalia stumbled towards Naofumi. She had to help him. She had to get through to him.

"No, Miss Raphtalia! It's too dangerous-" Eclair tried to yell. But Raphtalia tuned it out.

Only she could reach through to him. Only she could bring him back to the light. _'I have to help him… I have to…' _She still didn't know how. But, somehow, she had to reach him.

The feeling Naofumi felt going through his body now. Was it… satisfaction? Satisfaction that, at last, this bitch was genuinely afraid of him. Satisfaction that she was on the ground, pleading for her worthless life. Too bad it was too little, too late. A smirk appeared on his lips, as he selected a chain of skills only someone like this Bitch would be worthy of dying under.

"**Shield Prison!"**

A cage of plates and chains surrounded Myne.

"No, please! SIr Moto-"

"**Change Shield (attack)!" **Needles impaled the Bitch inside, damaging her worse than his normal Bee Needle or Animal Needle Change Shield combos.

"AHHHHHHH!" Bitch screamed in pain and terror. This was it. She was going to die. Her HP bar was almost empty. And there was nothing she could do but scream in pure terror.

'_Naofumi…' _Raphtalia grabbed onto Naofumi's shoulder, as she almost collapsed from exhaustion. His flames continued to lick at her. "Please, Nao… Naofumi." She said beggingly.

"**Foolish Sinner! Within this virgin of cold ore!"**

_'Burn it all!'_

'_No.' _The dark aura around him was darkening as he prepared to use his execution skill. With how far gone Naofumi now was. With how angry he was. With the amount of hate flowing through him… If he were to use this skill now without being in full control of himself…

"**Who shall swallow even your screams in her embrace!**

_'I hate it all!'_

'_If he casts this skill…' _He'd unlock the next tier of that Shield... and the darkness would take over… forever. He'd never be Naofumi again. He'd be this cursed image of him, that would destroy the world, or die trying to. "Naofumi! Please stop!" She hated the Bitch too. She wouldn't cry if the pig died. But she didn't want her to die if it meant Naofumi would be gone forever.

"**Suffer in anguish as your entire body is stabbed and skewered!**

_'I just want this world to disappear! I want-'_

'_What do I do? How do I stop him? How do I-' _The answer hit Raphtalia. There was only one thing that could counteract his hate. The same thing that had counteracted it back in the duel arena long ago.

"**I cast the Iron Maid-"**

"Naofumi." Raphtalia leaned her head in before Naofumi could finish the skill and silenced him.

* * *

_In Naofumi's mind_

"Naofumi..."

Naofumi gasped. As if he had suddenly been dragged from the bottom of the ocean after being submerged for hours. He looked around himself. He was surrounded by darkness. The **Shield of Rage II **was on his arm. Only, it wasn't covered in flames. The red gemstone illuminated the design of some golden horned red and black creature.

"Naofumi..."

He recognized that voice… but from where? "Who… who are you?" He asked the darkness of his mind.

"Naofumi… You, you don't really hate me, do you?" He blinked as he looked around at the darkness.

"Where, where are you?" He whispered in this dark realm.

Why was this warm voice so… familiar? Wasn't he supposed to hate everything? Wasn't he… supposed to be… a demon?

…

"Don't you remember who you are, Naofumi?... don't you remember me?" He turned around. He was still surrounded by darkness. Yet standing behind him was the shimmering form of a beautiful person.

His breath caught in his throat. "Who… who…" He was speechless.

She came closer to him. Lightly putting her hands over his. "Please… please don't hate me." She whispered. Tears were in her eyes. Falling down like glowing raindrops onto the dark floor beneath them. "Please... don't hate me... don't hate Filo… don't hate everything good in the world..."

Naofumi's heart tightened in his chest. "H… Hate you?" How could he possibly hate someone as kind and beautiful as her?

Light shone around the two. Lighting up his mind. "I love you with everything I have Naofumi… so, please… just this once… please listen to me." She quietly begged.

He gasped. He recognized her now. The light shone more brightly. Driving away the shadows. "I am your sword. I promised to stay by your side. To always fight beside you through hellfire and brimstone..."

"Ra… Raphtalia…"

She leaned in close, and his eyes locked with hers. "Hero or not, I, I'll always stand beside you... I love you, Naofumi Iwatani, the great Shield Hero. So please, put away that Shield and come back…" Their faces were only a couple inches apart. He could feel her breath on his lips. "Come back to me... my Naofumi."

Raphtalia's translucent form closed the remaining distance between them.

* * *

_Real World_

Naofumi finally blinked his eyes. Regular, green eyes. The **Shield of Rage II **was gone. He was now wielding the **Chimera Viper Shield**. He was no longer blinded by his rage. His skin had regained its normal color. His teeth had returned to normal. The red lines on his cheeks had disappeared. Even his black armor had disappeared in a haze of particles. He was wearing the damaged but still functioning Barbarian Armor 1.5.

At last, he could finally see, he could finally feel.

He could feel Raphtalia hugging him tightly. He could feel her body pressed against his. Her hair pressed into his hands. And… the weight of her lips pressed against his.

_'What?'_

It was his first kiss. It was the first time he'd ever found himself kissing a girl. But instead of moist, her lips were chapped. Black burns covered her body and hair. And instead of something sweet, her lips tasted of blood and tears. His blood and tears, and hers. He was crying… but… why?

After a few seconds, she released his lips. Both of them fell to their knees. She opened her deep tea-red eyes, dried tear tracks running down from each one. "N-Naofumi?" She whispered.

He continued to look at her in surprise. "Ra-Raphtalia?" He asked. Still not sure what was going on. Why was she kissing him? Why was she bleeding? Why was she crying?

She sighed in relief. Trying to call out to him hadn't worked. Trying to hold to him hadn't worked. Trying to get him to recognize her hadn't worked. But the last resort had. The last of all last resorts had broken through to him. The resort that had allowed her love and care to burn through his hatred.

She smiled, tears still coming from her eyes. "Naofumi… I'm so glad… you're… … okay..."

Her eyes lulled into her head. And then she collapsed sideways onto the ground.

Naofumi was stunned. Finally seeing the terrible condition Raphtalia was in. "N… no!"

Raphtalia was covered in cursed burns. From her boots to the tips of her hair.

Just like in his nightmares.

Reality struck like a bullet. "NO! RAPHTALIAAAAAAA!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**This time, I feel pretty bad about where I'm leaving things off. To apologize for the last cliff hanger, to build up to another climax, and then to just blue ball you all with something like this… however, I will answer some questions about what happened here.**

**To the guest who asked about harems. I already left an answer in the top Author's Note in Chapter Two. That answer still applies now.**

**Yeah, Bitch is still alive. Like I said up top, death at this point would be too merciful for her. No, when she dies, it will be by something far worse than Iron Maiden (There's a server full of people with great ideas for torture. You all should join it. The official Shield Hero Discord Server. Find me in the #shield-fanfics section of it if you ever want to chat).**

**I also wanted to keep Naofumi's transformation realistic. While I have changed a few things up, one of the things I had no plans on changing was the Cursed Series themselves. Except for as far as Naofumi not having the Dragon Emperor fragment to change his Shield to be dragon oriented Wrath. Hence, the different skill sets that came with the second tier, and a couple of touch ups to the cosmetic appearance. (It didn't really need many because let's be honest, dark armored Naofumi covered in flames is the coolest)**

**And yes, for anyone who wanted to ask, it was very possible for Naofumi to unlock the third tier of the Cursed Series in his state if he were to have cast Iron Maiden. Each tier can be unlocked just by getting angrier and angrier. And if he'd cast that, looked around right after, and seen all the different Mynes staring at him, he would have gotten so angry at the fact that she had survived that attack that he would have unlocked the Third Tier. At that point, since it was his first time using the series to fight, he would have had so much Wrath going through him that it would have been next to impossible for him to regain control. And he would have used his flames again and again until he was either killed by Fitoria, or he burned the whole world to the ground. Which, if he kept on unlocking tier after tier of Wrath after that, could happen.**

**So, Raphtalia gets a win (sort of). Bitch gets to live (for now). And they still have one hell of a mess to deal with in the next chapter (again, sorry for the cliffhanger). Because of how seriously this chapter ended, there won't be an omake this time. Because I'm nice, however, I'm finally providing the stats on the Spear we've been seeing Motoyasu use lately.**

* * *

**Spear of Jealousy I (Black and Green Spear with a dark murky green gemstone)**

**Equip Bonus: **_skill "Change Spear (Attack)" and "Sky Burial"_

**Special Effect: **_Self Curse stat drain, HP Regeneration Up_

**Born from the heart: Spear of Desire...**

* * *

**I'll be looking forward to seeing all of you next chapter. When this mess is finally resolved.**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	36. 36: Raining Judgment

**You know, I didn't mean for these chapters to get this long. This was originally supposed to be half its current length. And then I thought about what would be happening simultaneously… and yeah. Here we are. This chapter officially makes this story the longest story for the fandom on .**

**Just know, because of all the combatants involved, think about many of the fights mostly from a third-person spectator perspective. Like the Battle of Helm's Deep in Lord of the Rings. That'll probably help in following along with the action.**

**Let me know your thoughts at the end.**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _32 more Favorites, 37 more Followers (Total: 1157 Favorites, 1348 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _March 30th, 2020 3:00 P.M. (EST)_

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Six:** _Raining Judgment_

* * *

_13 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe_

The scene was chaos.

"Ahhh!" Aksel screamed like a barbarian as he swung his war ax.

"**Zweite Barrier!**" The Shadow he'd tried to attack summoned a glowing barrier of energy in front of himself. Blocking the strike.

"Come on!" Aksel parried a blow from a mercenary. The party had been split due to the multiple attackers. They were interspaced across the tavern. The main Church Shadow who'd questioned Sir Itsuki stood near the closed off entrance. Watching as Itsuki's party slowly tired themselves.

"Huah!" Crystal spun around and kicked a large and burly mercenary away. Before she turned and skewered another one on her spear. "You're lagging lolicon!" She yelled at Aksel.

Aksel jumped back, avoiding a strike from a different mercenary. Crystal was closest to him. "How many times do I have to tell you!-" He swung sideways, beheading the poor mercenary. "I'm not a damn lolicon!" He then jumped back to avoid a spell from the protected Church Shadow.

"Ahhh-" A mercenary that charged Aksel from behind was suddenly cut down before he could strike.

Aksel turned again, right as Maya reappeared from her illusion spell. "You could at least try a little harder to keep me from having to save your skin every few seconds Aksel." She teased him.

"Do you have to tease me now?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" It wasn't certain whether Aksel's face was red because of the blood of his enemies, or because he was embarrassed.

"Ah!" Marx fell to the ground on the opposite side of the tavern. A shadow's sword impaled in his gut.

"Get away from him!" Before the shadow could retaliate, Karn knocked the two mercenaries he'd been sword fighting with to the sides and threw his sword. It stabbed through the Church Shadow's heart before he could react. The hooded man gurgled on his own blood as he fell to the ground.

Karn ran up and pulled his sword out of the shadow's limp body. The mercenaries he'd knocked back charged again with more reinforcements. "Rach! Marx is badly wounded!" Karn yelled across the room as he defended the downed mage.

"I'm a little busy!" She rolled to avoid two mercenaries who charged into each other. "**Zweite Shadow Strike!**" A dark shadow came off from her and zoomed towards the main Church Shadow leading the attack.

"**Anti-Zweite Shadow Strike**." With a calm wave of his hand, the Shadow dispersed Rachel's spell before it reached him.

'_Damn it. I hate counter magic.'_ Rachel thought as she ducked a spear from a mercenary. That was how Marx had gone down. He couldn't cast any of his spells either without one of the Church Shadows countering it. And he wasn't as agile as she was.

"Fuehhh!" Rishia barely avoided being cleaved in two by a mercenary wielding a great ax. She dropped her sword to the ground and raised her hands. "**F-F-Fast Gust!**"

Because of how close he was, the large man got slammed by the surprisingly strong wind spell before a Church Shadow could counter it. He was sent flying across the room into a group of three mercenaries who were charging Aksel and Crystal. Maya had disappeared again.

"Thanks, Rishia!" Aksel waved his ax to her before trying to attack the same Church Shadow as before.

"Fueh! FUEHHHH!" Rishia looked stunned that her spell had worked. And almost didn't dodge the next mercenary in time.

"Show these criminals of God no mercy." The lead Church Shadow said calmly despite the bloodbath going on. He'd expected there to be losses. Enemies of God almost never gave up easily. But it wouldn't matter in the end. The false hero's party was outclassed and outnumbered. One was already down. Soon, the rest would fall.

'_No… I can't be the criminal here… I can't be the criminal…'_ Itsuki wasn't exactly fighting. He was defending himself from the mercenaries and Shadows attacking him. A Shadow used ice magic again, but he used a Fire arrow skill to counter it. A mercenary tried to chop off his head, but he ducked it and sent an arrow into the man's gut, knocking him back. But it was all automatic. His body reacting instinctively to survive. His mind was locked in a state of turmoil.

'_I'm supposed to be the warrior of justice. The embodiment of my favorite hero in this game… how could I be the villain? How could my party be seen as criminals?'_

"Urgh!" Aksel was struck back into a table by a powerful blow from the Church Shadow he was facing. His armor was dented from the many hits he'd taken. Immediately after, mercenaries swarmed him. Battering down on him with their variety of weapons. Aksel raised his arms to protect himself.

Aksel, the former knight, had confided to Itsuki once about his past shortly after he'd joined the party. His family had grown up in the region of Seaetto in the same town the Lord had resided in. He wanted to become a knight so he could protect his demi-human friends from the slavers who tried every now and then to enter his home region. He'd failed the Royal Knights entrance exam, but the Church had seen the potential in him and trained him.

He'd been away at the Capital going through his final knight exams in preparation for moving up from the Church Knights to the Royal Knights when the Wave of Catastrophe struck. Because he was still in the ranks of Church Knights, he heard about what had happened. What the Church had done. It was why he'd secretly left the Church Knights altogether. If it hadn't been for Itsuki helping him to find those who had been enslaved, he would have lost faith in all of the Cardinal Heroes.

Aksel wanted to free his friends. He also wanted to make the Church pay for destroying his home.

Crystal jumped back to avoid a mercenary wielding a sword. Her eyes widened at Aksel's predicament. But as she tried to run to help, she was tripped up by another mercenary wielding a spear. She grimaced when her head hit against the wood.

Itsuki had learned about a week after his one on one chat with Aksel about the silver-haired girl's background. She had lost her parents as a child to some rare illness she didn't know the name of. She somehow survived the same illness, but it had changed her hair color from brown to silver. The rest of the village, thinking it was a bad omen, shunned her. Eventually forcing her to leave. She had been forced to thievery and squatting in abandoned places to stay alive. However, one day, when she had been stealing from a demi-human's stall, she was discovered. She'd already been weak from malnourishment and was sick with something else. Having grown up on tales of demi-humans being murderers and animals, she'd thought her life was finally going to end then and there.

But the silver-haired demi-human, instead of harming her, helped her. He, his wife, and their son and daughter took her in. They bandaged her cuts and scrapes. They gave her medicine, food, a warm bed to stay in, and a place to call home. Something she hadn't had for years. Crystal had later learned that the father of this kind demi-human family had lost his parents to the same illness that had taken her parents. And, because of his kindness, she stayed and left her old life and beliefs behind.

She was emotionally distant at times because of her past experiences with people. But she did care about others. She'd gone out on this adventure because this man's son, now her best friend, had been kidnapped in the middle of the night by slavers. She hadn't even hesitated when she told him she'd find his son and bring him back. She had a debt to repay for his family's kindness, and a desire to bring the slavers responsible for kidnapping him to justice.

Karn dispatched the last mercenary who had charged to attack him. "Don't worry Marx." He told the grimacing young man still on the ground in pain. "We'll get you out of this-" Karn was knocked back by a spell from another Church Shadow. Who hadn't taken kindly to him killing one of them.

"None of you are leaving here alive." The Church Shadow muttered as he calmly approached. And then, while Karn struggled to get back up, the Shadow impaled the young Marx's chest with his sword.

"NO!"

Marx's eyes widened in shock and pain. Itsuki's eyes also widened. '_No…'_

Marx had the most tragic backstory of them all. One Itsuki had only learned a couple of days ago when Marx had been frustrated after saving some slaves from a noble.

The normally quiet and reserved teen had grown up in a mixed household. His dad was human, but his mother was a Kitsune demi-human. He was the oldest of four siblings, and he was the only one who had been born without any Kitsune like characteristics. Keeping only his mother's blonde hair while inheriting the rest, even his magic affinity, from his father.

Two years ago, his house had been raided by the town's Three Heroes priests and Elders. His Father had been whipped in front of the entire village by the Church to be made an example of. His mother and siblings were taken and sold to slavers. Marx had been spared since his Father lied to the priests and convinced them that he was the child of a woman he'd had an affair with who died during childbirth. They had considered that a far lesser sin than marrying a demi-human and had allowed Marx to stay with his Father instead of being enslaved. But the image of seeing his mother and siblings being dragged off in the prison wagon had been engraved in his mind forever.

He'd spent the next several months helping his Father to recover. And he had promised him that he'd get stronger. He'd find his mom, his siblings, and all their friends who had been taken by those evil and corrupt priests/slavers. And he'd make those corrupt priests pay for hurting their family.

Marx looked across the room at Itsuki. Who stared in shock. Despite all the mercenaries and Shadows that were surrounding him. Time seemed to slow. Tears were leaking from his eyes as he mouthed words to Itsuki. "Find them… save them... for... me-" His last breath left him, and his eyes turned glassy. His head slumped back against the floor.

Marx was dead.

"NOOOOOOOO!" The Shadow suddenly pulled his sword out of Marx's body and defended himself. An enraged Karn struck at him repeatedly. His blade almost a blur in the air. "YOU BASTARD!"

Itsuki stared at all that was going on in the room. His eyes watering with tears at the injustice of it all.

"**Fast Darkball!**"

"**Anti-Fast Darkball!**"

Rachel's magic once again failed. She ducked a strike from a mercenary and stabbed him in the chest with a dagger. But at least five more were surrounding her. She was breathing in and out heavily. Tears coming from her eyes. She'd seen what had happened to Marx.

They were all from different backgrounds. Rachel had a demi-human fiance she wanted to protect. The timid and scared Rishia had been a slave herself. Karn had his own agenda which he hadn't expounded much on. Maya had hope restored to her after being freed from slavery. Aksel had his friends to save. Crystal, a debt to repay. And Marx… Marx still had a family to find. A family he wouldn't see ever again. And a Father waiting at home, hoping to see the day when his son would return, the rest of their family in tow.

Karn leaped for the Church Shadow again. His sword to the side as he screamed in anger. Rachel backed away in fear. A group of mercenaries surrounded her. Maya's invisibility spell was finally countered, and she reappeared in the midst of a group of mercenaries. All of whom turned to attack her. Aksel was being pounded again and again. His armor cracked and dented.

Lastly, Rishia cowered under a table, crying with her hands over her head as several mercenaries surrounded the table. '_It's useless… I'm useless…'_ She felt terrible. She couldn't even find the courage to protect the hero who had saved her life.

His whole party was on the verge of being slaughtered.

Just like Marx.

Itsuki's eyes darkened. '_They accuse me of being the criminal here?!'_ He thought darkly. The accusations stung. Everyone in the tavern turning on him hurt. Learning this had all been a set up just to kill him hurt even more. But seeing Marx die. Seeing someone, who'd only wanted to fix the injustices caused to his family, get slaughtered in the name of that same injustice! All of it combined together, and caused something in Itsuki to snap.

The last thread that had been binding him to his sanity.

'_They accuse me of not being on the side of Justice?! They accuse me of being in the wrong?! When they stoop so low and do THIS!'_

His bow changed to a pure white with the strange symbols on it. He didn't care if this was a game anymore or not. These pathetic fools had gone too far. Their injustices deserved to be fixed!

'_This isn't enough! I need more Justice! I NEED MORE TO PUNISH THESE FOOLISH SINNERS!'_

_..._

**Ç̵͖̭͓̟͍̪̳̪̗͕͖̤̾u̵̢̫̦͙͎̥̗͖͚͖͖̯͊͐́́̉̆͛̃̀̀͠͠͝͠͝ͅŗ̸̟̞̥̞̠̻̟͚̭̜̻̗̟͎̉̌̉̄͆͘͜s̴̨͌̋̅͊̿̔͋̀͗͌̾̕̕̚ȩ̷̗̈́̊͐̋̎͒ ̶̡̢̢̨̹͇̙̙̯͍͓͔̹̀̎͜ͅS̸̨̛̜̥̐͝e̶͔̞̬͕̐̋̆̈̈̈̆̐͐̓͝ŗ̵̯̳̤͈̪̥̘̲̰̬̍̐̏͘ị̷̰̲̙̺͈̘̖̩̦̿͐͋́̂̅̎̆̉̊̋͑͐̈́e̸̲̻̞͖̠͚͈̟͍͍͚̳͌̃́͗̍̉̊͐̈́͜͝͝ş̸̲̞̦͓͎͇̗̼͗͑͑̃̑̕͜͝:̸̧̰̠̠͚̼͔͈̱̹̜̘̽͋͜ ̵̺̠̯̯̞̩͓̜͉̂̂́̇Ḇ̷̆͐̋̈́̀̃o̴̝͆͗̾̎ẉ̵̲͓͈̹̙̯̣͈̱̟͓͙̋́̅͐͗̿̒̊͛̉͘̕͘͜͠͝ ̶̛̛̣̬̯̯̹̥͔̠̪̼͕̊́̎̎̄͂̽o̴̢̬͈̱̣̥̯̙͔͚̦̫̤̥͑f̶̡̢͓̙̰̥͙̣͔̠̰̹̳̯̤͛͋̾̄ͅ ̸̨̛̮͕̺͖͔̫̻͍̠͍͌̇̾̀͌̿̓̌̚̚͝J̶̛͔͍̳̦͉̱̤̋̉̄̽̽̚͠u̸̟͕͇̬̍s̴̢̡̢̛̛̞̩͇͙̬͉̩̙̙͙̩͗͐̈͐̈́͑ţ̸̛̘̼̭̜̣̞̫̰͇̪̣̰͓̥̈́̌͋͐͒̃ȉ̴̺̭̣̩̗̫̎̏͗́̈́̇̃͋́̿̑̚͝c̵̨̗̯̒̂͐̄̿̔́ȅ̴̹͈͉͒͂̔̔̓̏ ̶̨̯̤͖͚̩͔̮͛̆̆̀̿̒̍̀͐̎͘͜͝Ä̶̢̳͖̫̞̙͕̻̣̬͍̗́b̵̡̝̬͉͇̞̙̼̩̦̤͓̥̮̈ͅị̶̹̻̠̟̹̹̮͓̺͈̱̻̌̂̈́̈̽͌̔̚ͅḽ̶̨͔̣͇͕̪̫͍͉͙̫͍̌͆̓̒̅̽̊̄̍͋̃̾̀̄̀̚ͅi̶̠̎̂͒͊̉̐͘͝t̴͔̫̫̘͙̹̙̣̘̉̉̓̆̐̋̅̓̀̕͜ȉ̷̢̫͇͚͖̣̗̣̮̣̩̹͚̩͔̒̀͂̒̏̀̃̐̕ȩ̷̣̙̳̃͛͗͐̏̈͗ṡ̵̨̢̧̧̲̬̯͕̟̤͇͖̈́͊̈́̀̃ ̸͇̖̞̲̻̹͍̖̖͈̹̽̀͋͋̈́͆̊͗͐̈́͐͂̕͘͜͜͝͝I̵̼͕͇̺̣͇͉̳͕̗͍̙̹͑̔ͅņ̵̥̰̼̖̍͐̿̓͛͐̏̃̕̚͝c̶̨̦̽̊̿͐̀͘ŗ̷̝̳͇̲̖͓̙̜͑̀é̷̢̡̙͈̩̝̖̥̦̤͔̱͙̑̀̓̈́̈̌͂̚ͅͅǎ̴̛̛̠̭͖̹̯͔͖̣̼̹͕͇̽̌̎͆͆̓̅̓̽̿s̴̡̨̻̪̪̳̳̯̘̪͕̞͖͎̃̈́̈̀͂̾̈́̄̓̆̽̑̈́ę̶̡̛̻̳̥̥̥͖͈͉͎́̊̐̽̔́̕͜ḋ̶͉̗̳̩̯̱́̄̎̀̇͂̚!̴̺̪̙͊͌̌̊͂́͂̓͘̕̚****̴̛̬͚͇̳̳̻̫̫̬̲̳́̒̚͝**

**̷̜̺͓̭̠̗͈̙͙͈̼̼̫̒͑̋̿͌̇̈́̈́̇͘͠͝B̷̙͔͔͈͋̃̊̑̂͂̈́̉o̷̤͇͈̥͖̦̲̤̖͔̣͐̆̃ͅw̵̡̡̝̱͓̤̳͊̆̏͝ ̵̢̤̝̳̮͓̫̌͐͗̒͋̈́̽̉ͅo̸̡̢̹͉̞̹̦̯̠̝̾̏̃͛͊̀͋̋͜͝f̶̛̠̜̤̝͍̈́́̏̑͒̚ͅ ̷̧̧̨̡͈̫̤̻͇̦̱̞̠͎̹̑̋̔̇͆̆̓͗̉̌̅͒̋͂̚͝J̶̢͇̥͇͉̮̱̿̓̑͌͋̾͝ư̴̖͇̝̖͑͋̒͑̎̌̾̑̈̑̎̚͝ş̵̡̰̗͈̝̰͈̣̪̭̺̆̑̓͗́̂͊̓͂͘͘͝ț̸̨̨̗̮͓̯̟̺̦͎̳̻̠̂̊̔͒̽̍́̉̒̇̌̏̒͘͠ͅį̷̹͎̠̻̤̦͚̩̼̌̅̈́̐̓̂̌̈́̇̔̔̅̕̚͝͠ͅc̸̡̨̨̩͉͉̙̪̺̲̲͗͊̇͋̈̋̃̆̕͝͠ḙ̴͙̭͎̹͍͎̠͐̈́̐̍̐̓̅͘ ̸̢̛̦͍̞͓̞̙͍̇͋͆͑́͗͂̓̿̂́Ì̶̡̳̺͍͖͙͍͎̻͔̭͍͒͊͒͌̿͛͑̚͜͜ͅI̷̜̳̖͕̱̥̤̐́̏̓̈͘̚ ̶̳̼̑̏̿̽͌̅͂̐͂͗̓̆͗̌̋ȕ̵̧̟͚̠͓͉̮͙͈͉̲̻̰͚͆̋͂̂̆́͋̚̚͜ń̸͎̳̲̈͛̀͆͌̓̕̚͝l̴̨̞̘̗͚̦͛͗̍͑̕͝ȏ̵̱̮͛̃̅̀̔͛̄̈͊͘ç̷̨̱̬̩̠̥̣̋̓̄̔̀̿̿̌̓͊͠k̷̡̞̘̜̦͕̩͛̍͆͌̕͜͜ę̸̢̢̧̱̝͔̝̯̘̬̥̳̝͎͆͜ḑ̷̡̨͖͎͕͕̳̣͖̤̰̲̘̆̈́̓̀̔̽̀̌͘͘̚̚̚̕̕!̵̧̡̨̭͖̱̒́̃̄̍͒͛̆̑͌̄͝͝****̵͖̗̖͂**

**̴̝͇̭͊E̶̡̝͙̺̬͓͉̓̂̆̿̒͂̍͒́͌͌͘q̵̢̢̹̰̜͈͓̤͍͙̞͊̅̍̇̎͛͗̈́͂̕͝͝ͅǘ̶̢̡͖̭̭̘̦̩̳͉̦̼̞͉̪ͅi̸̡̙̿̋p̵̢̨̻̺͙͈̭̱̤̜̟̗̜͓̅̂̇̀͂̈́̉̕ ̷̠͕͖̦̻͉̲͇͙̑͝͠B̸͇̩̞̣̖̭͙͈̠̣͋͋́̿̇̔ͅȯ̸̺̆́͗̽̂̍̕n̸̨̨̧̪̮̭̫̩̠̞̘͈̙̤̳͊͋͊̈͐̽̈́͆͑͒̔͗͝͝ͅù̸͖͙̞̦̝̰̥̫̼̬̦̖̯͍̘̟͗̀̾̍́͛̒̒͑̕s̶̤̙̜̠̳̓̒̀̂̊̑̍̕͠͠ ̵̛̭̉̔̇̔͛͛̈́̋S̴̮͚͚̹͎̤̳̫̀̌͜k̴̨̨̧̜̖̖̳̲̫͈̼͚͓̇̄͘͜ͅį̸̮̥̗̦̳̱͙̹̼̇͌̽͌̓̊̏̓̒̿̀̚l̵̩͎̰̈͂̌̃̋͑́̇̿͜l̷̨͓̘͉̙͙̥̰̙̾̂͂̆͗͐̐̈́̈́̔̃̅́͆̍̈́͜͜:̵̭̺̔ ̵̧̡̥̘̱̙̱̖͚̑͗̈́͌͆͒̈́̕̕̕ͅ"̷̨͖̘͙͈̬͙̱̞̯̣͔̺̰̙̇͜C̷̥̬̎h̵̡̺̜̭̱͍͗̀͆͛̀͝͝ͅa̴̢̿͂̎̈̈́ň̴̢̡̨̼̹̱͔̪̦̞̠͓͎̩̜̍͆̅̑g̵̜̲͊͛̔̉̂̂͌̃͐͘ͅẽ̷͇̳͇̤̩͖̩̆̐̀ ̶̨̨̧̥͙̯̝̜̦̹̹̱̳̭̈́̏̊́̓͂̚͝͝B̷̡̗̝͙̣͓̱̤̹͉̬̯̬̊͌̚ͅò̵̘͓͈̻̠͇̙̮͙̋̇̉̈́̕͜͝ẇ̴̧̡̯̣͓̱̫̱̊͂̎͛̃̓̔̏̕͜ ̴̡̢̢͇͕̥̱̪͚̻̱̮͊̓̌͊̐͑̑̑̈́̅(̶̨̧͈̝̠͉̥̳̣̻̗̺̃́̆̃͛̔̈͜͜Ā̷̢̛̲͈̠͓̱͖̻̜̹̞̳̯̼̼̬͊̉͂̂͐̃͠t̷͓͑̽̈́̊̊̈̌̀͠t̴̡̡̛͙̗̦̮͇̠̱̪̜̫͉̩̋̂̋͊͆͆́͗̌̑̑͠ä̶̦͍̤͚͔̠̦̼͚͚̠͔͔̻͛̂̓́͑̽̉̾͒͘͜c̵͚͎͈͕͎̝̭͛̈ķ̴̰̫͚̬̻̦̼̖̙͉̞̯͕̓͗̈́̆̒ͅ)̵̠̗̤̬̲͎̘̇"̷̞̞͖̈́̆̆̽́͆̓̍̀̍͘͘ ̵̨͖̭̘̠̮͚̖̞͕̼͋̇͆̏̈́̋̈́́̀̆͘͜͠à̴̧̳̩̟̖̹̮̲̫̫͉̰̪̩̿̄́̚͜͜͠͠n̷̢̡̛̛̼̫̝̦͓̙͚̲̹͖͚͖̍̑̃̃̆̏͆̈̒͊̄͑͝ͅd̶̢̨̗̠̦̤̩̘̟͈̯̺̪͉̠̚ͅ ̷̨̟̪̗̟̰̱̺̮́̅́̎̔̀͋͂̌͆̔͆͝ͅ"̴͉̱̊̅̍̈́́̑́̑̈́̄͐̕͝B̶̧̨̟͚͚̖̙͚͈̦̹͙̘̰̩̓͋͝ų̴̡͇̖͖̱͎͔̰̰͔̟͇̹̠̹̋̄̓͊̅͂̀̏̔̕̚͝͝ļ̷̹͈̺̝͔̻̝̙̩̗̼̙͛̀̉̐̑̈́͒̃̅͠͝l̸̟̪̤̩̪̼̣̺̥̳̎͌̅͛̉̏͗̈́̐ ̶̨̢͚͙̣͓̯̝͔̖͙̓̀̐̔̀̾ơ̴̧̢̨̩̬͍̥̤̰̲̗̺̎̔́͂̿̍̕ͅf̷̨̧̛̱̺̻̩͈͚͚̯͓̬̙͐̾ ̴̯̩̞̲͓͍͙̠̞͍̹̭̥͘͜P̶̨̨͓̹̬̹̪̩̩̫̫͎̣̗̹̉͊̾̌̏͋͒̅͒h̷̬͍̻͙̱̬̻̩̄͌̆̈́͝ȃ̶̢̝͉̿ḷ̸̥̌͒ą̸̨̤͔̭̺̲͙͕̻̃͒̒̄̂͛̒͌͑͝ŕ̵̛̞͎̐̀̂͑̅́͆̿̿͋̑̑͝͝ị̴͙͙̠͚̾̍́̃̋̊̐̂̈̾͂̔͂̚͝͝s̸͉̳͉̝͈̠̲͖̗̃̐̃͐̍̄͗͑͘͝"̸͕͎͍̤̝͙̼̹̤͍͕̺̂̈̓͒̓̏̏͊̿͛̈̉̚͠**

**̵̨͍͎̪̹̝̭̮͙̺͊̀̐͌̀̏͆̄̑̌̅̈́͘͜͝͝͝...**

The white, if it was possible, leached out more color from the bow. It was unnaturally white. More pale than white. The symbols on it deepened their etches into the bow. The dark aura coming off of it intensified. Like an invisible gas of miasma was coming off it. The mercenaries and Shadow attacking Itsuki stumbled back. Suddenly wary of this new bow. But it was too late.

It was time for them to pay.

The Church Shadow Karn was facing kicked him back. He rolled over a table and landed painfully on the ground. The Church Shadow approached, several mercenaries flanking him. "I think it's time we finally got to purifying your soul." Fire appeared in the shadow's hand.

Karn grimaced but struggled to get back up. "I'll… I'll make you… pay… I swear I will..."

The Shadow smiled under his hood. "Oh, but I have nothing to pay for. After all, everything I do I do in the name of-"

The mercenary wielding a bow next to the Shadow suddenly fell to one knee. "Brocko, you okay?" One of his fellows asked.

…

"Yes... That is what I should be doing." The mercenary muttered weirdly as he stood back up. He pulled out a dagger.

The Shadow turned to face the mercenary in confusion. And then before he could react, the mercenary stabbed him in the chest with the dagger. A crazed look was in his eyes. "I need to dispense justice on those who deserve it."

Karn looked wide-eyed. The Shadow was also wide-eyed as he collapsed onto his knees. The dagger still in his chest. The mercenary twisted the knife, and the Shadow collapsed completely in a spray of blood.

"Brocko, what are you-" One of the other mercenaries was saying in surprise when the mercenary quickly turned and sent an arrow right into the forehead of his former friend.

"Ah!"

"What!?"

"Why?!"

The lead Church Shadow looked around in surprise. A few of the mercenaries. Even one of his own Church Shadows had suddenly turned. Attacking each other instead of Itsuki's party. "No, what are you doing-"

Itsuki launched an arrow from his bow. Striking the mercenary in the side. "I fight... for the right!" The same mercenary plowed into the other mercenaries that had piled on Aksel. Swinging his mace like he was trying to break open a pinata instead of people's skulls.

"I fight... for the downtrodden!" Another mercenary hit by Itsuki's arrows impaled a Church Shadow next to him instead of Crystal.

"I fight-" Another mercenary tried to charge for the main Church Shadow. The shadow stabbed him through with his sword, but the man thrust forward, ignoring the pain. "-for Justice!"

The Church Shadow screamed in pain. The sword had thrust through his side. He slashed again, beheading the mercenary. He then held his side, gasping in pain. '_No… what's… what's happening…'_

"No, stop it, please-" Another mercenary was beheaded by his fellow.

Itsuki fired another arrow. It went through a mercenary's chest. Instead of killing him though, a crazed look entered the man's eyes. And he proceeded to turn on his comrades just like several of the others.

"No, what are you do- AHHHH!" The Church Shadow Aksel had been facing screamed as he was impaled from several different directions all at once.

The lead Church Shadow looked from them to the next group. A single mercenary was taking on his comrades. Laughing maniacally as he did so. '_Something… something's wrong here… it's like… it's like they're being brainwashed into serving him!'_

A figure approached through the chaos. The Shadow turned. It was Itsuki. But it wasn't.

"**Zweite Aqua Shot!**" A ball of water launched at Itsuki. It slammed into his chest. He stumbled, but then he scowled as he stood up again. What damage the spell had done healed over within seconds.

"What… what are you…" The Shadow said fearfully.

Itsuki glared at the wounded piece of scum as he approached. "What am I?" His voice was darker than before. "I am your judge, jury, and executioner." He darkly answered.

The Shadow's eyes widened. "And I decree that you are guilty, and sentence you to death."

The Shadow tried desperately to cast a spell. Any spell that would come to mind. He was a servant of God! He was only trying to fulfill his holy will!

"**Shadow Bind!**" The Church Shadow's own shadow froze in place. With it, the Shadow himself stopped moving.

"Wha- No!" The Church Shadow yelled.

"**Bind Arrow!**" Itsuki released an arrow from his bow. The already bound Church shadow was slammed painfully back into the ground. Like his shadow was being stitched into place.

"**Foolish Sinner!** **Your transgressions have filled the cup of iniquity to full! Writhe in pain as you're roasted alive, and as your dying screams are converted into the cries of a raging bull!**"

"No, please, have mercy-" The Shadow begged.

"**I call forth The Bull of Phalaris!**"

A giant, grey horned bull about ten feet tall and fifteen feet long appeared above the Shadow. It's weight crushed the tables around it.

"Sir Itsuki!" Maya yelled. She had a wound on her thigh but was otherwise unharmed. All around, mercenaries screamed in pain or in calls of Justice. Slaughtering each other while Itsuki's party members watched with stunned faces.

Itsuki didn't pay attention. He instead opened his fist. Similarly, the bottom of the bull opened up, like a fiery pinata awaiting its candy. "No! NO! PLEASE!" The Shadow begged pathetically. He was being raised off the ground. Heading towards the hot fiery insides.

"There shall be no mercy for those that go against Justice." Itsuki murmured.

"You call this Justice!" The Shadow finally snapped. "You might kill me today! But the messengers I sent before coming in here will still make it to the Capital! Your safe haven for demi-humans will be no more, and you won't be able to stop it! Oh God, receive my sou-"

Itsuki closed his fist.

"Ah! AH! AHHHHHHHHH!-" The Shadow was thrust into the grey bull. And the bottom of it closed.

"Rahhhhhhh!" The golden bull let out a screech. Its eyes glowed a bright gold.

And then, it was over.

The bull disappeared. Flames, dark flames flaked onto the ground like snow.

The Church Shadow was gone.

Itsuki collapsed to the floor, his bow changing forms. He was breathing in and out heavily. _'What... what was that...'_

"Sir Itsuki…"

He turned his head. All the mercenaries and patrons who had been in the tavern before. Even the owner of the tavern who had locked them in, all of them were dead. Their blood coated the floor, broken furniture, and walls like fresh paint. Several of the torches had fallen from their scorches. Their flames licking against the wood of the floor. The only ones left alive were his party.

"What…" He trailed off. It had all happened so fast...

"We were about to die... but then mercenaries suddenly turned on each other… and those that turned against their comrades attacked each other once their comrades were dead…" Rachel said. She was staring at Itsuki. "They said they were fighting in the name of Justice… but they killed each other..." They had never seen anything like it before. They had all fought until the last two had killed each other. That was...

'_No… forcing people to attack each other isn't justice!'_ Itsuki looked at the new bow on his bow menu. It was labeled **Justice Bow II**. There was a new effect on it, specifically labeled **Self-Curse Brainwashing**. '_Brainwashing… but Dimension Wave… that game never had something like this…'_ Dimension Wave hadn't had many of the things he'd just witnessed. Dimension Wave hadn't had a lot of what he'd seen as of late.

Before any more could be said, Crystal screamed. "Rishia!"

Itsuki quickly turned. Crystal was by one of the tables that had been crushed by the appearance of the Phalaris Bull. She had moved many of the broken pieces of wood aside to reveal Rishia underneath. His face paled at the sight.

Rishia was in bad shape. Blood stained her clothes. Burns covered her skin. Like the bull hadn't only tried to crush her, but its hot cursed skin had tried to cook her too. "Rishia…"

She didn't give a Fuehhh in response. She was still.

"No… I… I didn't mean to…" Itsuki crawled over. Crystal laid Rishia across her lap. Looking sadly down at the girl. Karn limped over, and an armorless Aksel walked up supporting a wounded Maya. His armor had been so badly damaged he had to tear it off in order to get up.

Itsuki felt more tears fall from his eyes, seeing the poor green-haired girl's still body. '_No… I only wanted to punish the mercenaries… I wanted to punish the Shadows… but not like this! I didn't want to punish her too!'_ He gripped Rishia's hand and cried. The girl reminded him too much about his past before being isekaied… he hated his past… he hated how much she reminded him of it... but he didn't hate her… he hadn't wanted to kill her…

…

Maya's ears flickered on her head. "Aksel, can you help me down next to her?" She asked, her voice serious.

Aksel complied, helping her down next to Itsuki. Maya leaned over Rishia. Placing her ear near her mouth. After a few seconds, Maya gasped. "She's still breathing."

Itsuki jerked his head. "What?"

"It's faint. But I hear it." She placed a hand against Rishia's chest. "She has a heartbeat. But it's weak. She doesn't have long."

Itsuki finally looked closely at Rishia's HP bar. While it looked empty. There was just the faintest sliver of red on the left side. Like she was just barely hanging on by a thread.

"She's still alive… There's a chance Van could-" A loud snapping sound interrupted Itsuki, and everyone turned their heads towards the entrance. The torches flames from before were slowly turning into a bonfire. The leftover cursed flames nearby were also starting to flare up.

"Sir Itsuki, are you able to teleport us now?" Rachel asked.

Itsuki checked. The notification he'd been receiving before was gone. There wasn't interference with the portal skill anymore. '_There's still a chance.'_ They could still save her. "Gather close..." He trailed off and looked to Marx's body. Lying in the midst of the bodies of the mercenaries and Shadows. More tears leaked from his eyes. They could still save Rishia… but it was too late to save Marx...

"Allow me." Aksel went over and picked up Marx's body. "He deserves a proper burial." He had tears coming from his eyes too. Everyone in the party did.

Itsuki looked at the flames. The ones that were going to consume this whole place. The flames that would hide what had happened here…

'_If only I'd acted a little sooner… if only I hadn't froze...'_ He thought sadly.

In the cursed flames, he saw the face of his best friend, Jaylee, staring back at him. The same sad smile was on her face. Just like when he'd stared at her back then. Frozen as she raised the knife she held to her own throat. He had failed once again.

"When are you going to realize it wasn't your fault?" The memory of her voice asked him.

Itsuki closed his eyes tight and raised the bow over his head. "**Transport Bow!**"

A dome of light surrounded the group, transporting them away from the slowly growing fires.

Only the bodies were left behind. The bodies, the blood, the discarded weapons and armor, and the slowly growing fires that consumed it all.

* * *

_Present (9 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"NO! RAPHTALIAAAAAAA!"

Naofumi lifted Raphtalia's cursed limp form so she was lying on his lap. Now that he was no longer blinded by his Rage, he could see how hurt she was. He was all sorts of confused and terrified at the same time.

'_No, what have I done?!'_ She was barely breathing. Most of her body and clothes were covered in black burns.

He forced down his confusion and terror and tried to focus on his spell tab. Selecting Raphtalia as the recipient of the spell.

"As Shield Hero, Source of thy power I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature, and heal my target! **Fast Heal!**"

Green energy covered Raphtalia's body from head to toe. However, when the spell finished, she didn't stir. She was still covered in cursed burns. Her HP bar barely moved. "And heal my target! **Fast Heal!**"

Again, green energy covered Raphtalia's body. But she didn't move. The curses not only stayed, but they interfered heavily with the healing spell. To him, it looked like her HP bar was dropping despite his efforts.

A desperate look came onto Naofumi's face. "No! Damn it! **Fast Heal! Fast Heal!**" Naofumi yelled again and again. "Raphtalia, stay with me! **Fast Heal!**" He was steadily freaking out. _'No, please be okay Raphtalia!'_ "**Fast Heal! Fast Heal! FAST HEAL!**"

"No… Miss Raphtalia." Eclair said.

"She… she pulled Naofumi out of his Cursed Series." Melty realized.

"M-Mommy…" Filo looked sad. The three of them were near a charred building close to the wall.

Nearby, the Shield Prison shattered. Malty fell to the ground. Covered in cursed burns and bleeding from several different areas.

"Myne!" Motoyasu grabbed her under one of her shoulders, helping her up.

"Am… am I…" She coughed weakly. She looked to be shaking in terror. Looking around herself as if she was afraid she had actually died.

"It's okay, you're okay now." Motoyasu hugged the red-headed girl.

Myne still looked to be in shock and pain. "What…" Her arms hugged Motoyasu. "What happened…" She asked.

"Raphtalia stopped Naofumi from using whatever skill he was about to use. She's badly hurt though." Motoyasu was saying, leading Myne away back towards the safety of the other knights.

"**Fast Heal!** Please, work damn it! **Fast Heal!**" He could see out of the corner of his eyes Naofumi trying desperately to heal Raphtalia. He was going to get Myne back to the other knights, and then send for some holy water. Hopefully the rest of this mess could be resolved peacefully so no one else got hurt.

She coughed as she forced herself to drink her last elixir.

"Come on. We're going to get some holy water for you and-" Motoyasu was saying.

Myne looked to Naofumi and growled. She resisted Motoyasu's pull and tried to face them.

"Wait, Myne-" Motoyasu tried to say.

Angry was too weak a word. Pissed off came nowhere close to what she felt towards Naofumi. _'How dare he hold that kind of power! How dare he make a fool of me and make me beg for my life!'_ Despite the burns, she started to smirk. _'Well, since he's tied up with trying to keep that mangy mutt alive. I can spin this to my advantage.'_ Oh, how she loved the way her twisted mind worked.

"The Shield Demon is down! Seize him!" She pointed at Naofumi as she ordered the knights. Even though many of them were already tired out or out of it because of their injuries.

"No! That's enough older sister!" Melty yelled. She marched out into the center of the square.

"Wait, Princess Melty-" Eclair followed behind her.

"I have had it with you!" Melty glared at the knights who were still capable of fighting and following Malty's orders. "Don't listen to her! Parts of the city are still on fire! Your first priority should be to help the citizens evacuate and fight the fires!" Melty yelled to the knights.

"No, she's still under the Devil of the Shield's mind control-" Malty started to yell.

"As the current heir to the throne and by the authority of the Queen I command you to help the citizens of Melromarc!" Melty ordered authoritatively at the knights. She was in the center of the former battlefield now. There were blast marks and bits of broken armor scattered around her. By her count, five knights had died from their injuries. "There has been enough bloodshed caused today by the foolish actions of my older sister! I will not allow her stupidity to throw away anymore lives!"

Malty scowled. "Why you little-"

"I am not being brainwashed! The Shield Hero is incapable of doing such a thing! If you are really loyal to your Queen, you will listen to me as if I were her and do as I say!" Melty ordered with the authority of a Queen. Her voice sent shockwaves down the souls of all those that listened to her, even Malty.

"No, you can't!" Malty screeched. The Knights looked from Malty to Melty in shock. They knew the King would want Naofumi in a cell after all the damage he'd caused during the duel. But Melty looked very fierce and intimidating now, just like her mother. And the people in the city behind them were starting to panic. They could hear screams and calls for help! Even the possibility of Melty being brainwashed wasn't enough to make them want to abandon the civilians. Especially since some of them had families living in the Capital.

"Myne, stop! Your sister is right! We can't risk another fight-" Motoyasu tried to say, pointing at the fires. Melty had convinced him.

"I don't care! My little sister's been brainwashed by that, that, FIEND! I won't stand to the side and allow him to get away with this!" Malty yelled as she pointed a hand at Naofumi to hurl a spell at him.

Little did she know that Melty had been chanting under her breath up until that moment. Expecting her sister to still try and attack. "**Zweite Aqua Slash!**"

Malty and Motoyasu turned in surprise. The water spell barely missed. It flew and hit the ground behind her. However, part of Malty's hair on her right side fell off. The spell had cut them clean off and given her an impromptu haircut.

Melty still had her hands raised determinedly. "I won't miss next time! You've gone too far, dear sister!"

Malty's eyes flashed with rage. Her pathetic little sister dared to make her look like a fool?! She raised her hands. Her sister should have struck her down while she had the chance. She'd give her something far worse than a haircut. "**Zweite Hell**-"

"**Fast Tornado!**" This time, Filo in her Filolial form materialized in front of her and Motoyasu. Malty barely had time to blink before she got hit by Filo's wind magic and was slammed into Motoyasu. Both of them were thrown back towards the knights. Motoyasu instinctively covered his groin area with one hand, expecting a kick there after his last experience facing the large bird.

Filo, however, jumped back to stand by Melty's side. The spell had cost the last of her MP. But she still had her immense strength. "Leave my mommy and daddy alone!"

"Just leave us alone! Haven't you hurt the people enough because of your actions!?" Eclair yelled angrily. She brandished her sword. "How could you think to call yourselves knights after today?!"

Melty glared. "You've accused a Cardinal Hero of the impossible and caused a mess of our city! You worked with the Three Heroes Church to have me killed! And it's only because of Naofumi that I'm still alive! Back down and let us depart, and maybe I won't mention any of this to mother!" She yelled angrily. She might have been annoyed with Naofumi refusing to call her by her name, but she wasn't going to allow Malty to cause any more harm.

"What… is that true?" Motoyasu asked Myne.

"No, of course it isn't Sir Motoyasu! I would never try to harm a hair on my sister's head!"

Some of the knights looked shocked. Including the Captain. "The First Princess… working with the Church…" They started to murmur.

"Why are you just standing there?!" Malty yelled back at the Royal Knights. "Your princess was attacked! Capture them!" She yelled.

Altara finally came too on the wall. She sat up, rubbing at her forehead. Filo's kick hadn't knocked her out, but the impact with the stone had.

"Miss Altara." A Church Knight helped her up. "The Shield Demon and his party are trapped. But the Second Princess is starting to sway some of the Royal Knights."

The gates finally started to open. The inner wall one opened more slowly, however, due to all the damage it had taken from one of Naofumi's cursed fire blasts.

Altara looked over the side. Melty, Eclair, and Filo were positioned a little over a hundred feet away from the gates near the center of the battlefield. "It is okay." She found the Shield Demon, desperately trying to heal his party member. "Our forces should be plenty to handle the rest by ourselves."

"No! Stand firm! The Shield Demon is finally in our grasp-" The Commander was yelling, but some of the royal knights finally listened to Melty instead of him and Bitch. Breaking ranks and running to deal with the growing fires and the panicking civilians. The Captain and the majority of his men were among them. Some carried those who couldn't fight towards the hospital where they would have their cursed burns treated. The Captain and a few of his best men ran in the direction of the Castle. To report to the King what had happened and what they'd learned.

Melty grimaced. A good portion of the knights that could still fight had left. But the Commander still had over a hundred knights. And that didn't include the Church Knights that were about to flood in behind them with whatever reinforcements the Church likely had on their way. "Eclair, Sir Naofumi is still trying to heal Raphtalia. He'll need your light magic to assist him."

"But Princess Melty, you'll be in danger here," Eclair said.

Melty grimaced. The odds didn't look in their favor at all. "Don't worry. Filo will protect me." She gave Filo a Magic Water vial, which she drank down. "Sir Naofumi needs you more than I do. We can't get out if he's focused on trying to keep Raphtalia alive." She said.

"I can't abandon you in your time of need!" Eclair was torn. She wanted to support her friend. But the Shield Hero also needed her support! She couldn't be in two places at the same time!

"Myne! This needs to stop!" Motoyasu yelled into Myne's face.

"No! I'm not done yet! I'm not going to let them make a fool of me!" Myne yelled.

"But, but what about the people? What about your sister! What about Naofumi and Raphtalia-" Motoyasu tried to say. Naofumi hadn't even acknowledged anything else that was going on. He was still trying to heal Raphtalia, and his MP points were getting low from the process of doing that.

"Screw the damn demi-human! I don't care about her! She can die for all I care!" Malty yelled. "My sister is letting herself be brainwashed, and I need to free her from the grasp of that demon!"

Motoyasu was stunned by that response. Malty glared with absolute hatred at where Naofumi was desperately trying to heal his beloved companion. "That peon has defied me for long enough! It's time I finally put an end to him!"

"But, but-" Motoyasu tried to respond. It was like some inert sense was finally activating. Seeing the look on Myne's face. It was warning him to get the hell away from this girl right now. But Myne was his friend! She wouldn't stab him to death like his last two girlfriends had! Would she?

Filo took a ready stance to the front right of Melty. Eclair sighed but took on a sword stance on her back left. Unless they had more help, she couldn't just abandon the Second Princess.

The inner gate was almost high enough to allow a surge of Church Knights to swarm in. The Church Knight helped Altara along the wall so she'd be able to watch their moment of triumph when the Shield Demon and his party were finally dealt with.

Motoyasu watched what was going on. Naofumi and Raphtalia were near the wall. Naofumi was looking increasingly desperate trying to heal Raphtalia. Melty, Filo, and Eclair were a hundred feet away halfway down the square. He and Myne were only fifty feet away from them. The Royal Knights had divided. Those that remained with the Commander were moving up to Motoyasu and Myne's position. Ready to plow through the three girls to get to Naofumi. If the Church Knights entering through the gates didn't get to him first. With him being so close to the edge of the square by the wall with Raphtalia.

What could he do? What should he do? What was right in this situation?

Unfortunately, before he could decide, a shout came from a nearby rooftop.

"**Meteor Arrow!**"

* * *

**Boom!**

A large blue arrow struck the pavement behind Motoyasu to the side. A burst of energy exploded outwards, sending a large group of screaming knights back. Myne covered her face with her arm, and Motoyasu did the same. "Wh-What the hell-" A second arrow landed in front of Motoyasu and Myne, blasting them both away into more knights.

Eclair and Melty were confused. But Filo started looking around herself. "I'm sensing magic similar to mommy's."

A group of people walked almost as if out of light. Two of the original party members were missing. But in order, there was Maya, Aksel, Rachel, Karn, and with them, a whole squad of demi-humans. Dog demi-humans. Raccoon demi-humans. Kitsune demi-humans. And a couple large demi-human therianthropes covered in armor. Almost all of whom Itsuki had freed from one noble or another. The therianthropes y looked like a mixture of a bear and a human. Large, eight-foot-tall, and covered in black fur under their armor.

"Huh, if that bird was able to sense us, then I guess our combo illusion spell still needs some more work Rachel," Maya said while grinning.

"It got all of us this far. Your progress in magic is astounding." Rachel replied dryly. The Royal Knights still standing looked stunned at their appearance.

"Who, who are you-" Eclair tried to ask.

"We're with him." Karn pointed towards a building with his sword.

A lone bowman standing on the edge of the roof. Itsuki no longer wore his hooded cloak. His light leather armor had been updated. He no longer wore sleeves, but instead had green bands of cloth wrapped around his wrists and light leather gloves on his hands. His Legendary Bow reflected the light of the morning sun.

His party members were also outfitted in the latest gear. Aksel swung his black war ax menacingly. Crystal spun her spear deftly. Karn held his sword to the side. And dark magic crackled on Rachel's fingertips.

They looked pissed.

"Attack!" Itsuki ordered.

Before the knights could recover, Rachel and Maya quickly chanted and cast another combo spell. "**Fast Shadow Illusion!**"

A wave of darkness traveled over many of the knights. A lot of whom started to scream in confusion as they flailed around blindly.

"No! Get into formation! Captains, get-" The Commander tried to order.

Aksel bellowed like a war bull as he charged. The two large demi-human bear therianthropes followed right behind him. The three together plowed into the knights' ranks. Sending many of them flying into the air. "Ahhh!" "AHHHHHH!"

"**Fast Fireball!**" Some of the demi-human mages began casting spells too. Aiming at the Church Knights that finally started to charge in. At seeing who was launching the spells, the Church Knights released a roar of anger and determination. They didn't spread out across the square. They ran right for Melty and the demi-humans.

* * *

Altara's eyes widened up above. "No! What is the Bow Hero and his party doing?! Why is he with those abominations?!"

Itsuki stayed on his perch. Raining down arrows and skills on the Church Knights that tried to flow out of the gates en masse for the abominable demi-humans.

"**Shining Arrow!**"

"**Arrow Squall!**"

'_Oh, they'll like this one.'_ "**Saint Arrow Rain!**"

Knights screamed from minor explosions caused by the spread skill Arrow Squall. Others collapsed to the ground because of the light arrows that went right through them thanks to the spread skill **Shining Arrow**. A few ran around in a panic, their armor on fire thanks to the spread skill Saint Arrow Rain. And Itsuki still had many more spread skills to dish out on this army. The spread skills were generally weaker than his other skills, but damn, were they perfect for dealing with an army.

"This isn't right!" Altara yelled. The Bow Hero was supposed to be on the side of God. Not on the side of the Shield Devil! "Why is the Bow Hero-"

"Miss Altara!-" The Church Knight with her tried to point, but then a large explosion rocked part of the wall. A whole squad of knights was sent flying off.

Ren appeared out of the smoke on the other side of the wall opposite Altara. He was running, and his sword was still glowing from the skill he'd released. His armor also had some updates. He had some new black arm guards made of dragon scales over his sleeves. His blue cloak was gone. His chestplate and shoulder guards had been strengthed with Dragon Steel, giving the black more of a black/grey look. Despite the changes and updates, he still had a calm look on his face. And he charged towards Church Knights in his way. They had to get as close to the Tower as possible before jumping.

"Bakta! Take point!"

"You got it Sir Ren!" Bakta ran in front of Ren. And crossed his armored arms as he increased his speed. "Hahhhh!"

"Ow! Ah! Wha! Oof!" Bakta the tank plowed through the ranks of surprised knights on the wall like a wrecking ball. Their swords and spikes bouncing off of his armored shell. Even if they had gotten a solid strike, Bakta was easily double their level. They were sent flying off the wall on both sides.

"As source of thy power we order thee!" Tersia and Farrie jumped down. Several demi-humans followed them. Also casting magic.

"Decipher the laws of nature and summon a mighty gust of wind!"

"Summon a fire, a burning current of flame!"

"Grow together to form a blazing inferno to clear our path!"

"Go!" Tersia and Farrie yelled at the same time, landing on the ground. Their hands pointed towards the Church Knights focused on Melty's group. "**Inferno!**" A maelstrom of wind came from the two mages, and it burst aflame. Bursts of light and shadow along with more fire from the other demi-human mages with them surrounded it. The firestorm slammed into the Church Knights, dropping many almost instantly.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Those that got past the flames or that weren't brought down by the other spells or Itsuki's skills divided their focus. Some continued on, while the rest charged towards Tersia and Farrie's part of the square. They crossed blades with the demi-humans surrounding Farrie and Tersia. Who charged in a semi-circle towards where Itsuki's group was defending Melty and the others.

The Church Knights were now focused on one side of the square. Completely ignoring Naofumi on the other side.

* * *

A Church Knight came running for Eclair. But one of the demi-humans, Maya, came out of an illusion right before tripping the knight. Before he could get up, she stabbed him in the back. "Don't worry. I overheard what you said. We'll protect the Second Princess. Right now, you should help the Shield Hero while they're focused on us."

Eclair looked at the demi-human in shock. But then she shook herself and nodded. "Alright. I'm entrusting the Second Princess's safety to you." She ran away from the group, who'd formed a protective circle around Melty. Melty was plenty protected now. Naofumi needed her now.

"Ah! AHHHH!" One of the knights was lifted up by the armored bear therianthrope and thrown away from the battle.

Ren knocked a blade from a Church Knight and then kicked him over the edge of the wall. "You ready Itsuki?!" Ren yelled over the sound of battle as he held his sword up high.

Itsuki pulled his string back, and a red glowing arrow appeared on it. Ren jumped off the wall. Itsuki jumped off his perch on the rooftop too. Now that they were fully committed.

"**Air Strike Spread!**"

"**Air Strike Bash!**"

The two launched two skills consecutively at the still recovering army of knights. Itsuki's red arrow split into a series of red arrows that all struck the front line of knights, dropping them to the ground, gasping in pain. Ren's skill threw almost an entire column of soldiers into the air.

He landed on top of another knight, bringing him down into the ground. Another knight charged for him, but Bakta landed on top of the poor guy. Slamming him into the ground.

"As source of thy power, I order thee, decipher the laws of nature, and strike my targets with a darkness so deep as to not be comprehended!" Rachel chanted. "**Zweite Dark Slash!**"

Another line of Church Knights in front of Ren and Bakta was hit by a shadow darker than night. Giving room for Wyndia, Welt, and the other demi-humans to jump down from above.

"Bakta, protect the right flank. Wyndia, take the left. I'll spearhead this one." Ren calmly ordered. "Welt, lead the rest and protect the Second Princess!"

Bakta and Wyndia ran to the sides he'd indicated. Wyndia brandished a finely crafted katana. Bakta finally unsheathed a large greatsword. Welt and the demi-humans turned, running to support Tersia and Farrie. Whose group was slowly making their way toward Melty. "Give them hell!" Ren ordered.

"Huah!" Filo kicked a royal knight hard in the groin, sending him high up into the air.

"**Zweite Hellfire!**"

Malty unleashed more flames, but they were considerably weaker than before. They didn't even reach the group before they dispelled.

"Myne! You're too hurt to continue fighting!" Motoyasu was forcibly dragging Myne back from the fight.

"No, I have to-" She tried to yell crazily through the pain she felt.

"Ahhhh!"

The knight Filo kicked landed on top of Myne. Motoyasu rolled the groaning knight off of Myne. Who was, for the moment, briefly knocked out. '_Not what I wanted… but at least I can get her to safety now.'_ He hefted Myne up again and limped back to where the Commander was still trying to organize the remainder of his knights.

* * *

"So what was your plan?" Melty asked.

Aksel deflected a Church Knight's blade away with his axe. Then punched him hard enough to drop him. "Our plan is shock and awe."

"What does that mean?"

"Basically, we're a distraction." Crystal answered as she took a step back to take a breather from the fighting. "When we arrived, we noticed the Shield Hero was too close to the walls with an injured party member."

"So we're grabbing everyone's attention until we're able to group back together safely where Sir Itsuki can pull us out." Rachel said quickly. She threw another spell out. Blasting a line of knights with darkness incarnate.

"You mean this wasn't planned out?!" Melty asked incredulously.

"We just got back to the Capital. We didn't know what to expect. So we planned as we went along." Crystal said sarcastically.

Melty looked over. Naofumi was still trying to heal Raphtalia. '_I hope she's okay.'_ She thought sadly, unable to help. Well, besides this.

"**Zweite Aqua Shot!**" She launched a large water ball into a group of Church Knights. "My mother was right! You are nothing but a cult that's jealous of the power of the Shield Hero!" She yelled.

Their reaction was as expected. "You will pay for your blasphemy!"

She could be a very good distraction.

"**Fast Heal!**" Green energy covered Raphtalia's body again, but she still didn't stir. "Raphtalia, please." Naofumi had tears coming from his eyes. '_It's my fault… it's all my fault-'_ He thought pathetically as he cried. He couldn't help her. She was going to-

"Sir Naofumi!"

Naofumi looked up. "Eclair, nothing's working on her!" He said desperately.

Eclair ran up and got on her knees next to Raphtalia. "Oh, Gods." She could feel the power of the curse on the poor Tanuki girl. "My light magic won't be enough for this."

"But can your magic help?" Naofumi asked desperately.

"Sir Naofumi-"

"Please," Naofumi begged. "I can't lose her… not after everything we've been through together... Please."

"... Alright…" She didn't know if her magic would help. She could only heal the lowest tier of curses at best. But that didn't mean she couldn't give her all to help. "Let's drag her under some cover so I can work," Eclair said.

"Why would we-" Naofumi finally looked away from Raphtalia and Eclair. He'd been so absorbed with trying to heal his companion, that he didn't realize till that moment there was a major battle going on. "What the hell."

"I'd rather not allow my enemies to fire arrows down on me from above when they notice us here Sir Naofumi." Eclair answered seriously as she grabbed Raphtalia under her shoulders. They were lucky no one still hadn't taken note of them yet.

Naofumi lifted Raphtalia by her legs, not questioning Eclair further. Together they carried her over to one of the few untouched buildings where they'd be out of sight.

Ren dropped another knight to the ground, slashing the man across the thigh before knocking him out. He looked at where Naofumi had been formerly, only to find he wasn't there.

'_Where did Naofumi go!?'_ He started to look around at the chaos, trying to locate where Naofumi had been frantically.

He slashed down a large Church Knight wielding a Warhammer. 'There!' He finally saw Naofumi.

He was in front of a building. It had an overhang, which he, Raphtalia, and a knight were under. The knight's hands were glowing, and he was messing with something in his hands. The Church Knights hadn't gone anywhere near them, as they were distracted by all the action. But that could change at any moment.

"Wyndia. Could you use one of those spells again?" Ren asked.

"Not without becoming useless again Sir Ren." Wyndia dryly replied. "Only ask if you feel it's absolutely necessary."

"Alright. I was just checking." Ren switched to a longer blade. He then swung to force many of the knights back to avoid being sliced. Which gave him room to swing down. "Hang on. **Air Strike Bash!**"

Bakta and Wyndia grabbed onto Ren and jumped with him right as he unleashed the skill underneath them. The blast of air jettisoned them over the knights. Wyndia parried a few blades that tried to swipe at them as they flew. But thanks to the chaos being sown by Itsuki who was still releasing skill after skill from the safety of the group. Many of which were exploding, Ren and his group of two were able to land safely right on the other side of the battle.

"Ugh, I hate it when you use that trick." Bakta looked queasy after flying through the air.

A group of Church Knights came charging for them. "As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and blast my targets. **Zweite Dragon's Flame!**" A ball of fire appeared in Wyndia's hand. She chucked part of it at the closest knight. He fell screaming to the ground. She then deftly knocked the blade out of the second, and slammed the remainder of the ball of fire into his chest. Sending him crashing back.

Bakta, who'd forced down his nausea, jumped in front of her, blocking a string of attacks with his greatsword and armor. He then swung his greatsword in retaliation, slashing a line of Knights down. "Hold them off!" Ren ordered them.

"Got it!" Wyndia positioned herself beside Bakta. Wielding her katana in one hand while creating more fire in the other.

Ren ran towards Naofumi.

"Now!" Naofumi ordered.

"**First Cleansing!**"

Eclair's hands glowed brighter. Light surrounded Raphtalia's body. Black mist came off parts of her. The skin around her face cleared up somewhat, but the burns still looked serious.

"**Fast Heal!**"

Naofumi cast the spell right as he helped Raphtalia drink a healing potion he'd improved to the maximum potency he could accomplish using an alchemy skill and the materials he had on hand. The combination of the healing magic, the cleansing magic, and the healing potion finally worked. Her HP bar moved from the red to the yellow zone. Raphtalia started to cough weakly as she came to. "Nao… Naofumi…" She said quietly.

"Oh, thank the Gods!" Naofumi finally looked somewhat relieved as he hugged the weak Tanuki girl. Eclair looked tired out from the amount of light magic she'd used. She uncorked a Magic Water vial and began to drink. "Thank you Eclair. You did amazing." It was only because of her magic that the healing had finally worked somewhat. She almost choked on the potion at Naofumi praising her.

"What's… what's happening-" Raphtalia tried to say.

"Don't worry." Naofumi pulled back and rubbed her hair reassuringly. "You're going to be okay. I'm going to get us all out of here!" He said. He was still highly worried about how serious her cursed burns were. But getting her and his party to safety was now his utmost concern.

"And how are you planning on doing that, Naofumi, when there's an army in the way?" Ren asked.

Naofumi finally looked up in surprise. "Ren, what are you doing-" He started to say in disbelief. Then he saw an arrow skill land in the crowd of Church Knights. "Is Itsuki here too-"

"Sir Naofumi. Were you not paying attention when I told you what was happening?!" Eclair asked in disbelief.

"Enough. I'm getting you two out of here. Now come on!" Ren said. Wyndia and Bakta were a force to be reckoned with. But there were still more knights pouring into the square from the gates.

"But why are you two-" He tried to say.

A squad of Church Knights got past Ren's party members and ran for them. Ren scowled as he saw the battle was beginning to turn. While they were Cardinal Heroes, the enemy still had numbers on their side. And Itsuki had to pause every now and then to drink a soul healing potion. Allowing for more openings by the enemy to attack. One of the knights ran ahead of the group, and Ren used his sword to block the knight's strike.

"You imposter! You were never the Sword Hero! Neither you nor-" Ren sent the Church Knight flying back before he could finish his sentence. "**Meteor Slash!**" He sent a slash of blue light from his sword, blasting away the rest of the squad of knights. Ren noticed his own SP reserves were getting low.

"I need you to trust us Naofumi." Ren said seriously. "Things are a lot more serious than before. If we don't get out now, it'll be too late."

Naofumi looked at Raphtalia worriedly, and she tried to smile for him despite the pain. His logic finally started to take over. Especially after hearing a Church Knight call Ren a fake hero. If a Church Knight was calling one of the heroes they worshipped a fake... then there was obviously more going on that he didn't know about. "Okay." He couldn't question it now. They needed to get to safety first.

He lifted Raphtalia bridal style, and she weakly wrapped her arms around his neck. "Eclair, can you watch our backs?" Naofumi asked.

"Yes."

"Then lead the way, Ren."

* * *

They ran back towards the knights. Noticing what was happening, Itsuki accurately sent a skill right over the knights Wyndia and Bakta had been facing. While the Church Knights immediately broke up and tried to avoid the rain of arrows, Ren's party members broke off and joined up alongside Ren, making a piercing formation. Eclair stayed in the back by herself. Protecting Naofumi's rear.

"Rahhhh!" Finally noticing the fake hero and the Shield Demon charging towards them, a large pocket of Church Knights surrounding Naofumi's allies roared in anger and turned to meet them.

"**Meteor Arrow!**"

A blue arrow exploded in their midst, sowing confusion.

"**Thunder Slash!**"

Ren swept his sword, releasing a slash of lightning on more of the knights. Dropping them to the ground.

They started running through the pack.

"**First Technique!** **Dawn's Strike!**" Eclair knocked a large Church Knight away.

"**Fast Fireball!**" Wyndia slammed a fireball into the chest of another knight.

"Ahhhh!" Bakta once more charged like a bull. Allowing his size, armor, and greatsword to plow down all in his way.

Naofumi held Raphtalia close. But he wasn't going to stand idle in the center of the group.

"**Shield Prison!**"

A group of nearby knights on Wyndia's side were encased.

"**Air Strike Shield!**" Naofumi formed a shield in front of Ren. Who used it to jump and vault into the middle of a group of knights who'd gotten back to back.

"**Crimson Blade!**" Ren spun a 360, knocking all the knights away with a fiery skill.

"**Change Shield! Bee Needle Paralysis Shield!**"

The Shield Prison disappeared, and the knights slumped to the ground. All of them paralyzed.

"**Zweite Dark Slash!**"

The last bit of the path was cleared by a spell from Rachel. Who sent a wave of darkness crashing into the Church Knights.

Ren, Naofumi, and their allies ran over the downed knights before they could get back up and ran into the circle of allies.

"Daddy, is mommy okay!?" Filo was still kicking and knocking away any knight who dared to get too close. But she looked in worry at Naofumi and Raphtalia.

"She is for now." Naofumi answered as he looked around.

Karn and the dog demi-humans with him struggled against the abundant amount of swordsmen. Several of the demi-humans were either dead or having their wounds treated so they could get back to fighting. Eclair immediately moved next to Karn and assisted. Holding that part of the line.

Tersia and Farrie were next to Rachel, Maya, and Melty in the middle with some other raccoon and Kitsune demi-humans. They were either sending blasts of magic where the knights were the thickest, using illusion magic to confuse the enemy, or using healing and support magic on their allies.

Aksel defended another part of the circle with one of the bear therianthropes. The second one was also in the center of the circle, getting treated for his still bleeding gut wound.

Itsuki was in the middle of the group too. Unleashing skills like he was raining God's justice all around. Ren unleashed skills sparingly from the safety of the group. But they weren't going to hold forever. They had already defeated many knights, but there were hundreds more to take their place. And maybe even thousands more that were on the way to crush them. And that was if they didn't have something else up their sleeves.

"We're all here. You ready to get us out of here, Itsuki!?" Ren asked as he sent a fire skill in the shape of a dragon into a group of knights. He prepared his portal skill.

"Almost! I just have to add Naofumi- damn it! They're interfering with my weapon again!" Itsuki cursed.

Ren scowled. "Mine too."

"What does that mean?" Naofumi asked.

"It means neither me nor Ren can portal us out of here!" Itsuki yelled.

Ren still tried, but he couldn't activate his portal skill. "But that's impossible! We checked! No one is at the Church right now! There's no way they could block us using the Dragon Hourglass!" Ren said.

"What are you two talking about-" Naofumi was saying. Ren had promised to get them out of here!

"Sir Heroes." Ren, Itsuki, and Naofumi looked to Melty. She looked pale. "I think I know what's causing the interference."

Itsuki, who had the best eyes of the group, looked where Melty was pointing. And his eyes went wide. "What the hell is that?!"

Outside, on their knees behind the water, were at least a thousand robed individuals. Their heads bowed, chanting, but not loud enough to be heard. Mana was beginning to gather above them. "That is a high-level ritual spell they're preparing to cast," Melty answered. There were only two things the heroes knew of that could interfere with the portal skill. Tampering with the Dragon Hourglass… or high-class ritual magic being cast nearby.

The Church Knights started to back away, dragging those who were wounded with them. Along with the Royal Knights. However, mages and Knights on the walls and on the ground started firing arrows and spells at the group. While they no longer had to deal with any swordsmen, they now found themselves in the midst of many different ranged and projectile weapons.

"**Air Strike Shield! Royal Shield!**" Naofumi cast the two barriers on the front and back. The Air Strike Shield was cracking against the attacks of so many Church Knights. But the Royal Shield was also cracking under the less numerous Royal Knights barrage. Without the upgrade from the cursed Series, it was the same old useless skill as before.

"We order thee! Decipher the laws of nature! Summon a barrier of wind to protect us from all harm! Deflect our enemy's attacks away and bring us safety!" Tersia, Farrie, and several of the dog demi-humans chanted at the same time. "**Drifa Protection Tornado!**"

A tornado of wind formed around the whole group just as both skills shattered. The arrows that had been sent their way were redirected. The variety of spells were either thrown or impacted harmlessly against the tornado of wind.

"High-class ritual magic." Ren looked pale as he said what Melty had said.

"How bad is it?" Naofumi asked.

"If it's the same thing from the game I played…they're about to unleash a spell whole guilds of mages would use to take on world bosses." Ren murmured. "Any players caught in it…" He didn't need to finish. It was going to be bad.

* * *

"Lady Altara. The mages are ready to cast Judgement. Should I give the order?" The Church Knight asked Altara.

Altara looked unsure. The Shield Demon was down there. But so were the Bow and Sword Heroes. She didn't want to believe that they had really changed sides. It couldn't be… all her hard work to forsake her former life to worship the true heroes of this world...

"Sir Ren, our barrier won't hold against that if they cast that spell!" Farrie yelled.

"It's barely holding against everything they're already throwing against us out there!" Tersia added, sweating in concentration.

"Itsuki, my SP's too low," Ren said. Even if he had a full bar, he doubted he could even put a dent in any high-level ritual magic spell.

Naofumi looked down at Raphtalia in fear. He felt the temptation to switch to the Was this how it was going to end for them?

Itsuki looked to Ren. And then his eyes lit up. "Wait, I might have an idea!"

* * *

"**Zweite Air Slash!**"

"**Zweite Earthball!**"

"**Zweite Hellfire!**"

Motoyasu set the injured Myne back next to the Commander behind the line of knights firing off different spells. She had woken up again and looked like she still wanted to fight. But her injuries were taking too much of a toll. And she was out of MP with no more elixirs to restore it.

"Stay here! I'm going to try and stop this!" Motoyasu ordered her.

"No, I have to…" Myne looked to be in a lot of pain.

* * *

"Lady Altara!"

"Yes, cast it now while they're pinned down." Altara finally ordered. She had to remember the Shield Demon was down there. He was associated with the demi-humans that had ruined her life before. He couldn't be allowed to escape!

* * *

Naofumi suddenly received three different notifications. Melty and Eclair were requesting to join his party. And Itsuki was requesting him to join his party as a squad leader.

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't reject this time!" Itsuki said to Naofumi.

"But why do I-" Naofumi tried to ask.

"Just do it Naofumi!" Itsuki yelled. The wind spell was already weakening.

"Daddy! Something big is coming! We have to get out of here now!" Filo yelled in worry.

_'But…'_ He felt a hand on his cheek, and looked down at Raphtalia. She didn't speak, but she didn't have to. He understood. He wasn't going to reject Itsuki's party request a second time. Not when they'd come to rescue him and his party.

He quickly accepted all three invites.

Itsuki nodded gratefully. "Everyone! Gather close! I'm going to use a combo skill with Ren!"

Everyone backed away from the failing wind tornado. Outside, the Church Knights were starting to hastily retreat from the square. Calling for the Royal Knights to do the same.

"Go! Release as much wind as you can!" Ren yelled to the mages.

"We order thee! Decipher the laws of nature! Summon the great winds of old! Blow our target away in a cyclone of power and bring about our triumph! **Drifa Gale!**" A blast of wind came out from the mages, who shot it into the tornado of already existing wind.

"Now, use your Dragon Vein Magic Wyndia!" Ren yelled to Wyndia.

Wyndia took point. "_I call upon the power of the wind to come to me and take form." _She started to chant. Naofumi stared, having never heard the beginning of such a chant before. "_**Dragon Vein**__, hear my petition! Help my targets! Expand their reach, and imbue their weapons with the power to turn our defeat into a victory!" _Wyndia chanted, channeling the power of the wind before pointing to Itsuki and Ren.

"**I call upon the Support of the Valkyrie!**"

The wind magic the other mages were casting channeled from the tornado into Wyndia. Along with the tornado itself. Which gradually shrunk. Ren and Itsuki's weapons began to glow more brightly.

Before the tornado broke, Itsuki pointed his bow up and Ren held his sword up. The magic was enough to overcome the interference. However, a bright light was starting to come down. A beam of energy more powerful than what they'd hope to survive. If the interference came back in the middle of the skill, they were done for.

"**Combo Skill!**" Both of them yelled. "**Dual Transport!**"

Normally, their portal skills restricted them to only teleporting their immediate parties and a couple others at a time. But because of the combo skill and because of Wyndia's Dragon Vein support magic.

Itsuki released the string as Ren's sword shone brightly. A dome of light and wind appeared around everyone inside, engulfing them entirely. Naofumi and everyone else felt a jerk. Like a hook had lodged in his spine, pulling them from the normal plane of existence.

Archers continued to release their arrows on the group. Mages sent spells raining down on the spot. Judgment rained down from the sky.

Malty's eyes widened when she saw the dome of light and wind. "No!" She yelled angrily.

"Ren! Itsuki! Nao-" Motoyasu covered his eyes as the light glowed too brightly.

The dome of light and wind collapsed. Everyone who had been underneath it disappeared from the battle-torn square.

Malty cursed angrily. "Damn it! Damn it all-"

Then, Judgement struck down.

"Ah! AHHHHHHH!" The Church and Royal Knights who hadn't fled quickly enough were sent flying by the initial explosion.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Despite the distance, Myne screamed as a shockwave carried her away.

"No, Myne-" Motoyasu jumped for her. The shockwave also sending him flying.

"Nooooooo-" The Commander was also sent flying.

"Lady Altara!" The Church Knight gripped to the wall tightly. They were close. Too close to the radius of the blast.

"No!" Altara was sent flying by the force of the blast.

A sound like a very high pitched whistle reaching further and further intensity filled everyone's ears. As Judgement continued to destroy the former battlefield, the wall, and part of the city.

* * *

_Castle Throne Room a couple minutes before Judgement_

"Your Majesty!"

King Aultcray looked up from his throne. A squad of Royal Knights stood guard in a semi-circle in front of him. "What is it?! Have you managed to rescue my daughter from the clutches of that cursed demon!?" He yelled angrily. He did not look happy.

The Captain breathed in and out heavily after running so quickly. "Your Majesty, Princess Melty was fine last we checked. But our city is not. Parts of it are on fire due to the actions of Princess Malty."

"What?!" The King stood up.

"There's more. My men and I heard it ourselves. The Second Princess accused the First Princess of working with the Three Heroes Church to have her murdered. It was likely done while she was freeing the Shield Hero in the dungeons."

King Aultcray's face went from angry to shocked. "... What?"

The Captain stood erect. "Your Majesty, me and my men also found the Sword and Bow Hero as we were fleeing. They claimed the Church tried to have them both killed. That was why they disappeared. The Royal Commander lied to all of us about the reports."

The King was silent. Looking speechless at what he was hearing. "Your Majesty. I don't think the Shield Hero was trying to escape, nor was he responsible for what we accused him of. He was trying to protect the Second Princess. Not just from the First Princess, but from the Commander and the Three Heroes Church! Their followers are outside the city right now, trying to kill him, the Second Princess, and the other heroes! We need to act now!"

"What, what are you talking about?!" King Aultcray said. "That's absurd! That, that would mean-"

"That your Captain speaks too much, your Highness."

The Captain and his knights turned to a hallway. The Pope walked out of it. Smiling happily with a pair of Church Knights on either side of him. "Balamus, tell my Captain you're wrong!" Aultcray said in desperation. Balamus was his chaplain from the Eight-Year War. There was no way he'd try to have his own daughter killed off.

"Unfortunately, your Captain is right. In every regard." Balamus said, sighing heavily. "I'm sorry old friend, but what I do now, I do for the sake of God's plan for our world."

Suddenly, Church Knights appeared from the main doors. The hallways. Every available entrance to the throne room, surrounding the Captain and his men. Who immediately circled around their Captain to protect him. "No, stop this at once-" The Royal Knights in front of the King turned, pointing their pikes on him. He immediately stopped speaking, staring at his 'loyal' knights in shock.

"You should really check the loyalty of those serving you, King Aultcray the XXXII… or should I call you Luge, since you're no longer the proper King of Melromarc anymore." Balamus said, smiling as he held all the cards in his hands.

"What?" Even the Captain looked surprised. To think even some of their own knights were actually traitors.

"Why, why are you doing this Balamus!?" Aultcray asked angrily.

"Why?" Balamus continued to smile. One of the knights took the crown off of Aultcray's shocked head. "Because it is God's will that I should take command of his kingdom. After all the foolish actions of royalty, it has become obvious that you aren't capable of eradicating a demon and his country anymore. A shame, since you were once one of the brightest minds in our crusade against the demi-humans and their Demon God so many years ago."

"The Shield Hero is not a demon!" The Captain yelled. His men had been unarmed, and they were being bound. But he still yelled angrily at the Pope. "Do not mistreat the Cardinal Heroes you filth-" A cloth was forced into his mouth, silencing him.

"But I'm not mistreating the Cardinal Heroes." Pope Balamus said, opening his arms wide. "I am simply purging the world of that which goes against our God's will." He said, bowing respectively. "And it appears that two of their mighty champions have decided to rebel. And thus, they must be expunged from our world.

"You, you won't get away with this." Aultcray said angrily. Gripping his jeweled staff tightly. "The people will never accept you as their leader!"

"Oh, but they will. And if they won't…"

A large explosion sounded outside. Blinding light filled the room.

Aultcray looked out the window. And his eyes widened in astonishment. "No."

The royal knights parted, allowing Aultcray to run-up to the window. A beam of light that he recognized was decimating the western wall of the city. The buildings that had survived the fight were catching on fire or disintegrating. "You didn't… you couldn't have…"

Up close, people who had been running from the western part of the city in terror stopped and stared up in shock. Royal Knights who had been trying to fight the fires and direct the civilians to safety stared up in shock. Anyone miles around could see the beam of light raining judgment on that part of the city.

"Anyone who supports the Shield Demon, whether they be commoner or royalty, shall receive the same purifying light that your own daughter is receiving now." Balamus said. Smiling as he approached. "For there is no other way for a soul tainted with the influence of the Shield to be purified."

The Captain looked horrified. But he couldn't speak because of the gag.

Aultcray looked stunned. "No… my dear Melty…" Tears were leaking from his eyes.

"Take them to the dungeons," Balamus ordered his knights. "And do make sure that Luge has a comfortable cell. Where he can think over his sins in peace."

Aultcray continued to stare in shock out the window. His staff was taken from him, and he was bound. He was led out behind his Captain and his bound loyal Knights. Behind them, the light of Judgement finally began to fade. _'No... Melty... Malty...'_ Aultcray started to finally cry. His family had been taken from him again, but not by the demi-humans this time. They had been taken by one of his own friends.

* * *

Erhard stared hard out of his bedroom window. Having witnessed the beam of light that had struck down on part of the city, waking him from his nap.

_'They actually did it…'_

He'd been warned by someone after Raphtalia and Filo left and before he'd gone upstairs that the Church was going to assume control of the city. He vaguely remembered her looking a lot like the lady who had given him the note about Belouka's tent. But he hadn't given it much thought.

But once more, she'd turned out to be right.

He immediately got dressed. And then he pulled a large wooden crate from his bed. _'If the Three Heroes Church really is taking control, then it's time I went into hiding for a while.'_ He was no idiot. The Church knew he and his shopkeeper friends had assisted Naofumi in the past. They couldn't do anything to him before since he was one of the best blacksmiths well respected by the King and Queen. But now…

He opened the crate. His old, but trustworthy adventurer armor laid on top of old blankets. His warhammer still gleamed as he pulled it out and hefted it. It still felt light in his hands despite its weight. He donned his armor, a calm look on his face. _'I'm going to miss this shop.'_ He only hoped he'd have a shop to return to.

He pulled a hood over his head, and left out the black door.

Sometime later, a group of Church Knights broke down the front door and searched the place. But besides the weapons and armor that had been left on their stands and displays, there was no sign of the blacksmith that had helped Naofumi. He, and as they'd soon find out, his friends closest to the blacksmith; were already long gone.

* * *

At the edge of a forest, a dome of light and wind appeared over the ground. After a few seconds, the dome disappeared, revealing Naofumi, Ren, Itsuki, and their respective parties. Several of the mages, including Wyndia, collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

Dragon Vein magic was powerful… but it took a heavy toll on the young demi-girl.

"Are you okay?" Ren helped Wyndia up.

"I'm just exhausted. I'll be fine." Wyndia coldly snapped, but she didn't stop Ren from helping her up. There was also a hint of red on her cheeks. Ren didn't notice.

"Where are we?" Filo asked as she looked around curiously.

"Away from the Capital. That's for certain." Eclair said in relief. It was over. They had finally escaped.

"Oh, that was so stressful," Melty said as she sank to her knees with relief. Facing down her sister and everyone else like that had absolutely terrified her. It was a miracle she had managed to keep her composure at all! She had a newfound respect for her mother.

"Good work Itsuki," Ren said seriously.

"Yeah. We just had to face all the knights in Melromarc and make ourselves even bigger enemies than we were before. But it wasn't too hard for me if I'm being honest." Itsuki said sarcastically.

Ren chuckled a little at that. "Yeah, I could have easily taken on all those knights if they hadn't cheated there at the end." Some of their party members on both sides also chuckled. Finding humor that they'd once more managed to escape death.

"No, Raphtalia! I need you to stay awake!"

All talk stopped as they looked. Naofumi set Raphtalia on the ground. Her HP bar had also dipped back into the red zone again.

"But… I'm so tired Naofumi…" Raphtalia said tiredly. "Can't I sleep for a while please?"

"No, Raphtalia…" Naofumi looked up at everyone, desperation in his eyes. "Please, she needs help!"

The group stood stunned. Filo more so than the others. "M-Mommy-" She tried to say.

"One of you, any of you please! I can't treat her!" He yelled in desperation. He'd tried all his different types of potions. He'd tried using a medical skill to find out how to treat her burns, only to receive nothing because he'd never treated cursed burns before. He'd tried the potion he'd created that could heal any status affect a person was suffering from. But it didn't work on the cursed burns inflicting Raphtalia. He could only try to keep her HP bar from dropping, but he didn't know how to heal it!

When no one responded, he desperately raised a hand over Raphtalia. "**Fast Heal!**" However, he received a notification when he tried that. **Out of MP**.

"No, I can't be out of MP now! Damn it!" Naofumi yelled angrily. He opened his inventory, but he had no more healing potions or Magic Water potions either.

He couldn't even prevent her HP bar from dropping anymore! "Somebody! Please! HELP HER!" Naofumi yelled desperately to the sky.

"I'm here."

More of the scene came into view. By the forest was a large manor. The neatly dressed nobleman who owned it bent down near Raphtalia, almost as if he'd come from out of nowhere. He quickly examined her burns, his eyes looking serious. Naofumi almost fell backward at how this man had appeared so suddenly.

"Don't worry. It's not as bad as it appears." He finally said. "She'll live, but she needs holy water for her burns." He said calmly.

"Who are you?" Naofumi asked the million-dollar question.

Before the nobleman could respond, and before Itsuki could answer, Melty gasped in surprise. "I remember this region now... You're Van Reichnott. One of my mother's royal advisors."

Van Reichnott nodded to her. "It's been too long Princess Melty. But we'll have to save the pleasantries for later." He looked to the demi-humans who had volunteered to go with Itsuki and Ren to save Naofumi. "Get the wounded into town. And have my best nurses brought in. We'll need to work fast if we want to give her the best chance of recovery."

Anything else could wait. Right now, Raphtalia's treatment took top priority.

The demi-humans that weren't wounded bowed respectively. "As you wish Master Reichnott."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Alright. I finally ended a chapter without using a cliffhanger. We saw a lot happen here. We even got to see what happened to Itsuki and his party before. I think either next chapter or the one after that, I'll be showing what happened to Ren's party. Besides that, I think there's a good amount of things here that'll be added to the TVTropes page. Thanks to those faithful readers who help keep the TVTropes page for this fic up to date. I'll try to add some of my own contributions to it soon. I'd like to add some character folders for the rest of Ren and Itsuki's party.**

**Besides that, sorry, no omake for this chapter again. I'll see about doing a double omake for the next chapter since I promise it won't be as long as this one! (And that's the reason I'm not including it. This chapter is already too damn long!)**

**I'll look forward to seeing you all again next week.**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	37. 37: The Purity of a Soul

**This has been one of those chapters that I had to rewrite again and again. I knew what I wanted to have happen, but couldn't find the appropiate medium, and eventually, I split it in two because of how long it got. I wanted to honestly capture what this version of Naofumi would be going through here. And well, I won't spoil anything more, so...**

**On with the chapter.**

* * *

**Since Last Time: **_32 more Favorites, 42 more Followers (Total: 1189 Favorites, 1390 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _April 6th, 2020 12:00 P.M. (EST)_

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Seven:** _The Purity of a Soul_

* * *

_A few hours after the Capital (9 Days Until the Next Wave of Catastrophe)_

Naofumi sat in a chair next to a bed. His damaged armor was gone. He was dressed in clothes he normally wore when he went to bed at night in an inn. He still had dried blood on one side of his neck, courtesy of Motoyasu. Dried tear tracks ran down both sides of his cheeks. He stared at the sleeping figure below him.

Lying in the bed on her back was Raphtalia. Her damaged armor had also been taken off, and she was dressed in a white nightgown. A blanket covered her up to her chest, and her arms were resting on top of the blanket. They were covered in bandages soaked with holy water like the rest of her body. From the balls of her feet all the way up to the top of her neck. There was also a large bandage wrapped around the top of her head. Her face was exposed, but the black signs of the curse she was inflicted with poked out from the edges of her bandages around her cheeks and hair. The only sign that she was still alive was the gentle up and down motion of her chest as she breathed in and out. And the grimace that appeared every now and then on her face when pain intruded on her sleep.

_'... I … I did this to her…'_

Van, Eclair, and he had carried Raphtalia into this room earlier. He had been such an emotional wreck and so close to a complete mental breakdown by that point from all that had happened that he was pushed out of the room so Eclair and Van's nurses could treat Raphtalia without him getting in the way. He couldn't even calm himself to help her... he'd been so scared...

Sensing his growing unease, Eclair tried to tell him what happened wasn't his fault. She probably said some other things, just like the few other people that came by to try and talk to him. But he couldn't remember who or what they'd said. His mind had too much to process. And, finally, when his brain had settled somewhat, the nurses and exhausted Eclair came back out, having finished their job. He was allowed back in. And he had been in here ever since. Sitting dutifully in his chair, holding one of Raphtalia's bandaged hands in his.

This feeling that was filling him now… was it numbness? He swore he couldn't feel anything. Nor did he want to feel anything.

Raphtalia was sleeping peacefully, but he knew no such peace. These last few hours had been absolute hell… his brain had processed what had happened, but he couldn't allow himself to think about it. He couldn't find it in him to care about it. He couldn't care about the fact that he'd escaped the Capital. He couldn't care that he'd saved both Eclair and Melty from horrible situations and that they were both safe. He couldn't care that he'd been reunited with Ren, Itsuki, Filo, and Raphtalia… he couldn't even be happy about the fact that he'd finally been able to punch Bitch in the face and actually hurt her.

It had all come at too high a price. And if he were to allow himself to feel anything now after shakily building himself back up to this point, he was going to lose it. He was going to break down. He was going to suffer.

So he just sat there, staring at her steadily breathing form.

_'... I… I killed people today.'_

His mind betrayed him, thinking over what had happened. He remembered at least five knights that had been killed by him. Three or four of whom hadn't tried to attack him. They had been some random knights trying to pull the wounded away to safety or putting out fires.

He'd killed those that were trying to protect others...

'_I tried to burn down a city…_'

His cursed flames had torched many of the buildings around the square he and Bitch had been fighting in. Though some of Bitch's spells had also gone astray, his flames had caused far more damage and were harder to put out. There had also been fires deeper in the city that Melty and Eclair couldn't reach. Who knew how many more people had been killed from that… who knew how many more had suffered from the loss of their homes or their families because of him...

And then... there was the wonderful person lying on the bed in front of him right now.

_'I did this to her… I hurt her… I hurt Raphtalia…'_

He had attacked everyone that came close. Including her. He'd almost choked her to death. He'd tackled her to the ground, burned her with his flames repeatedly, and thrown her into a wall. But she still got back up. She still kept on trying to reach through to him despite the pain he caused her. It was only because of her that he was sitting here now. Freed from the Shield that had blinded him and almost consumed him.

...

…

One of the nurses from earlier came back into the room. Why... he wasn't sure. He assumed it was a verbal lashing for what he'd done to his companion. Or maybe she was delivering some bad news. Either way, he was already preparing himself for the worst. Mentally trying to shut himself down again and stay numb...

The nurse sat in a chair next to Naofumi. She didn't speak at first…

"How is she?" Naofumi dryly asked.

…

The nurse opened and closed her mouth several times. She looked conflicted as to what to say. Had he turned his head to look at her, he might have taken note that this nurse was a cute young dog demi-human. She was blushing and muttering to herself nervously since she was in close proximity to the Shield Hero. A being revered and worshipped by almost all demi-humans.

"... She isn't going to make it, is she?" Naofumi asked quietly. Van had told him earlier that she would live. But that had been a noble, not some doctor.

The nurse quickly snapped out of her daydreams at his words. "No Sir Shield Hero!" She said quickly. Averting Naofumi's imminent mental breakdown. "The healing spells you applied along with your friend's light magic were more than enough! She's going to survive…"

Naofumi continued to stare at Raphtalia's peaceful face. A part of him should have felt relieved. He was grabbing the memory of those previous nightmares and kicking them in the balls with the news that Raphtalia was going to live… Van was right... she was going to live…

But... "Then, what's the bad news?"

The nurse looked surprised, and then concerned at the Shield Hero's tone of voice. She also felt guilty about having to tell him any sort of bad news. "I'm afraid…... My senior, Rebecca, tells me that the holy water we have isn't strong enough to completely remove this curse... we're fortunate it's one of the lower-tier curses and not something higher… but it's going to take some time to get the holy water we need for it." She said quietly. "And longer before she's fully healed."

"And what does that mean?" Naofumi dryly asked.

"I'm… I'm afraid that means if the shipment of holy water we requested for isn't delayed... it'll be at least two weeks before she fully recovers..."

Naofumi was quiet. His expression unreadable in the presence of the nurse. Again, the thought ran through his numb mind. He had done this to her. He'd let his hatred for Myne consume him, and Raphtalia had paid the price. The next wave was nine days away… if she tried to fight in her condition, she could die… and that was only the tip of the iceberg for a slew of other problems he probably had to be informed of but didn't have the capacity to bring himself to care about at that moment.

"If she had a class up, and if she somehow got ten levels higher... she could recover more easily from this curse… but without a way to get her a class-up…"

…

"I'm afraid there's nothing more we can do for her until the original shipment of high-quality holy water Master Van ordered for a member of Sir Itsuki's party arrives from Faubley..." The nurse finally said sadly. '_If it arrives…'_ With the dangers mounting around the kingdom, who knew if it would arrive before the problems did.

...

Naofumi said nothing. He felt nothing but that numb feeling. The feeling eating away at his insides. Van had tried his best with the nurses he had on hand as well as Eclair. But…

The nurse got up. "I'll leave you now, Sir Shield Hero." She said quietly. Guessing by Naofumi's silence that there was nothing more he required from her.

Naofumi said nothing and kept his grip on Raphtalia's hand. He heard the door open and close. And then there was silence… He knew he was alone in the room with just her now.

…

He didn't want to think more about it… he wanted his mind to leave him alone… but...

'_In my dreams before... I succumbed to the Cursed_ Series.' It made sense now. It was like his mind had been trying to warn him what would happen if he let his anger and hatred get the better of him._ 'I gained all that power, but I paid a terrible price... I haven't killed her now. But what about the next time? What about the time after that? What then?'_ His Shield Menu finally showed the Hope and Rage series in the skill tree, side by side with each other. He had the first tier of the Hopeful series unlocked, but he had unlocked the second tier of the Rage series during his duel with Myne. He hated it... Yet, ironically, it was only because of that shield that he and his party had survived long enough for Itsuki and Ren to arrive.

What would happen the next time he had no choice but to equip the shield to survive? Would he unlock a third, a fourth, maybe even a fifth series? Would he even be able to stay in control if he tried again? And then what? Would Raphtalia be fully recovered by then… would she have a class up and be able to stop him… or… or would she be in her current condition… would he end up killing her and everyone he cared about in another senseless rampage…

'_I could end up doing the same thing again…'_ He clenched the hand that wasn't holding Raphtalia's. '_I don't want to use that shield… but I might not even have a choice!'_ He wasn't naive enough to think he wouldn't use it again. He'd already seen its stats. It stats outclassed all his other shields in every way, even the **Shield of Hope I**. Not only that, but it also allowed him to dish out damage! If he was put in a situation where they were going to die, he'd have no choice but to equip it if he wanted his party to have the best chance of survival. But if he equipped it, there was the chance that he could kill his party! '_Damn it!'_

It was all his fault. If he just hadn't picked that fight with Bitch. If he had only chosen to walk away instead of stopping to gloat at the end of the duel. If he hadn't let his anger get the best of him… '_Just damn it all!'_ His fist pounded the leg of the chair under him. It didn't even scratch the wood because of his low attack stat. Much to his frustration and irritation.

He finally had a Shield that allowed him to attack. It didn't lower a target's defense. It didn't trap them or rely on environmental factors to cause damage. It gave him a deadly counter along with Iron Maiden. It gave his shield bash skill an attack boost. It was a shield meant to be used to attack others. But what had he done with it?! What had he done when he was finally given the chance to pay back every wrong he had ever received!?

He hurt her. Out of everyone he could have tried to hurt, he hurt Raphtalia...

He'd thought it was impossible for him to hurt anyone before, especially Raphtalia. But when he'd unlocked this shield, when he'd been given the power to hurt Bitch, when he'd finally been given the ability to make her pay for existing, he killed others instead! He destroyed part of a city! He almost killed Raphtalia! The one person he valued more than anyone else in the whole world!

Guilt pressed on Naofumi's mind. He felt tears of frustration prick at the edge of his eyes. And he squeezed them shut. Trying to force them all back. To think, he'd finally found the one way he could actually attack everyone and everything… and it had resulted in him doing this!

_'No, I can't let this break me now! I have to be strong! I have to be numb! I have to… I have to be numb… I can't let this… I can't let this break me… not in front of her… not… not like this...'_

Of all the things he could have thought about, a memory came to his mind.

_"You've always believed in me. Now I will prove I believe in you…" Raphtalia rested a hand on his shoulder. "I swear to be your sword forever, and to always stand beside you." The two of them were in the duel arena. And she was smiling for him. That smile that said that everything would be alright._

_"I could never hate you Master Naofumi… no matter what others say about you."_

He gasped in shock at recalling the memory. '_She's always believed in me. She's trusted in me since the beginning… and now… ... ... I…'_

The floodgates broke, and Naofumi started to sob. '_It's all my fault!'_ "I'm sorry. I'm sorry Raphtalia." He said to her quietly between sobs again and again.

It was all his fault. He couldn't try to hide it. The pain of the guilt that was flooding his soul, making it feel impossible to breathe. Like he was choking on empty air. He had killed people. He had set fire to a city. He had done terrible things. But worst of all, he had hurt her. She had loved him and trusted her life to him when she got her slave crest, and yet here she was. Hurt. Because of him.

How could she ever forgive a monster like him for hurting her and so many others with a hateful shield? _'If I only hadn't allowed myself to use that stupid shield! If I had only tried to think of something else. If I had only… if I had only…' _He continued to sob. Feeling like his world was coming apart…

How could Raphtalia trust and love him now?

…

"Nao… Naofumi…"

He heard his name come softly off her lips and felt her hand in his move. He looked down at her face. Tears were still escaping from his eyes, but he could see her trying to smile. Tears were also in her eyes, but her smile drew him in. The smile that said that everything would be alright.

She had been sleeping when his mental turmoil woke her up. It made her sad to see Naofumi like this. And the bandaged hand he had been holding moved up to wipe the tears from his face. The simple action stunned him. '_How can she still be so kind after what I did to her?'_

"I'm so happy that you're safe now." Her voice… it had no spite in it… it was pure, just like her soul.

How could she look so happy… when he'd… "No... no! Don't talk that way to me!" He said, suddenly feeling furious. He looked away from her. "You saw what I did back there! I don't deserve any forgiveness from you! I'm… I'm a monster! I'm a-"

"Naofumi…" Her hand grabbed his chin and forced him to look back to her. Raphtalia's face was rock hard. She suddenly didn't look so pure anymore. "Stop belittling yourself right now. Or I'm going to smack some sense into you this instant."

Naofumi went silent in shock. Her face softened, but she grimaced and lowered her hand. '_Just gripping something caused her pain. And it was because of the curse. The curse I inflicted on her-'_

"Stop thinking you inflicted this on me Naofumi." Raphtalia interrupted his line of thought. "Because you didn't. It was my fault I wouldn't give up on you, not yours."

Damn, even while cursed and in pain, she could still read his mind. Just how good could she get?

She softly smiled again. "Please, please don't beat yourself up because of this Naofumi. It hurts me when you do this to yourself." She whispered.

He looked at her in disbelief. "W… what?"

She continued to smile for him. "Back there, I had this feeling... That power you unleashed… you were hurting because you couldn't control it… you couldn't control what you were doing… I knew deep down you didn't want to do any of it… And I couldn't bear that you were being forced to act against your own will... so, given that I was able to save you, this doesn't bother me in the slightest." She finished happily.

He continued to stare at her. How could he not beat himself up? He had killed people? He had destroyed homes. He had hurt her! The pure, genuine Raphtalia of all people! He couldn't even find it in himself to smile! It was like he'd reset to his own cynical self back when he'd learned about Bitch betraying him! Only the cynicism wasn't being directed at other people. It was being directed at himself! He couldn't trust himself anymore!

Raphtalia sighed. "What did I tell you about beating yourself up over this?"

"But how can't I when I'm the one that hurt you?" He asked, mainly to himself. He put his head in his hands and started to cry again. He'd hurt the person who trusted him the most in this world. How could he not hurt after doing that?

"I'm alright. I'm stronger than I look. And I know if I just rest then I'll feel better soon." She still continued to smile hopefully for him while consoling him.

"But… what if I do this again… what if… next time you don't recover…"

Naofumi sniffed. Raphtalia's hands raised again and moved his hands away. She cupped his face. He tried to look down at the floor. But her soft, understanding, deep tea-red eyes continued to hold his in place. "That will never happen. Not as long as I'm around." She said. "If I have to, I'll get stronger. I'll become strong enough so you don't have to use that shield again. And if you do have to use it, I'll be right there with you to pull you out."

Naofumi stared at her. Despite the pain, Raphtalia moved one of her bandaged fingers to wipe away tears from under one of his eyes. "Please, I want you to forgive yourself Naofumi." She said. "Don't carry this burden alone. You've already had to carry too many since being summoned to my world. Let me take some of it away from you."

She was already tired again. But her hands stayed in place. "But, but I, I can't-" Naofumi said.

"Yes, you can." She said quietly. Her hands moved behind his neck, and he instinctively leaned forwards so she could sit up and hug him. His head resting on her shoulder. His hands felt the bandages covering her back. It brought more tears to his eyes at how thoroughly Raphtalia had been hurt for his sake.

"I know in my heart you didn't mean to hurt me or anyone else back in the Capital. I know you didn't mean to kill those knights... And I know you'll try your hardest in the future not to let that happen again." She felt his hair. "You'll be okay. I know you will."

"But Raphtalia, I'm not okay!" He embraced her tightly while crying into her hair. Her hand continued to move comfortingly through his spiked hair. "Please… please Raphtalia." He whispered. "I don't know what to do anymore. I, I thought I had everything figured out, but now, I'm so lost. I'm… I'm afraid... I'm so afraid that I could end up doing this again. To you... to Filo..."

Had he not promised to keep them safe? Had he not promised as the Shield Hero that he'd protect the innocent from harm… then how could he have lost control today? How could he have lost it and hurt everyone? How could he have killed a knight that wasn't trying to attack him... how could he have attacked Filo and everyone else that tried to stop him… how could he have possibly hurt her?

How could he have hurt his Raphtalia of all people…

…

"Naofumi." She whispered back. "I know you… I know that you're a good person… I know you have a kind heart… and I know that, even though you lost today, you'll come up with a plan. You'll find a way to prevent what happened from happening again. I know you will. It's in your nature."

"But… what if I can't…" He whispered softly. What if the next time he was forced to use that shield...

"You will… because you're the Great Shield Hero… and the man I fell in love with… there's no force in this world that can hold you down forever, Naofumi." Raphtalia whispered in his ear. "I should know. I have tried and failed too many times to hold you back from what you want to do."

Her quip at him actually elicited a small chuckle. Raphtalia was definitely fine. Somehow, she really was okay and didn't think any less of him. But it didn't stop him from holding her close to him or keep one of his hands moving along her hair. Which felt as soft to him as ever. "I don't know what to do Raphtalia…" He whispered. "And… and that scares me more than anything else… I don't want to lose you or Filo..."

"Then… for now... will you stop beating yourself up, and hold me until I fall asleep?" She asked.

He sniffed and pulled back a little. Her tired eyes stared into his. "I don't want you to blame yourself for this. It was my choice to try and bring you back from that dark abyss, and I won't regret having done so." She repeated firmly, yet lovingly to him.

He continued to stare into her eyes. They stared at him with kindness and care. Deep down, no matter how she acted, her soul really was the purest he'd ever met. "O… Okay." He finally whispered. He could try and do that, at least for her.

Raphtalia smiled for him. "I love you Naofumi… and thank you for staying with me..." She closed her eyes, and Naofumi cradled her close. Despite the curse, her hair still smelled of her. Bringing him some comfort.

Her arms relaxed at her sides, and, within minutes, she fell into a more peaceful sleep. Her pain from the burns melted away into comfort, being held in Naofumi's caring embrace.

…

'_Raphtalia…'_ He pulled back after a moment and laid her down gently. He continued to hold one of her hands in his. And he wiped a few more tears away from his eyes as he looked down at her beautiful face. Calm and peaceful in sleep.

She wasn't the lucky one… he was. To have someone like her in his life… "I… I love you too… Ra-Raphtalia." He finally admitted, his voice breaking. "... So… so much…" His words breaking into sobs at the end.

He'd realized it. It had taken some time away from her, worrying if he'd ever see her again to help him along the path. But he'd finally realized it, right before his duel with Myne. He was in love with this girl from another race and another world. She'd grown up over the last two months, and broken through all of his defenses and taken his heart before he knew what hit him.

She was still fast asleep. Yet her hand gripped his comfortingly. As if she were still telling him that everything would be okay. She loved him enough that she'd make sure of it.

…

He sighed. Love could only do so much. Love wouldn't bring those he killed back. Love wouldn't undo what he'd done back in the Capital… love wouldn't get rid of her curse, nor his cursed shield...

After a moment, he finally stood up. He laid Raphtalia's bandaged hand down next to her side. He then moved a lock of hair away from her face as he stared at her one last time to make sure she was okay... _'I'll try... Raphtalia... just...'_ He sighed, and then he left the room.

The comfort left.

He felt guilt for what he'd done all over again.

* * *

_The next room over, a few minutes before Naofumi left_

"Sir Itsuki."

Itsuki looked up from his chair. "Is everything okay Rachel?" He asked.

Rachel nodded as she entered the room. She'd changed out of what she had been wearing for the battle for some simple black mage robes. Her dyed black hair draped itself freely on her shoulders. "I just wanted to inform you that Aksel is recovering well from the gash he got on his arm during the battle."

"Okay. How about the others?" He asked.

"Crystal is in our room resting. Karn is training with one of Sir Naofumi's party members. I'm taking a break from training the demi-human mages in Lord Reichnott's village."

"That's good… and Maya?" Itsuki asked.

"... What do you think?" Rachel dryly chuckled after a moment.

"Oof... Poor Aksel." Itsuki said tiredly.

"I don't know what he did while she was growing up. But she loves to bother him more than anyone else in the party Sir Itsuki. I'd almost swear she's actually infatuated with him if it wasn't her nature to be playful."

"Yeah…" Itsuki said.

"No matter how much he acts like it bothers him though, I'm sure he likes Maya's company. He grew up around demi-humans. He's probably happy to have a demi-human to talk to again." Rachel said.

"Yeah…" Itsuki was faced away from his party member, looking at the girl in the bed next to him.

"... Is Rishia's condition still the same?" Rachel asked. Taking a seat on the bed next to Rishia's prone form so she'd be in Itsuki's line of sight.

...

Itsuki slowly nodded. "She's just as we left her when we traveled for the Capital." He said, his voice containing a tinge of sadness. Even though it had been four days… he'd hoped when he left with Ren that she'd be better when he got back… but after coming in here earlier… he'd found her condition still hadn't changed.

Rishia had bandages soaked in holy water wrapped around parts of her body similar to how Raphtalia looked now. The curse afflicting her wasn't near as bad as Raphtalia's. Her HP bar was back in the yellow zone. The holy water Van already had on hand was enough to start lifting it from her skin. Yet, for some reason, even though she was slowly recovering, the poor fueh girl still hadn't woken up.

"Are you worried about her Sir Itsuki?"

Itsuki looked from Rishia to Rachel, who was staring at him in concern. Itsuki was about to ask what she meant when he realized it. Tears were falling from his eyes again. Just like when he'd first walked into the room earlier to find Rishia still asleep. He wiped them away. "A little bit, but I'm sure she'll be fine." He answered.

"Are you sure that's what you're thinking right now Sir Itsuki?"

"..."

Rachel decided not to press. It looked like if Itsuki was pushed anymore, he was going to break down just like when he'd discovered what he'd accidentally done to Rishia. "If you need me, I'll be training Lord Reichnott's mages. It's sounding like we're going to need them soon. Let me know if you need anything."

"... Alright. Thanks, Rachel." Itsuki said sadly and tiredly.

Rachel got up, bowed respectively to Itsuki, and left the room.

'_Rachel… she really is concerned about my well-being…'_ Another tear escaped, and he wiped it away. He went back to staring at Rishia. As if somehow hoping that staring at her would be enough for the Fueh girl to stir in her cursed sleep.

…

After another moment, another person entered the room. "Is she still not awake?"

"... No… unfortunately not, Ren." Itsuki answered.

Ren walked up beside the blonde bowman. He wasn't really good at comforting others, so he was silent, thinking over what to say to his friend…

"Is… are Raphtalia and Naofumi okay?" Itsuki asked. Wiping away another single tear with his arm.

"Haven't you checked on them since they're on the other side of that wall?" Ren asked, pointing at the wall behind Rishia's bed.

Itsuki didn't answer, and his face became more downcast. Ren, realizing what he said, mentally facepalmed at his insensitive answer. "I just tried to stop by… she was awake, but I decided it'd be better not to walk in." He said.

"Why? What happened?" Itsuki asked.

"Well... Raphtalia was hugging and comforting Naofumi when I peeked open the door." Ren said. "He… he was taking what happened pretty hard." He still couldn't get the image of Naofumi looking so utterly destroyed out of his mind. "And I felt it'd be better not to bother them…"

"Oh…" The two were silent for a while.

...

Outside, a door opened. Footsteps traveled down the hallway away from the two. Naofumi had just left.

...

Itsuki balled his hands into fists. Tears of frustration were gathering in his eyes. "Why… why did all this have to happen?!"

"What do you mean-" Ren was asking, surprised at Itsuki's outburst.

"I was only trying to free demi-humans that were being abused by their masters! Naofumi and Raphtalia were out there trying to do good as Night Merchants! And you were actually being a hero defeating dangerous monsters and protecting villages! So why did everyone out there turn on us!?"

"Slow down Itsuki. What brought this on?" Ren asked incredulously.

"We're Cardinal Heroes Ren! We're supposed to be the ones in the right here! We're supposed to be on the side of justice! Yet the people out there turned on us! They turned on Naofumi and, and-" Itsuki looked like he was going to pull his hair out, trying to explain his thoughts.

Ren's face hardened. "Yeah, we are heroes. But this isn't a game Itsuki. This is real-" He tried to calmly explain. He'd already told Itsuki before he didn't see this world as a game anymore. But Itsuki had blown it off back then. Itsuki had pushed on, still thinking this was all a game.

"But I don't want to think this is real! This is supposed to be my favorite game Ren! We've been trying to do good! Heroes aren't supposed to be treated this way! We aren't-"

**Slap!**

Ren slapped Itsuki across the face, hard enough that he was sent flying off his chair to the floor. "Don't you dare say that to me!" Ren yelled furiously. His calm and aloof manner was gone. "Don't you dare give me that crap that we're supposed to be above it all and that we're perfect! I am the last person you should be telling that to!"

Itsuki stared up at Ren in shock. "I already tried to warn you before, but you were too stupid to listen! So listen now Itsuki! That party member of yours that died wasn't an NPC! Raphtalia isn't an NPC! Van isn't an NPC! And that girl you're crying over right now isn't a damn NPC! Get that through your thick skull!"

Itsuki was still stunned as Ren continued. "This world isn't our fantasy games come to life! It's as real as you, me, Naofumi, and that damn idiot Motoyasu! The people here aren't limited by programming! They'll make their own decisions whether they're good or bad! We might have a leg up since this world reflects our games in one way or another, but at the end of the day it's real! Everything in it is real! All the people in it are real! Just because we're heroes doesn't mean that people still won't treat us like ****! Look at what they did to Naofumi since the day he was... was..."

Ren trailed off. Itsuki had more tears falling down his face now.

"I know…" He whispered.

"... what?…"

"You think I don't know by now…" Itsuki put his face into his hands and started to cry. Ren had completely misread the situation. Itsuki already knew the answer. But he hadn't wanted to admit it to himself. Maybe it had been some mentality he'd been gripping onto. Some defense mechanism to help shield the true darkness he'd encountered again and again in this world. But he couldn't hide from it anymore. Ren had hammered that nail deep into the coffin.

This game wasn't Dimension Wave. It wasn't any game Itsuki had ever played before to escape reality. Hell, it wasn't even a game. It had never been a game. It was reality. The reality he'd been trying to escape from all along.

"Hey… I didn't mean-"

"I've seen some terrible things, Ren… I've done some terrible things… I was only able to get by because I thought this was all a game… I thought this was like the isekai stories from my world come to life... I thought this was just some major story quest that would have a happy ending… but I was wrong."

Ren stayed quiet. More tears fell from Itsuki's face. The normally composed teen who wouldn't have looked out of place playing a piano cried. "I killed people Ren… I killed them because I thought they were evil NPCs… and when I failed to rescue demi-humans, I only pushed on because I had to think of them as NPC's for the sake of the story quest… and then... when I realized it wasn't a game… I froze… and my indecision cost Marx his life… and led me to hurt Rishia in an attempt to save the rest of my party…" He continued to cry. The green-haired girl next to him didn't stir. "It's all my fault..."

"Hey. " Itsuki continued to look down. "Look at it this way. At least we haven't been as bad as Motoyasu." Ren said.

...

Itsuki looked to Ren through his tears. He didn't feel any better.

"You're not very good at comforting others… are you?"

"I'd say that's one of his biggest flaws."

Ren and Itsuki looked at the doorway. Wyndia was leaning against it, staring coldly at the two of them. "Wyndia, I thought you were resting-" Ren was saying.

"And I have rested." She interrupted him calmly. "And you are not doing well at helping Sir Itsuki out, Sir Ren."

She walked in. Ren sighed, but didn't try to stop her. His attempts at trying to comfort Itsuki had face-planted into ten feet of concrete. It was impossible for her to mess up worse than him.

She gave the Bow Hero a lookover. Not saying anything for a while… "Sir Itsuki." She finally said. Her voice was softer than before. "Is it true that you seek justice for the demi-human races?" She asked.

Itsuki was somewhat caught off guard by her question. "Well, at first, it seemed like an excellent quest to undertake…" Itsuki admitted.

"At first?" Wyndia clarified.

"..." More tears leaked from his eyes. "After seeing the terrible things your people were being put through, it became more than just a quest. I wanted to help, but I-"

"And have you not helped them?" Wyndia interrupted.

"Well… Yeah, but I failed so many times-" Itsuki looked annoyed at her interrupting him.

"Do you think the demi-humans out there would agree that you failed?" Wyndia pointed outside towards the village. She didn't care that she was interrupting a Cardinal Hero of Legend. Itsuki did not need soft words. He needed to see the good he'd already accomplished.

Itsuki opened and closed his mouth… words wanted to come out. But he couldn't think of how to answer that. '_Do… do all the demi-humans I rescued out there think I'm horrible?'_ He honestly thought. He'd had the opportunity to meet Lily's mom once a week and a half after Lily's death. She'd still looked depressed about the loss of her daughter. But she'd been happy to see him. She'd taken the time to stop and thank him for saving her and her friends… and there had been similar experiences with other demi-humans even though he'd failed to save those close to them too from their nobles...

Wyndia's face softened. "I haven't had much chance to talk with everyone in the village here yet… but almost everyone I've talked to so far has the highest respect for you, Sir Itsuki. They wouldn't be here now if it weren't for you standing up to their owners. They wouldn't be free of the abuse and torture they were going through if it weren't for you. They look up to you almost as much, probably even more than the Shield Hero." If the history she'd read really was correct. The Bow Hero and Shield Hero had been introduced to this world when it fused with the other world, whatever that meant. It was like the Bow Hero had rediscovered his home roots, and was fighting to fix the damage his forebear had caused in the past.

Itsuki was silent. Wyndia graced him with a small smile. "You might not think it. But you are their hero now, Sir Itsuki. You saved them and gave them real value when no one else wouldn't."

More tears came to Itsuki's eyes. "But the Church knows they're here now… they'll be coming to slaughter them soon... it's my fault."

"And are you, Sir Bow Hero, going to allow the Church to have their way?" Wyndia asked. "Are you going to allow a group of innocent people to be slaughtered? Are you going to let their hope get snuffed out right after they've been given a second chance at life?"

Itsuki stared at Wyndia… his face hardened. "No." He stood up. "I refuse to let that happen."

Ren stared up at his friend. He recognized that glint in his eyes. It was the same thing he'd felt that first day after he'd been confronted with reality. "I won't let them. I'll stop them. No matter what it takes. I'll bring those criminals down! I'll protect the innocent all over this damn world! And I'll bring them to justice even if it kills me!" Itsuki said determinedly.

Ren smirked where he was sitting. '_Damn…'_ This was far better than seeing his friend down and depressed. Maybe he'd leave comforting others to Wyndia in the future.

Wyndia's smile dropped. "That's good, Sir Itsuki. But I'd prefer it if you didn't die, or go it alone." Her voice was calm and neutral again. "Rely on your party members. They'll help you to hold to that promise. As I do now for the promise Sir Ren made to me." She looked coldly at Ren, who nervously gulped.

"I know they will." Itsuki said. "I trust them."

Wyndia stared at Ren a moment more. A flush of red entered her cheeks, but before Ren could figure out why, she huffed and walked back through the doorway. "Stay strong, Sir Itsuki." She said as she left. "Our world needs the help of all the Cardinal Heroes."

...

The two were left alone in the room with Rishia.

"You… have an awesome party member there Ren," Itsuki said after a moment.

"Yeah… I don't deserve to have her help…" Ren said. "Yet… she still helps me even when she doesn't have to." It was almost like there was another reason she was doing these things.

"Did… did you ever get over what you did to Wyndia?" He still remembered Ren telling him the story about being fooled into killing the dragon.

"I… I don't know if I'll ever get over that…" Ren said, looking to the opposite wall. The dragon Gaelion had imprinted the memories of Wyndia's parents into his brain. He couldn't forget. "There are times where it still hurts a lot to think about it… but I know if I let it stop me, I'll never be able to make it up to her. So I'm trying to get stronger. So I can prevent that from happening again."

Itsuki continued to look at Ren. "Yeah… I guess we're both on the same path."

"No, I think we're on the paths we were supposed to be on now. Something Naofumi knew long before either of us." Ren said.

"..."

"..."

Itsuki got back into his chair. "We have things we need to talk about." He said seriously. He looked much better now than before.

"Wouldn't it be better to go see Naofumi now-" Ren was asking. Now that Itsuki was better, they'd stand a better chance at comforting Naofumi.

"Trust me. With how attached he is to Raphtalia, it'd be better to leave him be for as long as possible." Itsuki said seriously. "He's deeply hurting. And if my guess is right, he also succumbed to a Cursed Series like me. He'll need time to think it over. And if I'm being honest, I'm not much better than you at providing comfort to other people."

Ren frowned. "Alright. But we can't leave him out of the loop forever." Ren said.

It was official. Itsuki was ready for business. Wyndia had managed to pull him fully out of the bog he was in. At least for the moment. "I should ask. What is a Cursed Series, Itsuki?" Ren asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that I think I unlocked it after killing the first noble I confronted over slavery." Itsuki said with a grimace. "I used it every time we faced nobles after that. It's on another level power-wise, but it left me feeling weird, almost empty afterward. And when I unlocked the next tier when my party was ambushed, it was like I wasn't the one in control anymore." The bow was labeled the Bow of Justice II in his Bow Menu. But it couldn't possibly be that. It was like it was hiding it's true identity from Itsuki. A possibility he wouldn't have honestly considered before if he'd thought this was still a game.

"And Naofumi also has something like it unlocked?" Ren asked.

Itsuki nodded. "We didn't arrive in time to see the main fighting. But I checked one of the black fires on my way over. It was definitely cursed flames, like the ones that were unleashed from one of the Cursed Skills I used on a Church Shadow."

Ren grimaced. He'd seen plenty of those black fires running along the outer wall of the city. "Do you have a Cursed Series too Ren?" Itsuki asked.

Ren... shook his head after a moment. "No. At least, I don't think I do." He muttered.

"What do you mean?" Itsuki asked.

Something pricked at the edge of Ren's mind. Like a memory that wanted to resurface.

* * *

_Wyndia stared in shock for a moment more. "No… mama… papa…" The little four-year-old Wyndia sat back against the wall of the cave and started to cry anew._

"Protect her…"

_The images around Ren finally stopped. He stared at the ground, wide-eyed in shock. He had no thoughts. He had no feeling. All he had was a realization that had slammed through everything he'd thought he'd known since he'd woken up with the Legendary Sword in his hand._

_"This isn't a game."_

_Then, everything around Ren turned to black._

* * *

Ren shook his head. Maybe he was just overthinking it. Still, though he hadn't noted it back then, it'd almost looked like there was something in that blackness. Some shape he couldn't make out...

"Well, anyway, I also need to go over with you what you learned from the archives of the Three Heroes Church. Along with how your party got away intact." He said. "Then we can move on from there."

Ren shook his head. "Actually, our escape there was also thanks to Wyndia."

"Seriously? Can I trade party members for her?"

Ren gave Itsuki a soft glare…

"Alright, I was kidding. But how did she do it?" Itsuki asked.

"It involved the magic you saw back in the square," Ren said, thinking back on what had happened. "And a whole lot of running."

* * *

_12 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe_

"_Bakta, switch!" Bakta, who had been taking the knights' attacks on his armor, sword, and shield, jumped back at Ren's yell. Welt and Ren rushed into his place, attacking back._

"_Ahhh!" Two of the Church Knights in front of them fell back from the wounds they received. But then three more knights took their place, and Welt and Bakta jumped back to allow Bakta to tank again._

"_As source of thy power we order thee! Decipher the laws of nature, and blow our targets away in a gust of wind! _**Zweite Gust!**" Farrie and Tersia chanted.

"As source of thy power we order thee! Decipher the laws of nature, and blow our targets away in a gust of wind! **Anti-Zweite Gust!**" The Church mages chanted almost simultaneously.

Tersia and Farrie's wind spell died out before they could cast it. The two of them grimaced where they were being protected in the corner behind Ren. "Sir Ren. We can't cast any of our magic! They keep interfering!"

Ren scowled. He wasn't going to go down like this! "Switch!" Bakta jumped back, and this time Ren and Wyndia jumped forward.

"**Crimson Blade!**"

"**Fast Fireball!**"

Ren sent a slash of fire into several knights. Wyndia slapped the blades of several knights away with her katana to slam a fireball she formed in her hand into the chest of a knight before the Church Mages could dispel it. The Church Mages immediately began casting spells in retaliation.

"**Fast Gust!**"

"**Fast EarthBall!**"

Tersia and Farrie tried again to cast their magic while the mages were trying to cast their own spells.

"**Anti-Fast Gust!**"

"**Anti-Fast EarthBall!**"

The Church mages dropped their spells and retaliated. Wyndia had been lucky enough to have said the spell right as she was slamming it into a Church Knight. The less time it took the spell to hit the target, the harder it was to interfere with it in time.

Bakta took Ren and Wyndia's place again. They'd taken down several knights, but none of the Church Mages. And the Pope was still standing there. Smiling down on them as if he had all the time in the world. "For walking corpses, you don't know when to give up. It would be so much simpler if you allowed God to purify your souls."

"As source of thy power we order thee! Decipher the laws of nature! Cleanse our target in the flames of the holiest! Purify their souls, and offer them up unto the true Gods of our world!" **Drifa Holy Flames!**" The Church Mages cast the spell together.

The Church Knights jumped to the sides, right as a bright white flame appeared out of a pentagram over the Church Mages. "Get back!" Bakta got in front of everyone and braced his shield.

The spell slammed into it. And the resulting explosion destroyed Bakta's shield and sent him flying into a bookcase behind the group. "Bakta, no!"

The Church Knights roared in anger as they charged forward again. Ren, Welt, and Wyndia were forced to take Bakta's place and fight. The noble knight looked out for the count. And it took all three just to keep Tersia and Farrie protected.

'_Damn it!'_ Ren wanted to send another skill at the Pope. But after how his last one had been easily deflected, he was too afraid to try. If any of his high power skills got deflected on him and his own party, then it would be game over. But he could already hear the sounds of more knights charging down the stairs, and without Bakta, they weren't going to be able to block more of the mages magic barrages. '_What do we do?!'_

He deflected two blades, and a third left a small gash on his arm. That was the other thing. Despite his effort and training, he still wasn't greatly skilled in using a blade. He needed more training to sword fight with multiple opponents.

"**Thunderbolt Slash!**" He retaliated with launching a skill against the knights.

"Aughhh!" A few dropped to the ground in front of him. '_Maybe if I don't attack the Pope. Then he won't get the chance to reflect any of my skills. But if he used one of my skills to reflect that attack, is it possible that sword he's wielding can use my other skills-'_

"Sir Ren, do you trust me?" Wyndia asked him all of a sudden.

Ren was surprised enough that another Church Knight slashed his chest plate. He retaliated by kicking the knight away. "Do you have an idea to get us out of here?" Ren asked.

"Possibly. But I'll need a moment to focus." She said. She deftly knocked away a knight's blade and then slashed him across the chest. Forcing him back to deal with the new wound.

"As long as we have a chance, then go for it." Wyndia jumped back at receiving confirmation from Ren. "Welt, help me out! Tersia, Farrie, cast as many spells as you can!" Ren ordered.

His party members immediately obeyed without question. Even Farrie and Tersia.

"**Fast Wind Shot!**"

"**Fast EarthBall!**"

"**Fast Fire Ball!**"

"**Earth Hole!**"

"**Anti-Fast Wind Shot!**"

"**Anti-Fast EarthBall!**"

"**Anti-Fast Wi-**"

"**Anti-**"

Tersia's spells started to break through the Church Mage's attempts at interference magic. To interfere required the opposing mage The two of them didn't even bother to use chants to increase the strength of their attacks. They were doing the absolute definition of spamming spell after spell. And the Church Mages couldn't keep up with the two of them. So several of the weakened spells managed to come to life, hitting into the Church Knights. Their MP bars also started to drop like crazy in Ren's status vision. They wouldn't be able to keep the barrage up for long.

Wyndia moved along the bookshelves. Feeling with her hands and most likely with her magic senses.

"**Air Strike Bash! Crimson Blade! Thunderbolt Slash!**" Ren was casting all the skills that he could as well. Protecting both himself and Welt. His weapon started to smoke, likely from skill overload.

Welt also pushed himself. He didn't use magic. But he knew his way around a sword. He was so used to protecting Tersia and Farrie that protecting Ren between skills came naturally. The two of them together managed to hold the horde of Church Knights back for the moment.

"Your struggles are meaningless. You will be purified. That is your fate. It is as God has decreed." Pope Balamus declared triumphantly as if he had already won.

Wyndia stopped. She was near where Bakta had hit the bookcase. He was groaning and getting onto his knees. She could hear something else. The way her family had escaped from under the Church before. It was on the other side of the wall. Her fire magic wouldn't be enough to blow open a hole though.

She hadn't used this magic in front of any of the others before. Not even Sir Ren. But now... '_I can't hide this part of me from Sir Ren any longer… either I trust him to get us out of this… or…'_

Without thinking more on it, Wyndia started to chant. "I call upon the power of the Earth to come to me and take form."

Ren paused in-between skills while Welt protected him. '_Is she saying a chant for a spell?' _He thought confusedly. Glancing over at Wyndia. It was unfamiliar. It didn't even match with any of the high leveled spells he'd heard others use in his game before coming to this world.

Pope Balamus paled. "No, she couldn't have."

"Couldn't have what?" A Mage asked.

"Stop that girl right now!" He suddenly ordered his mages.

Ren didn't recognize whatever magic Wyndia was using. But he realized enough when Balamus started freaking out that it was a good sign for them. "**Air Strike Bash!**" He launched another skill, sending more of the knights flying backward into the Church Mages. Sowing confusion among them.

"We don't know what kind of magic she's casting!" One of the mages said fearfully.

"No! Knights, stop her before-"

While Pope Balamus had been speaking, while Ren was fighting, while Welt was protecting, and while Tersia and Farrie spam launched spells. Wyndia continued chanting.

"**Dragon Vein**, hear my petition! Earth Vein, lend me your strength! Give me the power needed to break us from this prison! Give me the power to turn our defeat into a victory!" Wyndia chanted, before placing both hands on the wall in front of her. "Come forth! **Black Fire Explosion!**"

**Boom!**

A burst of energy burst out from Wyndia's hands, slamming into the wall with the force of a wrecking ball. The shockwave from it sent many of the knights flying back. Pope Balamus raised his robe, grimacing as the shockwave and accompanying wave of dust washed over everyone.

After a few seconds, the dust cleared. Ren's party members were gone, including Bakta. Though the fragments of his shield had been left behind. There was a big hole in the wall where Wyndia had cast the Dragon Vein magic. On the other side was the Melromarc Sewage system. The same way her parents had managed to escape before after a stranger had freed them from their slave crests years ago.

Just barely, the Pope was able to make out Ren carrying a very tired Wyndia before they turned a corner deep in the sewage tunnel and disappeared.

"After them!" The Pope ordered the Church Knights that were getting back up. One of them was missing. "Make sure the false Sword Hero and his party don't make it out of those sewers alive!"

"But what about the demi-human?" One of the knights asked.

"Didn't you say she was your property?" A Mage asked.

"Kill her." Pope Balamus said.

"Um, but didn't you say she was valuable to you-"

"If she was blessed by a dragon, then she's far too dangerous to be allowed to live now. Now go! Purge them all in the name of God!" The Pope ordered, barely keeping his voice from sounding angry and frustrated. "Those are orders from God!"

"Yes, your excellency!" The Church Knights ran into the sewers after Ren and his party.

They ran into a large cream alligator monster that was pretty hungry.

Some of them got lost in the maze of tunnels and were forced to the surface.

But they never did find out where Ren and his party had gone. Along with their missing comrade.

* * *

_Present_

"So that's how you escaped…" Itsuki looked to be thinking to himself.

"I know I already told you about it before. But I never asked if Dragon Vein Magic existed in your game or not?" Ren asked.

Itsuki shook his head. "No, the first I heard of it was when you told me on our way to the Capital that Wyndia could use it." He said. Ren hadn't had much time to explain since they'd rushed to the Capital as quickly as they could. Now that things had settled down for the moment, they could finally talk.

He was thinking hard to himself. "So that's more evidence that this really isn't like our games at all." Itsuki continued.

"Either that, or it was deep lore I never learned about in my world," Ren said with a nod. While some things were different than the actual game, the class system and events lined up pretty well. The fact that the next wave was happening in nine days also matched up with the game.

"Do you know how to learn Dragon Vein Magic?" Itsuki asked.

"Wyndia told me it requires receiving a blessing from a Dragon," Ren answered. "Beyond that, I have no idea. She hasn't told me much about it other than that and the fact that it requires a lot of energy at her current level to cast it."

"Okay." Itsuki thought some more… if it took a dragon to learn how to use Dragon Vein Magic, it was no wonder either of them had heard of it before. And they weren't sure if it could be just any dragon. Plus, normally, when a giant fire breathing lizard was placed in front of you, your first instinct was to either run away or kill it. Talking was out of the question. "Are you sure you wouldn't want to trade Wyndia-"

"Not on your life." Ren cut him off.

"Okay. How about you tell me about the Leruno incident then?" Itsuki asked.

"You mean Motoyasu's major plant blunder?" Ren sarcastically asked.

"Yeah, how did that go down?"

"I have to say. I am never going to look at plants the same ever again. It took us three days to kill the boss plant the first time. Then we were heading back, thinking we killed it, when it's seeds sprouted into a stronger boss. So we had to regroup and…"

The two continued to talk. With Itsuki laughing about some of the details of Ren's misadventures with mutated plants. And though Ren didn't realize it, just doing that was helping Itsuki to feel better. Even though Rishia was stuck in a cursed sleep. Even though Marx was dead and he'd have to avenge him, doing something this normal with Ren was working wonders.

They'd eventually have to go and talk to Naofumi. There were many things that were about to go down. But today, it was good to just sit and talk with a friend.

No matter how much he sucked socially.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Mother of Holy Weapons! This was one of the hardest and roughest chapters for me to write. I want to give props to best girl Raphtalia here. I don't care what all your opinions are, she's the best. She's not the perfect character, has her own flaws, makes her own mistakes, but ultimately she still does her best to stand by Naofumi, even through fire and brimstone. Can we take a moment to praise our Best Girl Raphtalia here?**

**Next chapter, we'll likely be seeing how events have turned out at the Capital. Along with Naofumi working on getting over the guilt of what happened. He better too. Crap is about to hit the fan. For now. Here's an omake. Let's end some of the depression we read here on a more positive note.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**Embarrassed Tsunderes**

* * *

"Sir, Sir Ren!" Wyndia was blushing madly, and looked super embarrassed.

"What is it Wyndia?" Ren groggily asked. He'd just finished using Van's bathhouse to clean up after the battle, and had walked out with a towel wrapped around his waist. Leaving the rest of his body on display for the poor demi-girl.

"You, you're, you're…" Wyndia was seriously blushing like mad. '_Oh no! I didn't, I didn't realize Sir Ren looked so hot underneath that armor!'_ She thought. Her tail wagging crazily behind her.

This was… this was!... HE WAS SO HOT!-

"Hey, Wyndia, are you okay?"

"Gah!" Wyndia shook herself out of her daydream. Ren was in front of her, fully dressed, and looking at her weirdly. "Wh-What?!" She asked.

"I was saying thank you for helping Itsuki earlier, but then you started staring at nothing-" Ren was saying, looking concerned.

"No I wasn't you idiot!" Wyndia hit him over the head with a fist. Either her face was red because she was really angry, or really embarrassed. Either way, the hit dropped Ren to the ground because of the surprise of the sudden attack and the force behind it.

"Ow, what was that for-" Ren was trying to say.

"Idiot! Idiot! IDIOT!" Wyndia started hitting him over the head again and again.

"Ow! Stop it! Ah!" Ren covered his head, trying to protect himself.

"I'll teach you to make a fool out of me!" Wyndia continued to pommel him. Forcing Ren into the fetal position.

'_What did I even do?!'_ Ren thought, thinking he was going crazy. One moment he'd been thanking Wyndia for helping Itsuki, then the next, she'd been looking at him weirdly, and now, she was beating the living hell out of him!

"GAHHHHHHH!"

Naofumi watched was going on with a smirk. He was having to do his best not to laugh. "Master Naofumi, what are you thinking about now?" Raphtalia asked with a sigh beside him.

"I'm just thinking I'm glad I didn't have a Tsundere girl fall in love with me." He said happily.

Raphtalia blushed at the comment. But didn't deny it as they held hands and watched.

"Wyndia, please, what did I do wrong-" Ren pleaded.

"EVERYTHING YOU DAMN IDIOT!"

The embarrassed tsundere girl was too afraid to admit she'd been daydreaming about seeing his naked chest and thinking he was hot.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	38. 38: Ray of Hope

**Alright. We're getting a decent length chapter here. The second part of what I had originally written (see why I split it in two now?).**

**This chapter is going to answer some questions. Mainly because I figured out more about the game mechanics of Shield Hero and all that wonderful stuff over the last few months (great things happen when you read/study the LN's and talk with the Shield Hero wiki mods). Anyways, I do 'hope' that you all enjoy this wonderful chapter.**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _34 more Favorites, 35 more Followers (Total: 1223 Favorites, 1425 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _April 13th, 2020 12:15 P.M. (EST)_

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Eight:** _Ray of Hope_

* * *

_Evening (9 Days Before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"Urgh… ugh…" The burned, red-haired bitch laid unconscious in a bed in her room in the castle. Her entire body was wrapped in bandages soaked in the strongest holy water the city had. Even her face was covered, where the worst of the damage was.

Motoyasu leaned against the wall nearby. His arms crossed, and his Holy Spear to the side. "Damn it…" He muttered.

To his left, doors led to the balcony overlooking the city. The sun was lowering in the evening sky. The rays of light intermingled with the smoke rising from the last fires.

Entire sections of the western part of the Capital had burned to the ground due to the fighting. Knights were still out there pouring holy water onto small fires while tearing down larger buildings and clearing the debris out of the way to keep the larger cursed fires from growing larger and spreading to the other sections of the city. Every knight in the city, both Royal and Church, was being put to work... Except for those who had been imprisoned under the Pope's orders. Their fates were yet to be decided.

With the citizens evacuated and with the final fires being dealt with, a final casualty report had been generated. About a hundred knights were dead. Whether from fighting the Cardinal Heroes, the fires, or being caught in the blast of Judgment that had formed a large deep crater where the west gate had formerly been. Hundreds more had injuries and burns, normal and cursed. Only a few civilians had perished to the fires. The vast majority had fortunately fled from the western part of the city when the fighting had first started.

Still, a lot of people had perished. Way more than what there should have been.

Myne had been extremely hurt too… by Naofumi, and by the blast from Judgment. Because he hadn't acted quickly enough. Because he hadn't tried to find another solution. Because he hadn't tried hard enough to talk down Naofumi in getting him to give up Myne's sister... He was only fortunate the rest of his party had been resting in the Castle. He didn't know what he'd do if he had more than one hurt girl to worry about. Worry about… and...

"Sir Spear Hero."

Motoyasu looked at the doors. Altara the nun entered the room. Her white hooded robe covered her head and body. "Pope Balamus wishes to know the condition of the First Princess." She said calmly.

Motoyasu stared for a few seconds… "She'll live." He finally muttered. "The doctors said she should be okay in two or three days." Her class-up and her high level, along with top-grade Holy Water meant she'd be up and walking far more quickly than normal adventurers. But it'd still take at least a week before her curse status was fully healed.

"Alright. I will deliver my report to him then." Altara said, bowing respectively to the Spear Hero before turning around to walk out.

"I was told that Naofumi was responsible for Ren and Itsuki's disappearances." Motoyasu suddenly said.

The hooded nun stopped in her tracks.

"If that was true, then why were they there? Why did they fight against us? Why were they helping Naofumi?!" He angrily asked.

…

Altara had paused. She didn't know why the two heroes had appeared to help Naofumi. She hadn't been told anything about what was happening with Ren or Itsuki. She'd only known that the Shield Devil had been the cause of them disappearing.

"I will… I will bring your concerns up to Balamus-" The nun said, her voice unsure. And worried for the Spear Hero.

"I'm not concerned!" Motoyasu snapped. "I want to know why those two were helping Naofumi when he was kidnapping Myne's little sister!"

Altara sputtered. Trying to think of what to say to calm the Spear Hero down.

"Because we were unsure before if the rumors were true or not."

Motoyasu stopped speaking. Altara looked stunned at Balamus's entry, and then quickly bowed in reverence. The smiling Pope was still arrayed in his Church robes. However, this time, he had a crown on his head. The one that Aultcray had been wearing only hours before.

"Rumors?" Motoyasu asked.

"Sorry Altara. I decided I should check on the former First Princess myself after sending you. And it appears it was a good thing I did too." The Pope said, giving a weary sigh. "I haven't shared any of this with anyone yet. So I guess it falls on me to explain the finer details of what's been happening."

Motoyasu remained silent. Altara got up and moved reverently to the side to listen. "There have been rumors, unconfirmed before a few days ago, that the Sword and Bow Heroes were meeting the Shield Devil in secret. Going back even before the previous Wave of Catastrophe occurred." The Pope said. "It appears they aren't rumors any longer. Sirs Ren and Itsuki showed today that they are working with the Devil of the Shield for the destruction of our world."

"Wh… what?" Motoyasu asked in surprise.

"I caught the Sword Hero a couple of days ago. Going through the Archives we've faithfully kept on the Waves of Catastrophe. He caused an explosion and escaped, but I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Then I received reports of an army of demi-humans that broke through our border with Shieldfreeden to the East." He informed. "Along with those reports were rumors that the Sword and Bow Heroes led the attack. Massacring all our guards there before opening up the gates for those dreaded abominations." The Pope said.

Motoyasu remained silent. Altara placed a hand to her chest. '_No… it can't be… after all these years…'_

"I sent several of my shadows and knights to see for myself if the rumors were true. And two days ago, I received word that they had been brutally butchered by the two. Only one of them made it back alive to tell me."

Both Motoyasu and Altara looked shocked. "What… that… that can't be…" Motoyasu tried to say.

"I kept the information about the Sword and Bow Heroes to myself because I still didn't want to believe it." He looked like an old man whose heart was breaking. "Nor did I want to cause a panic among the people. But it appears I was wrong, and a fool. The Sword and Bow Heroes have forsaken us. They have chosen to side with the devil and his abominations over the true Gods and humanity." He said sadly. "And now, they are probably at the heads of those demon armies. Ready to move with them to wipe us all off the face of our world."

…

"What can we do?" Altara asked.

The Pope straightened his posture. "I've already dispatched several squads of Shadows to slow their army. As of now, they are only a week's march from our Capital. I'm hoping they will buy us enough time to gather our forces from other parts of the Kingdom so we can plan a counter-attack and rescue the Second Princess."

"But what about Ren and Itsuki?" Motoyasu asked.

"... I'm afraid the only thing we can do now is end them... before they cause their Gods to fall. Just as the Shield Demon did to his long ago."

Motoyasu looked stunned. "No… there's no way." He muttered. Sure, he Ren and Itsuki hadn't been the best of friends. But that didn't mean they hadn't been friends. He couldn't believe that he'd… have to kill them...

"There is, however, another matter I need to address." The Pope said, changing subjects. "Since it was found out that Aultcray had been committing treason behind our backs in keeping the Devil of the Shield alive, I will need you to stay with the former First Princess over these next few days to determine where her loyalties lie."

"Butt, but I'm going to be needed out there! And how could you doubt Myne after everything she's been through-" Motoyasu was yelling in anger.

"I do not personally doubt her, Sir Motoyasu. But there are others out there that do. If her Father, our greatest hero in the war against Siltvelt, could be influenced so subtly by the Shield Demon to keep him alive, what are the chances that she could also end up doing the same?"

Motoyasu opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. If he was being honest, as much as most of him wanted to believe Myne would never betray him, he couldn't forget those times of self-doubt he'd had in the past.

"If the Spear Hero, however, were to stay and vouch for her. That could change their minds about where her loyalty lies. And once she's recovered, they may even welcome her and you as the new King and Queen." Balamus said with a smile. "After all. Out of the three heroes. Only you were the one to bravely take up your weapon to fight the vicious Shield Demon. The people would trust your word more than anyone else."

If only Motoyasu had realized how much the Pope was lying to both him and Altara then. He could have realized there was more than one reason why the Pope wanted him to stay with Myne. Instead of going outside and taking a good look at what was happening.

...

"... Fine. I'll do it. For her." Motoyasu said. Sitting in a chair next to Myne's bed. "But as soon as you learn where they went, then I want to know. So I can put a stop to them myself." He said, referring to Ren, Itsuki, and Naofumi.

"Of course." The Pope gave a slight bow of respect to Motoyasu, then he turned and left the room. Altara obediently left behind him. Leaving Motoyasu to himself inside of Myne's room in the castle.

Motoyasu went over and checked on Myne's wounds again. She hissed in her sleep like a feral cat from the pain. She'd recover more quickly than a normal adventurer, but that didn't mean it wasn't going to hurt any less. _'I can't doubt those I trust now... I have to get my party through this... for her sake... for all of our sakes.'_

Despite his thoughts, Motoyasu couldn't get rid of the lingering doubts at the edge of his mind. The lingering doubts... and his jealousy.

* * *

"Altara, will you oversee the preparations for our armies to march east?" The Pope politely asked.

"Of course," Altara said obediently.

"Good… that'll give me time to put things in order. And to make sure our coup-de-taut isn't opposed by the people." He said, smiling brightly. As if he would win everyone who'd oppose with a soft smile instead of a ritual-class spell. He already knew he wouldn't be opposed. Using Judgment inside the city to try and end the Devil of the Shield had either raised his popularity among the Followers of the Three Heroes Church or struck fear into those who wanted to help the Shield Demon, yet were too afraid too.

It was perfect. Besides one small wrinkle.

"And one last thing. I want knights sent to aid our friend and loyal follower, Idol Rabier."

Altara looked up at the Pope's back. She had questions she wanted to ask. Like why did the noble need an army sent to him? Why had she been left in the dark instead of being told all the info he'd just told Motoyasu. But she didn't know how to ask in a way that would be considered respectful… nor did she know the lies and half-truths Pope Balamus had slipped into his talk with the Spear Hero.

Eventually, she shook her head to clear it. _'I have trusted Balamus with my life these last twelve years. He must have his reasons for not telling me all this before.'_ She rationalized.

She could still remember what she'd been like twelve years ago. When she had been a wanderer in Melromarc. Lost, widowed, betrayed, malnourished… and alone.

He had been the one to find her and take her in against every other priests' advice. He had been the one to nurse her back to health. Give her a new life, a new name, and a new purpose. He had helped her learn to serve the true Gods. He had helped her to become a high ranking nun despite not growing up worshipping the Three Heroes. And he had trained her so she'd have the power and the pleasure of slaying those that had destroyed her life before.

She couldn't doubt him now. Not when her soul was finally purified to the point that she could see her family again when she eventually passed on. She had to trust that the Gods were still watching over them. And that they were guiding her religious leader in their grand plan for this world.

So she followed behind Balamus. Refusing to let little doubts dissuade her now. "Of course, your Excellency."

The Shield Demon had to be dealt with. Only then would she know for sure that she was clean enough to be with her family once more.

* * *

_Van's Estate_

Naofumi sat in a room Van Reichnott had provided him and his party. He worked on an accessory at a desk to try and distract himself. It had been a few hours since he'd left Raphtalia to rest so he could try and do something else. Compounding. Studying. And now, crafting.

But it wasn't helping. He still felt empty and guilty inside. Not even Filo had been able to spark a smile out of him after leaving Raphtalia's room. Mostly because he thought he'd seen her looking at him with fear in her eyes before going in to see her mommy.

Not only had he attacked Raphtalia while under the effects of the Rage Shield. He'd also tried to attack Filo. He could still remember her looking at him in fear as he rampaged on during the battle. The look of shock on her little face as he-

'_Urgh!'_ He accidentally hammered the gemstone socket on the gold band too hard. The bracelet warped from the hit. A notification appeared on his screen, saying he'd destroyed the accessory. "Damn it!" He threw the useless band to the side. Landing it amongst a pile of other destroyed accessories he'd failed to make. Along with a few black tar-like substances that had come from his previous attempts of compounding potions. And an open magic grimoire he hadn't been able to focus on reading.

"DAMN IT ALL!"

He'd been doing it so often by hand in the past that he could compound most of the basic medicines without even thinking about it. But now he couldn't even compound the simple cold medicine he'd first made for Raphtalia! Nothing worked! Nothing helped!

Because, despite her telling him not to, he was still beating himself up over what had happened… and nothing he did helped to ease that burden on his mind...

The door to the room opened. Naofumi grumbled. "What is it now-?" He was turning around as he coldly spoke, only to stop speaking.

A demi-human stood in the doorway. She had light brown hair done in a french braid. She was dressed in light metal armor. A custom design similar to Eclair's that left plenty of room for mobility while protecting vital areas. She had a katana sheathed at her side. Her arms were crossed guardedly in front of her.

"Is now a good time?" She asked.

Naofumi forced himself to calm down. He recognized this demi-teenager was either one of Itsuki or Ren's party members. He couldn't exactly remember who's. "What is it?" He asked.

"I have nothing better to do. So I wanted to meet the great Shield Hero my parents told me about," Wyndia said calmly. She walked in, looking around the room. "Were you… attempting to craft something there?" She asked politely.

"Yes. I'm still trying to craft it. Now what do you really want?" Naofumi coldly asked. He was not in the mood for talking with other people, especially those he didn't know. He wanted whoever this was to just get to the point so he could get back to doing whatever it was he was trying to do.

"Again, I wanted to meet the great Shield Hero my parents told me about," Wyndia said calmly. If not, a little condescendingly.

"Alright, fine, you've met him. Are you happy now? Will you leave me alone now?" Naofumi asked, looking irritated.

"... Is there something wrong Sir-" Wyndia was saying.

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO! OKAY?!"

Wyndia didn't flinch at Naofumi's explosive outburst. "I didn't mean to ****ing lose control, damn it! Do you think I would have intentionally tried to kill a bunch of people!? Huh!? Do you all think I'm a devil now too!? Well!? Do you!?" Naofumi yelled at her in anger.

"I wasn't accusing you of anything, Sir Naofumi." Wyndia coldly responded. "Calm down and think rationally."

"I am calm! Calm enough to beat your puny little no good a-" Naofumi stopped yelling, looking shocked for a moment. What the hell was he doing lashing out in frustration like this? Guilt flooded him again, and he sat back in his chair. "Actually, I'm not okay." He finally said. "I can't get over what I did today… how I hurt my party… how I did something so stupid… I can't stop feeling guilty about it..." He was stuck in a cycle of depression and anger.

"And you thought that somehow yelling at me when I was trying to be nice would help?" Wyndia coldly asked.

Naofumi shook his head. Hanging down like a scolded puppy. Which was ironic, since Wyndia was the dog demi-human here.

"Sir Naofumi." Wyndia approached, getting down on one knee in front of Naofumi. Her face was calm, but there was care in it. No matter how cold she appeared to look at times, Wyndia wasn't cold-hearted. Being raised by a dragon had taught her to respect strength. She could tell that Naofumi was strong. Ren had alluded to that himself. Yet, sometimes, even the strong needed some help. "You know none of us here think less of you for what happened in the Capital, correct?" She asked.

"I… I know… but… I just... I can't." Naofumi choked on his words for a second. "I can't talk about it…" Naofumi hung his head. "I want to forget about what I did… what I caused back there…"

Wyndia studied the Shield Hero for a moment. "There's stuff I'd rather forget from my past… but forgetting it would be a crime to me, Sir Naofumi."

Naofumi stared emptily down at the ground like he was broken. "Did you kill people… did you hurt someone you cared about in a blind rage?" He sadly asked. "Did you fear that those few who trusted you would turn their backs on you?"

"No. It hasn't happened to me nor Sir Ren… but it did happen to Sir Itsuki."

This finally caused Naofumi to look up. "What?" He asked.

"Didn't you know? Or have you really been that busy sulking in here to learn what's going on?" Wyndia coldly asked.

Wyndia wasn't cold-hearted. She had respect for the Shield Hero because of his strength. But damn, she didn't mince her words. "No, I didn't…" Naofumi said.

"So you think that you're the only one allowed to suffer here?" She asked. "Is that it?"

"No… I just…" Naofumi trailed off, looking ashamed. Had Itsuki really been going through this too?

Wyndia realized she was probably laying it on a little too thick too soon. "Look, I didn't come in here to belittle you, Sir Naofumi. I really did want to meet you. But you need to pull yourself together as Sir Itsuki has. We have a couple of days to prepare at best before the Church arrives here."

"The… what?" Naofumi looked surprised.

"We got word from some scouts Van sent out to neighboring villages that the Pope of the Three Heroes Church has taken over Melromarc. A majority of the surviving nobles are backing him, including Idol Rabier. They're sending word for the kingdom's forces to be gathered at the Capital except for Idol's forces. Which means we likely have two days, at best, before Idol attacks Van's estate." She explained the situation simply.

Naofumi paled. The Wave was nine days away. But they were about to have another battle in just two days. '_No, if there's a battle…'_ Raphtalia wouldn't be able to fight. If they somehow got into the manor, she wouldn't be able to protect herself.

"Do you understand the gravity of our situation now, Sir Naofumi?" Wyndia asked.

Naofumi was silent, and then he nodded. "Okay… I'll try… I'll try to get over this..." Raphtalia was going to need him. Eclair, Filo, Melty, everyone here was going to need him to get over this. But could he get over this?

Wyndia gave him a curt nod. "Good. I hope what I said here helps." She got up to leave.

"... Do the others really not think less of me?" Naofumi suddenly asked.

Wyndia stopped and turned her head. "If I remember correctly, Ren's other party members mentioned only meeting you twice. Once after you were summoned. And once at a celebration. They have no idea what to think of you other than what Sir Ren has told them. Sir Itsuki is in a similar boat."

Naofumi stayed silent. "However, the little girl out there, Filo, I think her name was. I found her wandering the hallways a little while ago, worried sick about you." Wyndia said. "She said she's never seen you like this before. And she has no idea how she can help you. She wants to help, but doesn't know how."

Naofumi stared at Wyndia in shock at those words. "I'd suggest you don't try to yell at her like how you yelled at me. You're lucky I hardly know you, and that I understand how much you're hurting. I don't think this little girl of yours would feel the same way." Wyndia finally left the room.

Naofumi stared at the door in silence. For how long, he didn't know. He'd been sitting here, thinking that he was a monster… thinking he was the only one going through this...

Unconsciously, his hands grabbed his compounding set, and made something. When he finally looked down and saw what he had unconsciously created, he felt tears in his eyes again. He wiped them away.

"_Please… forgive yourself…"_ Raphtalia's words went through his head again as he stared at a simple vial of cold medicine.

'_But… how can I do that…'_ Was this demi-girl really right about the others? Was she really right about Filo?

...

"Da… Daddy?"

Naofumi almost dropped the medicine as he looked at the doorway again. Filo was standing in the doorway with Melty. He could have sworn Wyndia had only left a minute ago. "Yes, Filo?" Naofumi quietly asked. Feeling bad about earlier. Was it possible the cute little loli was still scared of him, despite what Wyndia had claimed?

Filo was shyly staying in the doorway. "Mel and Filo were wondering if we could explore the forest together?" Filo asked.

"Mel-" At first, he was confused. But then Princess Melty appeared behind Filo. The Second Princess was really nothing like her older sister. While Bitch always liked to be all high and mighty in looking down on other people, Melty had a nicer air about her. And she looked just about as shy as Filo right now. Definitely more innocent and childlike instead of regal and mature. Though that could change on the flip of a coin.

"Is there any reason why you want to play with my daughter, Second Princess?" Naofumi dryly asked. The Second Princess had earned his respect by dedicating her energy to putting out his cursed fires amongst other things during the duel. But not enough for him to drop calling her by the dreaded nickname.

Melty flinched at the nickname, but didn't childishly react to it like before. "I… I was really hoping for the chance to enjoy riding around on Filo's back," Melty said shyly. "It's not often I get the chance to do something so carefree… and with everything going on... I… um... thought it'd be a good way to distract us both."

Naofumi stared at the two for a moment. Wondering if these two were really scared of him or not... Then he sighed. "Fine. Go ahead." Smiles lit up on both of their faces. "But make sure you stay safe out there. I don't want anything bad to happen to you two." The Fatherly side of Naofumi peeked its head out. Telling him to **Protecc** his daughter and her friend.

"Kay! Filo will keep Mel safe!" Filo said while smiling brightly. A similar aura of **Protecc** also seemed to be around her in regard to Melty. She then ran in and gave Naofumi a big hug, shocking him while he was still sitting in his chair.

Tears came to his eyes. Tears that he quickly hid as he hugged the little girl. "Thanks, Filo. I needed this." He whispered for her.

She let go and smiled brightly. Helping to brighten his day some more. "I'll see you later Daddy! Come on Mel!" Just as quickly, she ran back out, grabbing a smiling Melty by the hand. A Melty who had been too busy 'awwing' over how cute the scene of Father and Daughter had looked.

"Wait, slow down! Filoooooooo-" Melty's scream of surprise faded off as Filo changed forms and disappeared down the corridor with the Second Princess in tow.

Naofumi stared at the doorway for a moment more. He honestly did feel a little better, like the guilt over what had happened retreated somewhat... he looked down at the medicine again, then he placed it in his inventory and got up. He set the compounding tools to the side and walked out of his room. '_They have the right idea… I should explore the manor to distract myself. Staying cooped up in a room isn't doing anything to help.'_

And so he did.

* * *

Naofumi wandered aimlessly at first. Going from room to room.

He found a kitchen area. Then a nice living room with soft couches in front of a warm fireplace. Next to it was a library. He absentmindedly grabbed a thin book off of a bookshelf to glance at a couple of pages. His reading skills still weren't that great, but he was actually able to read the small book, which turned out to be a children's story. It was related to the Cardinal Heroes of Legend. And how they worked together to defeat an evil monster in ancient times. It was about the bonds of trust and friendship and all that wonderful stuff. Blech.

He shelved it, and then continued on his way. Making note of the library. He'd been a big book reader back in his world as well as a gamer. He no longer had games to comfort him. But maybe a book or two would do the trick.

If he survived what was coming, maybe he could put more time into reading books again with Raphtalia. He remembered how doing that before with the medical grimoire and the magic grimoire had made them both happy… and hey, it'd been a children's book he found. Maybe they could include Filo on the fun too. If Raphtalia wasn't into children's books anymore that is.

Would it be a good idea to tease her about that? Probably not. Was he going to do it, absolutely!

He was walking down another random hallway when he passed by a dining room full of food. He stopped in his tracks, took a deep sniff, and his stomach growled hungrily. He turned around. '_Maybe just a few bites…'_

The door closed behind Naofumi. A moment later, the sounds that came out from the room were sounds no human ear should ever have to hear. Food and drink had been beyond calling for Naofumi by that hadn't eaten anything since being captured. Two whole days!

HE NEEDED TO EAT!

...

A few minutes later, the stomach-wrenching sounds finally stopped, and Naofumi exited the room. His mouth was puffed out like a chipmunk's from the amount of good food stored in his cheeks. He held a hand to his stomach, which sighed in happiness at finally being fed. His inventory held some more snacks he could eat later. He hadn't stayed too long since he didn't want to risk talking with other people yet. But he was starting to feel somewhat better than before.

Going out to explore had definitely helped him more than staying locked in some room. He swallowed the rest of the food in one gulp and then continued on.

He wasn't sure how long he wandered the manor after that. He didn't meet many other people besides house-servants, both human and demi-human, going about their business of taking care of the manor. He snacked on what was in his inventory as he went. Examining the art on the walls and looking out the windows over Van's Estate.

Eventually, he found Eclair out back going through a series of advanced sword forms with one of Itsuki's and Ren's party members. There was also a group of mages that either sat in circles reading from grimoires, or who were facing the tree line nearby. Practicing different levels of magic. He didn't recognize any of them, but it might have been because of the distance. So he focused on Eclair and the forms she and the two other swordsmen were going through.

A couple of the sword forms Naofumi recognized only because he'd watched Raphtalia trying to practice some of them before the whole recent fiasco. Ren and Itsuki's party members were both tired and panting, but the sweating Eclair was the picture of calm. Seriously, for a woman who had just spent the last two months trapped in a dungeon, fought her way out of a Capital, and exhausted herself trying to heal Raphtalia, she was putting these two swordsmen to shame.

"Come on! Put your whole body into it!" Eclair ordered.

"But… but we've been going at this for two hours straight." Welt complained.

"Can't we… at least… have a break?" Karn complained between exhausted breaths. He figured himself to be a competent swordsman, but this was ridiculous!

"Don't slack! Otherwise your skills will always be subpar compared to the enemy!"

"Ahhhhh…" Both of them finally collapsed to the ground after another minute.

"Fine, you can have a five-minute break. After that, you two will be dueling me." Eclair said.

"Ugh…" Both of them groaned in agony. When they'd asked the knight for a training lesson, they hadn't been expecting this kind of torture.

They didn't notice Naofumi, and he eventually moved on. Honestly, the knight Eclair scared him just a bit more now than before. To find her already recovered and pushing two of Itsuki and Ren's party members to exhaustion was mind-boggling.

Finally, when he was near his room again, he decided to stop and look out of the clear glass windows again. The sun was beginning to lower in the sky towards evening. He breathed in calmly, and allowed the events of the day to wash over his mind. '_To think… I started this day waking up in a cell…'_ And he was going to end it in a bed on the top floor of a noble's manor.

There had been so much that'd happened. Almost too much. A lot of it hurt to think on… but there were still some good things that had happened… thanks to him deciding to leave his room. This whole day wouldn't be as depressing to think about as before.

He looked for a while longer. Outside, in view of Van's manor, groups of demi-humans were doing different things. Some were working the soil as farmers. Others were wearing armor and patrolling the fields for monsters or other dangers. Filo appeared from the tree line, Melty and a few other laughing kids clung to her back. The sight caused Naofumi to crack a smile.

His attention was captured by a few kids playing around with a ball near the front of the manor. Looking closely, it wasn't just demi-humans, but also human kids that were playing together. Humans and demi-humans… both getting along.

...

"Sir Naofumi… I take it since you've decided to leave your room and take a tour of my manor that you're feeling better now?"

Naofumi almost jumped when Van appeared almost from out of nowhere beside him. Had the guy been stalking him ever since he'd left or something?! "Yeah, a little bit." Naofumi answered defensively.

"It's been a while since I read the children's book you picked up." He continued as if he was having a normal conversation. Yep, he'd definitely been shadowing Naofumi without him realizing it this whole time. "It's one of my favorites involving the Cardinal Heroes. My father used to read it to me all the time as a child-"

Naofumi continued to look outside and decided to move the subject away from children's books. "Why are there demi-human and human children playing around together out there?"

"What do you mean?" Van asked curiously.

Naofumi pointed out the group he was watching play around. It looked like they were kicking a ball, similar to the one he'd bought for Raphtalia as a kid. "Oh, those are just some of the kids from the local village I'm Lord over. This is one of the few safe areas in my domain where they can play, so I allow them to as long as they don't get in the way of the farmers." Van said, smiling at the sight of a group of innocent kids playing around with each other. "Or break any of my windows. It's happened a few times in the past. Did you know that windows can be expensive to replace? And the glass is really hard to clean up-"

Naofumi grit his teeth. "What I meant was why are humans and demi-humans getting along with each other here?" Naofumi asked. "I thought most of Melromarc was prejudiced against demi-humans."

"... Oh. Well, most of Melromarc is. Even more so now than before thanks to the Eight-Year War with Siltvelt. But my family isn't like most of Melromarc." Van said as he watched the kids playing around. "My father and his father enlisted in the latter end of the war when I was a young boy. When they came back, unlike those who became more hardened because of the war, their hearts were softened along with a few others after the things they'd witnessed. And so, when they came back, I and a precious few others were raised to treat demi-humans as equals." Van smiled brightly and affectionately, adjusting his glasses as he recalled the memory. "My Father taught that same philosophy to everyone living in the village. And we've been living it even after the both of them died a year ago from illness."

Naofumi continued to stare out the window at the group of kids playing with each other. Even though the Waves of Catastrophe were going on. Even though diseases and famines were striking places with the world going out of whack. Even though the majority of Melromarc didn't get along with, and even despised demi-humans... Even though a million things were going wrong, this small group was still here. Playing with each other. Happy, carefree, joyful, hopeful…

"Of course. There are times where people here still don't get along with each other." Van said with a shrug. "As Lord, I'm obligated to have to hear their complaints with me or with each other and address them. It saddens me whenever it's based on the issue of them vs us. But I doubt my job would be half as fun if we didn't have our disagreements every now and then. It's because of them that we've progressed to where we are now compared to the rest of Melromarc. The understanding we've gained working together instead of distrusting each other has helped us immensely."

Naofumi finally looked to Van. Van had been looking at him when he spoke that last part. His carefree face turned serious. "I can tell how conflicted you feel, Sir Shield Hero. You were summoned to protect us from the Waves of Catastrophe. And yet you've been mistreated by our people to the point that you lost control and hurt many of them, along with those closest to you. You're at a disagreement with yourself. A disagreement that you know you have to settle for our good."

…

Naofumi hung his head. It was only his second or third time meeting this noble… but despite his appearance, and how annoying he could be, Van was pretty damn smart and insightful. He almost seemed to know what Naofumi was going through without having experienced it. And, unlike the other pretentious nobles he'd had the misfortune of meeting at the celebration, he didn't shy away from him. He was actually trying to help him. "How do I resolve it?... how do I…" He wasn't even sure what to say. Fix it? Fix what? Could he fix this? And if he could, how?

Van studied him for a long moment. As if weighing what to say next. "Stop beating yourself up over the matter and thinking about how you should feel…" He finally said after a moment.

Naofumi continued to look down at the ground. Expecting that to be the end of it. "And have a little faith in yourself."

That caused Naofumi to look up in surprise. "What?" He asked.

Van nodded. "You're the great Shield Hero, are you not?" He asked.

"Yeah, I am. But that doesn't mean I can fix what I've done-" He was saying.

"I'm not talking about fixing your actions. I'm talking about you."

Naofumi stared at Van. "You've just discovered a problem that you didn't know you had before. A problem that caused you to hurt other people, which is against what you desire, is it not?" He asked.

"Yeah, but-" Naofumi was saying. Of course he didn't want to hurt and kill everyone he met!... But then it hit him. Like his logical side was finally hitting him upside the head and calling him an idiot. Whether he liked it or not, the Rage Series was there to stay. But it wasn't like Rage was the only thing he had.

"Then what should I do?" Naofumi asked.

Van shrugged. "I'm sorry, I'm not you, great Shield Hero. I don't know much about the power you and Sir Itsuki wielded in your different situations. Only you know better than anyone else what you can do." He turned around to walk off. Then he stopped as if considering something.

"I can give you some advice… there's an old saying the Queen once told me… emotions are the driving forces of our lives. No one can resist them. No one can hide from them. They are as inevitable as death himself. Yet without emotion, one can never find their true selves and move forward." He looked back at Naofumi. "Legends state the same thing about the Cardinal Heroes of old, Sir Naofumi. Whether they lost the will to live or went on to fight with all their hearts for what they believed in. I have no doubt that, like them, you and the other Heroes will overcome your trials and forge a bright path that leads to our future."

With that, he walked back down the hall.

…

Naofumi went back to staring out of the window. Contemplating what Van had just told him.

The kids were still out there. Playing, hopeful, and carefree…

He turned and entered his room.

* * *

_That night_

"Mmmm… so soft… so warm..."

Melty talked in her sleep. Filo laid asleep on a large bed in her Filolial Queen form. Melty's head stuck out of her feathers. A peaceful look on her sleeping face. "So... big..." Um...

Naofumi laid back in his own bed. His Legendary Shield was in its default form on his right arm. He was looking up at the ceiling, still contemplating over what Van had told him.

He'd given it a lot of thought. Blocking out even the guilt he'd felt over his actions as he logically looked the problem over from every angle. He was angry. He was depressed. And, quite honestly, he felt extremely guilty about what had happened. It formed a vicious cycle that fed into each other. However, throwing that aside, that didn't mean he could lie back and take this sitting down. He couldn't hide from his problems. He had to face them.

'_Is it possible…'_ When he'd first unlocked the Curse series, he'd felt like he had nothing left in the world. That, after what he'd had to suffer through, having what little he'd had left stripped from him unfairly would be the end. The same thing had happened when he finally unlocked the Shield of Rage in that square. He'd felt like he had nothing left except his anger. His complete and utter hatred for the Bitch that had ruined his life...

Yet Raphtalia came in both of those times and restored what he'd thought he'd lost. Her subsequent actions the first time had led to him unlocking the Hopeful Series. She'd helped him, nourishing his hopes and dreams until they'd come full bloom in the middle of his duel with Malty. Bringing about the first shield of that series.

'_Raphtalia's been helping me for so long…'_

…

Naofumi looked over his Shield Menu again. The Rage Series was right next to the Hopeful Series. He had the second tier of Rage unlocked, staring temptingly at his face with its major stats and offensive option… and only the tier one Hope Shield.

He couldn't hide from them... they were inevitable...

…

'_Maybe…'_ He stared at the shields for a moment longer… he wasn't entirely sure. His past experiences with the Hopeful Series had coincided with the Rage series too many times to be a coincidence… but...

Naofumi got out of bed. _'I have to try.'_

He quietly exited the room. Making sure not to wake Filo or Melty from their sleep.

It took him a moment having to navigate the hallways in the darkness. He accidentally opened the wrong door, and found Itsuki asleep in a chair. Ren was sitting down, napping against the wall. A blanket had been placed over him carefully and tenderly. Wyndia napped on the floor nearby. In the bed next to Itsuki was Rishia.

Naofumi carefully closed that door, making sure not to disturb any of them.

The next door was the right one. He opened it, and went inside, softly closing it behind him.

Raphtalia was still asleep. Breathing in and out softly. The moon outside was positioned just right. The moonlight was flowing through the windows and landing around her peaceful form.

He took a deep breath. '_I… I don't know the answer to how I'll fix this… but I do know one thing. I don't want to be stuck relying on my hatred to help me and my friends live. If there's something I want to feel...'_

He raised his Light Metal Shield. '_And if there's anyone that can help me… if there's anyone that could help me get through this… if there's one person I trust to carry my burdens more than anyone else in this world… it's Raphtalia.'_

He had foiled Myne's plot in stealing everything from him at the Sacred Duel. He had foiled the Church's plot to have himself and Raphtalia killed in the mines. He had survived the pathetic attempt on their lives during the wave. The Ambush in the woods. And so many other things because Raphtalia had been there with him. She had never given up on him. She had inspired him to keep going. And never lost hope or faith in him even when he'd had no hope left… and he trusted her. He trusted her more than he trusted anyone else, including himself.

"Raphtalia… I'm sorry. The Rage Series did this to you." Naofumi said through gritted teeth. He felt guilt pricking at him again. "I did this to you… I, I know you told me not to beat myself up over it, but it's the truth Raphtalia. It's my fault that you had to pull me back from my hate and rage before it consumed me. It's my fault that you had to pay the price for my stupidity…"

His eyes glinted over with determination… determination, and hope. "But you're right. I'm not a quitter. I have a plan. And it requires your help Raphtalia." He came close and gripped one of her hands in his. "Maybe, just maybe, the Hopeful Series I was given… maybe it isn't just to give me another way to protect you guys… maybe, it was given to me so I could have something other than anger to rely on. Something better."

No one was there to hear him. Had there been anyone, they would have been confused as hell and wouldn't have understood what he meant. But Naofumi was starting to somewhat understand. Van's words had helped him to take a good long look at himself.

Yes, he held a lot of hate deep in his soul. Hate for this world. Hate for the King. Hate for Motoyasu. Hate for Myne. Hate for the Waves. He hated a lot of things. And that Hate had been what allowed the Cursed Series to manifest in the first place. When he'd been at a low so low that he'd rather kill himself than keep on going, that hate had manifested itself into a force to keep him alive and to give him purpose to continue living.

But alongside that hate had been something else. Hope. Hope that things could get better. Hope that the world can improve. Hope that people can become better. So he wouldn't have to stay on the run all his life… and Raphtalia had been the one to give him that hope. She had given him another purpose besides Hate to keep himself going. She had helped him overcome his trials time and time again. She had helped him to hope for that which was good...

The Shield of Hope had first manifested during his fight with Motoyasu. Then, it had finally made another appearance during his fight with Myne. It had come both times because he'd had hope that he could win. That he could stop them from hurting more people. That he could overcome the obstacles placed in his way, escape with his party, and continue on with life... While the duel after the Rage Shield was unlocked was a mess, he remembered all that it had taken for him to unlock the next tier of Rage was for him to be overloaded with more anger and hatred. So maybe… just maybe… if he could do that now for the Hopeful Series, if he could have more hope, he could unlock the next tier… so he could get over what happened, and have something better to rely on in the future.

Taking a deep breath, he selected the **Shield of Hope I** and equipped it. A translucent blue glow came off of it. Blending with the moonlight coming in. Naofumi gasped as he felt other feelings surge into him besides guilt and sadness.

That was the danger, he realized. This shield could help him to feel more positive. But if his negative feelings fought back and made him fall with them… like the angels falling from heaven, it wouldn't end well for him. Loss of hope led to despair. Despair to hate. And hate to suffering. Suffering he would cause personally if he lost control. "Raphtalia, I need you to counteract my negative feelings… will you… will you help me?" He asked her sleeping form.

She was still asleep. Yet he still felt her hand squeeze his. He nodded. "Thank you." He whispered. Even asleep, she was there for him. Asleep, she was there to push the darkness back.

It was a long shot, but... _'I have to try. For Raphtalia's sake and everyone else's, I have to!'_ Problems were coming soon. He needed something other than hate to defend with. He had to be able to protect Raphtalia and everyone else!

He focused on Raphtalia's form. She was still fast asleep. Snoring peacefully, grimacing every once in a while in pain because of a curse he'd inflicted on her. At the thought, his body wanted to break down again. The guilt and sadness surged once more. His body wanted to cry more tears. It wanted to give into depression, and only imagine a future where his nightmares came true.

Raphtalia's hand gripped his tightly, dragging him back into the real world. He shook his head. '_No.'_ He had to keep himself from thinking about that. It would only lead to more despair and hatred. What he needed was hope!

_'Damn it! Come on!'_ He gripped Raphtalia's hand tightly in return. He forced himself to hope. He didn't care if it seemed ridiculous or not. He had to have hope for a better future! He had to have hope for Raphtalia's sake! He had to have hope if he didn't want to be stuck with relying on a cursed shield!

His shield, which had lost some of its glow, began to glow more brightly again. He ignored the hatred and other feelings swirling around in his mind. Instead, he forced himself to think of the bright memories he shared with Raphtalia. The memories of her healthy vibrant self. The good times they shared together when they first started adventuring. The countless times he'd held her close to comfort her from some nightmare.

Then there were the times that came after she grew up into a woman around his age. The awkward times when their weird relationship was starting out. All the times she'd helped to keep him in line. All the moments in between when everything was so conflicting and he wasn't sure what he wanted their relationship to turn into. And then those rare moments where everything pieced together and felt so… right.

His mind threw out the other memories, focusing on those few when everything felt so… perfect.

Those thoughts led to a different future. One he hadn't thought about before. A time years after the waves were over.

They were married, happy, and in love. A couple kids were running around in the background. No one was there to cause them problems. No one was there to cause any trouble.

He felt tears prick at his eyes. But not tears of sadness. He hadn't known what he desired from this world before. He'd worked under the assumption that he'd protect the world from the waves, and then he'd go back to his own when it was all over. Now, he realized he wanted more than to just protect it. He wanted to protect it so he, Raphtalia, and every other great person he'd ever met could live. Happy, and at peace.

The picture solidified in his mind. They had their own home. In a place that accepted them both. Three kids that looked like them ran around in the backyard. Filo was playing with them in one corner while he and Raphtalia cuddled on a swing and watched their real kids playing with their adopted daughter. Erhard pounded away on his latest gear in the blacksmith shop. Melty helped with running the town... Eclair was still training and going through various new sword forms she'd learned after being freed. Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu were going around the world. Helping those in need and really being Heroes. Best of all, there was no sign of Bitch.

They were all happy. And so were Raphtalia and him. Just being there in that small moment with each other.

They no longer feared the Church. They no longer feared the royals or other countries trying to separate them. They were able to live in peace, happy with each other and their little family. When others around them had problems, they helped in any way they could. And when they had problems, they worked through them together. It wasn't one or the other.

It was them.

It was his hope for that to happen. Hope that, despite how bad the situation was now, that that future was possible for them both.

'_To hell with it! Van's right! I'm the damn Shield Hero! One of the Cardinal Heroes of Legend brought to life! Screw this world and its desires! Screw what this world has planned for me! Screw it if this world wants to screw me over repeatedly! I'm not going to let anyone crush my hopes and dreams! I have to hope that this works!'_ He thought. '_No… I __**know**_ _that this will work!'_

He'd safeguard this world so he could bring about that future.

He'd use his power as the Shield Hero to make that future dream a reality.

A sharp pain went through Naofumi's mind. _'GahhhhhHHHHHHHH!'_ One hand gripped at his head. The other continued to grip Raphtalia's bandaged hand as the pain increased exponentially. It was like his anger was clashing with something. A tide that refused to stop. A tide that refused to bend.

All of a sudden, like a barrier being completely shattered. His shield glowed brighter than before and expanded in size. A new notification appeared on his stat screen.

The Cursed Series manifests itself when a Hero crosses a Despair Horizon. When a Hero would rather die than continue fighting. The resulting Cursed Series takes a flaw in the Hero's personality and expands on it. Making it the driving force that keeps them alive. Whether it be Wrath, Pride, Envy, Greed, or something else entirely.

However, when a Hero overcomes their trials. When they fully regain (even without realizing it) their purpose in fighting for the world. They unlock a new series. Corresponding to either the virtue of the sin they overcame or the purpose they were given that overcame the trial. And that Series is called:

**Blessed Series: Shield of Hope Abilities Increased**

**Shield of Hope II unlocked**

**Equip Bonus: "Hope Asunder" "Change Shield (Attack)" and "Pandora's Box"**

**Special Effects: Magic Defense Up, Strength Up, Hope Springs Eternal, Robe of Michael, Ray of Hope**

At that moment, the door opened. "Naofumi, are you- Gah!" It was Ren and Itsuki. They thought they'd heard him and had gone out to check, only to find Filo and Melty. They'd just noticed he was gone, and all four of them had been looking around the manor frantically for him when these two had finally opened the door, only to be met with a blinding light.

"Itsuki, what is that?!" Ren asked.

Itsuki squinted. "It's… it's…" His eyes widened in surprise. "It's Naofumi!"

Naofumi looked in disbelief at his shield. It was as big as the Shield of Wrath, but still in the shape of the Light Metal Shield. It was like looking into a sea of bright glowing clear glass, the light moving like waves along the surface of it. There was a design in the light that he couldn't quite make out. The light blue glow spread from the shield to cover the left side of Naofumi's body. Opposite where the dragon scale armor had covered him. It made it look like he was half-clothed in glowing flowing robes. Robes fit for an angel rather than a demon. His eyes also glowed blue.

The feeling filling him now. It was… warm… soothing… just like Raphtalia. It wasn't hostile. It was pure.

The light of the transformation faded enough for Ren and Itsuki to be able to see him. Looks of amazement came onto their faces as they saw Naofumi's new form. They then looked at each other with stunned expressions, before looking at Naofumi.

It had actually worked. Naofumi, by tapping into his emotions and directing them, had unlocked a powerful shield in a series. Just by hoping against all odds of hope existing, Naofumi had unlocked another shield. From what he could see of its stats, it was comparable to the **Shield of Rage II**.

It was a pure shield. One he could rely on.

'_This Shield…'_ He read over one of the last special effects, and his eyes watered. He'd already unlocked the new shield. He wouldn't have to rely on only his hate anymore. But the last effect was like an extra gift from the Shield itself. A thank you for choosing not to rely on only his hate down the road.

'_Raphtalia… I'm… I'm paying you back...'_ The effect was different than any other he'd seen for any shield.

Naofumi took in a deep breath and looked down determinedly at Raphtalia. Gripping her hand in his. For once, there was no hate in the way whatsoever. The next few thoughts melded into a blur for him. Thoughts on memories from what felt to be so long ago.

* * *

_"You've gone through a lot of pain," Raphtalia spoke softly, her hand making similar motions on the back of his head that he'd used so many times to comfort her before. "But from now on, you won't need to be alone with the pain." She rested her head against his. "I'll shoulder it with you forever, Naofumi Iwatani. Because… because that's what love makes us do."_

_She had no problem admitting it out loud now. After everything Master Naofumi had done for her, she could hold no other emotion towards him. "I'll always love you. Even when everyone else hates you." She confessed. "You aren't alone anymore. Don't ever forget that."_

* * *

The next day came to his mind.

_"First, I want to get myself a new slave crest." She decided._

_Naofumi blinked in surprise. "Are you sure about that? I mean, I don't want you to be forced into doing it-" He tried to say._

_"Master Naofumi no one is forcing me." She said seriously. "I want you to be able to trust me at all times to never lie to you. Even about my feelings. And if I need something to scold me to help me remember to fight at your side, then so be it." She said determinedly._

_He stared down at her in surprise. She didn't say it, but even after hearing the false accusations against him she was willing to go as far as trusting him with herself. To put herself in a position where she'd have to follow any order he gave, no matter what…_

* * *

A random moment in time.

_For a moment as they walked down the street, the two were silent… then Naofumi felt one of Raphtalia's arms hug him from behind. She leaned up against him while still walking. "... thank you for saying I'm beautiful Naofumi." She whispered quietly so only he would hear._

_Naofumi smiled and put an arm over her shoulders. The two looked like a cute young couple now to passerby. "No problem."_

* * *

And then the experience in the cave. The one that had entirely shifted his entire mental perspective without him having realized it.

_He gripped her hand tightly. "Raphtalia… I need you too. There hasn't been a day that's gone by where that isn't the case." He said sincerely. "I'm grateful to have you at my side. I'm grateful that I chose to buy you that night when I found out I was being betrayed." Naofumi said seriously. "I'm grateful you stuck by me even after you were freed from your crest. I'm grateful that you help me try to be a better person."_

_"And... I don't care what others say. I don't care if your race possibly came from humans and monsters." He said smiling. "I don't mind that you're a demi-human. You're not an abomination. You're more human than I am... And as I told Beloukas before, I'd be crazy to let someone as beautiful and amazing as you go." He said with all the honesty and sincerity that he could muster… he meant it. He meant every last word._

_..._

_Tears touched the corner of Raphtalia's eyes again, and she leaned her head against Naofumi's shoulder as she started sobbing. She'd already known the voice from before hadn't been Naofumi's. She'd realized everything it had said had been a lie... But to hear Naofumi refute those words for real… to hear him say her worries and fears were unfounded... she continued to cry. Her tears landing on his cloak. It was... too much..._

_He embraced both her and Filo tightly._

_"Thank… thank you... Naofumi..." She whispered gratefully._

_He kissed the top of her head, and then rested his head against hers._

* * *

His mind returned to the present. All these moments and more had nurtured his hope. Had kept it alive and burning in his soul. Had made it so even when he fell in the darkest pit, a light could still shine and lead the way back to the surface.

_'Raphtalia…'_ Light began to gather around Naofumi as he selected the effect. It automatically chose Raphtalia and someone else in the party system on the other side of the wall to cleanse. '_You have never given up on me. Even when I gave up on myself. You've helped me out since the day I met you. You were the one that inspired me to keep going. To fight for this world, to fight to save its inhabitants. I could never pay you back for what you've done. I could never deserve someone like you... But for choosing to stay with me back then…'_ For trusting him with everything, including herself. _'Because you chose to stay with me back then Raphtalia. I'm… I'm choosing to stay with you! Because above all, you are my-'_

"**Ray of Hope!"** Naofumi commanded. A notification came up in Naofumi's vision, asking if he was sure he wanted to pay the price for the curses. He immediately selected yes.

A wave of blue aura burst from Naofumi, causing the other heroes to shield their eyes. The aura pulsed off him in waves throughout the room and through the walls. Each one gradually sank calmly into Raphtalia's prone form. And the prone form of the other target closeby that Naofumi had inadvertently selected with the effect.

Then in what felt like the space of a millisecond, the light disappeared, only to be replaced with a brighter light that burst from Raphtalia's body and from the wall. Like two bright rays of light that absorbed itself into his shield continuously. At the bright light, the heroes fell to the ground, their eyes covered as they took the fetal position. Expecting an explosion or something similar.

_"AUGHHHHHH!..."_ Naofumi screamed in agony, falling onto one knee. He felt pain, unlike anything else, exploding through his body. It hurt... so much worse than the time with the Orthrus Dog. It hurt a trillion times more. It was like his defense stat didn't even matter. His body could have been melting. His skin could have been turning to ash. Hate, anger, rage, and other emotions he didn't recognize were flooding him, hacking at his very soul. His own cursed flames, and someone else's, had become manifest and turned on him.

Had Raphtalia been dealing with all this? Or was it only from her?

He hadn't expected this overwhelming pain. It made the mental agony he'd been going through look tame. His body pleaded with him to cut the spell short before he passed out, but he kept pushing through it.

This pain was nothing! He'd suffer worse if it meant she could continue to help keep him on the right path! So that she and no one else he cared about would ever have to suffer like this again!

"Not yet. Keep going… not until… not until it's done!" He yelled.

_'AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!...'_ His vision became clouded with white light, and a shrill whistling sound filled his ears.

…

…

Eventually, the bright light finally faded, until only the afterimage was left. And that faded away too, leaving the room darker than before.

Naofumi stood stock still over Raphtalia, his shield still held in front of him. He subconsciously changed it to his default Small Shield. Seeming to know that keeping it equipped would not be a very good idea. It had felt like an eternity… but in reality, it had only taken around fifteen seconds for the cleansing effect to work.

Everything hurt… everything hurt so much… He stared down at the Tanuki girl in wonder and amazement. One of his hands still gripping hers. Wondering if it'd worked.

Below him, Raphtalia took in a sharp breath. Her eyes didn't open, but her peaceful breathing, which had been intermingled with pain from the curse, became more relaxed. On his stat screen, it showed that her HP gauge, which had been refilling slowly due to the effects of the curse, was increasing more rapidly. The cursed status effect had also disappeared.

It had worked.

Raphtalia was okay.

Seeing Raphtalia okay made him feel… happy… _'Thank… God…'_ Naofumi's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed onto the floor.

...

Healing two people of their curses for the first time had been a bit too much.

"Naofumi!" Itsuki and Ren finally recovered from where they were laying near the doorway. There had been no explosion. They rushed in and quickly checked the unconscious Shield Hero.

It was only a moment later that more people came running from the other parts of the manor. "What happened?!-" Eclair asked frantically. She was still sweating from sword training.

"What was that bright light?!-" Melty asked just as quickly.

"Is Mommy okay?!-" Filo asked worriedly. They were all followed by house servants, the other heroes' party members, and Van himself. Who'd either seen a bright light from outside, or who had heard Naofumi screaming in agony.

Any further questions stopped at what they saw. Itsuki and Ren were silent. Naofumi was unconscious, but okay. There was nothing visibly wrong with him… but the thing that stunned them the most was Raphtalia herself.

The signs of the curse had disappeared from her neck and hair. The bandages had unwrapped from her arms, hands, and the other afflicted parts of her body. She was still dressed in her nightgown. There were scars shaped like flames, almost unnoticeable on her arms. But besides that, she was okay. She was more than okay. She looked healthier than ever. Her hand was still gripping to Naofumi's in their sleep.

The others look from Naofumi to the heroes, and then back to the bed.

"The curse… it's… gone…" Ren said, sounding shocked.

"What happened here, Sir Bow Hero?" Melty asked in shock.

"I'm… I'm not sure." Itsuki said.

"Was it a miracle?" Ren asked calmly.

"Was it an intervention?" Itsuki asked.

"No." They all turned to look at Van. Who smiled knowingly in the midst of it all. "I believe what you two witnessed here... was the true power held by the Cardinal Heroes." He said confidently.

"What…" Ren and Itsuki looked down at Naofumi and Raphtalia…

As ludicrous as it sounded, they believed it.

"Come now, I don't think Sir Naofumi will appreciate sleeping on the floor. Will someone put him in bed with his Tanuki friend please?" Van said happily. "I doubt she'll be letting go of him anytime soon."

Before Ren or anyone else could move, Maya's ears twitched on her head. "Sir Itsuki… it… it sounds like Rishia is waking up."

At first, Itsuki didn't know what the demi-girl meant. And then, on the other side of the wall, (which was unaffected from the ray of light that had traveled through it) he heard a very familiar noise.

"Fueh. Fuehhhhh… where, where am I?"

Itsuki clutched at his chest. "Wh-What-" He pulled up his status magic screen. He saw the gauges and everything for his party members. And that was when he finally realized it.

It hadn't just been Raphtalia who was cleansed of her curse.

"RISHIA!" Itsuki immediately bolted out of the room. Running to the next one over. Tears were coming from his eyes. A look of happiness and relief was on his face.

"Wha, Sir, Sir Itsuki, is that you- Fueh!" Rishia's shriek of surprise at Itsuki tackling and embracing her tightly could be heard by everyone in the manor.

"Don't you ever worry me like that again! You hear me!" Itsuki cried. Refusing to let the green-haired girl who'd just woken up go. "NEVER AGAIN!"

"FUEHHHHHHHH!" Said green-haired girl was extremely confused and terrified at what was going on.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**This was another chapter I rewrote several times trying to find the way I wanted it to go. That ending though. Itsuki is going to be owing Naofumi bigtime. Like, if he wasn't worshipping the ground Naofumi walked on before, he better damn do it now.**

**Hope you all enjoyed it. This was inspired by an idea from Milarqui long ago back in either Chapter Eleven or Twelve when he reviewed. We went over it via PM with each other. I knew several months back when I was writing this out that I wanted Raphtalia to get cursed. And for Naofumi to obtain an effect that'd cleanse lower-powered curses. So I wouldn't expect for Ray of Hope to completely heal a curse caused by using Blood Sacrifice (or something higher than that), but for the Cursed Flames Naofumi used from his shield. Piece of cake. There's just a cost that wasn't specified that I'll get into later.**

**Also, I decided it was time to reveal that the Hopeful Series is actually a subset of the Blessed Series. Since people here don't seem to know what the Blessed and Cursed series actually are or how they operate. So in reality, the Compassion Series Naofumi later unlocks is just a subset of the Blessed Series. Much like how Wrath, Greed, and Envy are subsets of the Cursed Series. As you've seen, I haven't made this an OP shield. Using it still has some drawbacks. But, given enough time, and unlocking a few more tiers, we could see some good things come from Naofumi and the other heroes.**

**Which leads to another thing. What I included in the description for how a Hero obtains a Blessed Series is mostly correct. If they're going to receive one, it'll either be a virtue to the Curse they overcame, or a virtue given to them by someone else giving them a purpose that overcomes their Curse. So they could end up with Hope. Or they could end up with another subset of the Blessed Series entirely. Which means more writing for me :).**

**Enjoy the omake. It's another play on a meme very prominent in the Shield Hero community. If you have ideas for other memes you want to see written out omake style, just share them with me on the Shield Hero Discord Server. #shield-fanfics**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**Protecc the FUEH Girl**

* * *

"Protecc."

"Fueh… Um, Sir, Sir Itsuki, what are you doing?"

"Protecc." Itsuki didn't say anything more. He merely nuzzled the scared green girl he had hugged close in his warm embrace.

"Fueh! Ra-Raphtalia!?" Rishia screamed in terror. A mad blush on her face. "H-H-Help!"

"Protecc."

"Protecc."

Raphtalia didn't acknowledge the green girl's predicament. Naofumi was hugging Raphtalia close while muttering Protecc. And Raphtalia was hugging Filo close while also muttering Protecc.

"Protecc." Filo was similarly hugging Melty close. Muttering the same thing as her parents. It was the family of protecc.

"M-Maya!" Rishia cried out.

"Sorry, can't help right now Rishia." Maya said. She was on her favorite Knight's shoulders, hugging his head with her body.

"Maya… Do you really have to do this?" Aksel asked with an embarrassed sigh.

"Protecc." Maya replied.

"Is… is there anyone out there not-" Rishia tried to call out for help.

"Protecc."

She managed to look behind her and Itsuki. Ren was hugging Wyndia close while patting her on the head. "Must protecc." He added.

Wyndia was flushed red with embarrassment. "Mmmmm…" She looked like she wanted to lash out at Ren for his behavior. But her tail was wagging crazily, indicating that she really enjoyed the headpats and possibly even the hug too.

"Protecc." Even Motoyasu was there. Holding an injured and beat up looking Myne to himself.

"HISS!" She hissed like a feral bitchy cat. Trying to claw her way out of his embrace.

"FUEHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Protecc." Everyone said at once.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	39. 39: He Forgot The Talk

**IMPORTANT NEWS!**

**The Shield Hero Discord Server is having a fanfic contest soon. Tune in next week's chapter for more details for you readers.**

* * *

**I was grateful for a lot of the reviews in the last chapter. Glad to see a lot of you understood what happened there and got the background context for the build-up to that moment. I love my angst, but what I love more is when the angst ends. I hope you enjoy today's chapter! Below is a spoiler paragraph. If you haven't read LN 15, I'd recommend just reading this chapter instead. But since this was asked by a reviewer, I thought I'd answer it.**

**Spoiler Paragraph: Compassion is not the virtue of Wrath. I have talked with the Shield Hero wiki mods about it, and Compassion is actually the virtue of Envy. It's why I included in the description that the virtue could be given by someone else. One who overcame her Envy of Raphtalia and helped her and Naofumi. Here's a hint: [A Shield Made with the Help of a Blind Girl] That's all the spoiler I'll give. I went back to Chapter Eleven and added a similar line at the end. Now stop spoiling yourself and get reading!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _34 more Favorites, 35 more Followers (Total: 1257 Favorites, 1460 Followers)_

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**Updated:** _April 20th, 2020 12:42 P.M. (EST)_

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: **_He Forgot The Talk_

* * *

_The next morning (8 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"Urgh…" Naofumi ached as he started to wake up. '_Ugh. What happened…'_

As he came back to the land of the living, he became aware of something large and warm pressed up against him. And when he took a deep breath, a very familiar scent filled his nostrils. '_Is that…'_

...

He finally peaked open his eyes, and his suspicions were confirmed.

He was lying on his side in bed. His head rested against a pillow. Cuddled up next to him like a warm body pillow was his beautiful Tanuki companion. Her hair framed the sides of her face. The blanket had moved off of the two of them in their sleep. Raphtalia's tail was slowly wagging happily behind her.

It honestly would have been cute… if she hadn't been cuddled up against him in a way that his arm was pressed up against her gown between two certain… assets…

'_Um… uh…'_ Naofumi carefully moved his arm out from its resting spot. Doing his best not to wake the peaceful looking Tanuki girl as he did so. He had to stretch his shoulder back, grimacing from the soreness and aches, but he was able to get his arm free. Now he just had to get the rest of his body-

"Mmmm…" Raphtalia, at the loss of contact, cuddled up higher on his body in her sleep. Pressing her face into the crook of his neck. Her chest pressed up against his. Her arms moved and hugged around Naofumi. Keeping him pressed against her, and keeping him from escaping.

"... Alright, alright. I'll stay then." Naofumi said, rolling his eyes in mock annoyance while trying not to blush.

"Hmmm…" Raphtalia let out something that sounded like a satisfied purr. Her tail wagged even more happily behind her in her sleep.

Naofumi chuckled to himself. Wrapping his arms around her and rubbing his chin into her hair. '_Damn, Raphtalia, you're cute even when you're fast asleep…'_ Only a few days ago, he'd been unsure about what to think in regard to Raphtalia, and now...

After a moment, he stopped and frowned. '_Holy hell… just how much happened these last few days...'_

It'd honestly felt slow for the most part since the last wave. With hardly much of note happening to him during that time. Yet the past few days had been packed.

First, he'd helped to heal someone's old mom. Then, idiotic Motoyasu had attacked him and his party. Next, he'd woken up in chains in front of the King and had a scam of a trial. Followed by waking up in a cell with the same knight who'd been imprisoned by Malty for wanting to join his party.

Soon after that, he met the Second Princess, got released by her, and was framed for trying to kill her. Then he was chased through the Capital, reunited with his party, trapped at a gate, had a duel with Bitch… he unlocked shields in the Hope and Rage Series. He almost won. He hurt people. He burned part of the city. He hurt Raphtalia. He and his party were saved by Ren and Itsuki. He almost lost Raphtalia. She comforted him. He spent most of the rest of the day having a gradual mental breakdown. He wandered around, read a book, ate some food. And then finally, after thinking over advice he'd received from both Van and one of Ren's party members, he unlocked another tier in the Hopeful Series, healing both Raphtalia and one of Itsuki's party members with an effect from it.

Man. That was a lot to process through...

He quickly checked Raphtalia over with his HUD (Heads Up Display, basically, my replacement term for stat screen from here on out). Besides being dressed in only her gown (it covered her whole torso up to below her neck, fortunately), there were no signs of the curse. Her skin was clear, besides a few flame-shaped scars on her arms. All of her gauges including her HP gauge were full.

'_Thank the heavens.'_ Naofumi closed the HUD and buried his face in her hair again, taking another deep breath of her scent. He'd never felt so relieved. Whatever he'd done, it had worked. He was sad Raphtalia had some scarring from the experience, but it was far outweighed by the relief and gratitude that she was going to be okay.

…

Since Raphtalia still had him trapped, he pulled up his HUD again and looked at his own stats. The **Shield of Hope II** would likely be something that'd give his own base stats a nice little boost-

'_Wait, what the hell happened to my defense stat!'_

His other stats were still the same, including, unfortunately, his attack stat. No boost for unlocking a cool new shield there. But his magic and physical defense stats had both dropped. At least a good 20%. While it was still high for Naofumi's level, it was a considerable drop. '_How did that happen?!... I don't remember it dropping because of using the __**Shield of Rage**_…'

He moved from his stat screen to his Shield Menu. His skill tree of shields popped up in front of his eyes. He pulled up the Hopeful Shield Series and looked over the new Shield and its skills.

'_Hope Asunder... I figured that was what that skill did… Pandora's Box? It doesn't have a description available yet. I guess I'll need to use it to find out what it does... Hope Springs Eternal? According to the description, it's supposed to increase the effectiveness of any healing spell or potion I use on myself or on my party, neat. Robe of Michael? Description: ?... It doesn't have a description for it yet either?!… Ray of Hope…__ it's supposed to be a special effect that allows me to heal curses nearby members of my party are suffering from. It takes some of my HP and makes me suffer in their place. But there's another cost… and it has ?'s by it too.'_

He'd unlocked a new tier of Hope. But, apparently, he didn't know enough about this world to know what was supposed to be in those question marks. But maybe whatever it was was part of the reason why his defense stat had dropped. It also explained how he healed both Rishia and Raphtalia at the same time. His screen still showed him being listed as a subgroup in Itsuki's party system alongside Ren and his party.

He poked around some more. Fortunately, it looked like it was only going to be a temporary debuff. The debuff had ?'s for its name too. But it was ticking down from two days. Hopefully, when it was done, he'd have his normal defense stat back.

He was about to close his HUD when he glanced at the Rage Series. He shuddered and closed the HUD. He focused on breathing in Raphtalia's scent to calm him down. '_I'm glad… I won't have to rely on only the Rage Series in the future…'_

It was a powerful Shield. He'd give it that. He'd love the day when he'd grow strong-willed enough that he could use its execution skill, "Iron Maiden" on a certain Red-Haired Bitch without wanting to go into a blind rage.

But as much as he hated the Bitch, as much as he wanted to punch her so badly in the face… which he'd forgotten to list he'd been able to do yesterday too… he didn't want to murder everyone in his path to do it. Hell, he didn't want to kill anyone else unless it was either necessary, or he had no other choice.

Bitch's death was completely necessary. No argument there. He hoped the next time he saw the damn Bitch, she'd be on the receiving end of his execution skill or Raphtalia's blade.

But he was meant to protect… he had to protect… so he wanted to kill only if it meant protecting others.

_'But why is one of my shield's only option for attack something so monstrous?'_ Naofumi thought. '_Couldn't there be a better option? One that doesn't involve using that series?'_ He'd tried so many other things already to try and get around the Yandere Shield's jealous rules. But nothing he'd tried so far had worked. Hope was the closest thing he had. Yet its skills didn't increase his attack stat. It only made it so his own measly attack stat could do something.

Maybe someday, down the road...

...

"Mmmm… Nao… Naofumi?"

Naofumi was brought out of his thoughts. He looked down in surprise at Raphtalia, who was starting to blink open her eyes. Glazed over from sleep.

"Hey... You feeling okay?" Naofumi asked.

"Huh-" Raphtalia finally seemed to realize her very close proximity to Naofumi and his face. Before she could freak out about that though, she also realized that she wasn't feeling any pain. The surprise from that offset the embarrassment and caused her to look down at herself. All the bandages were gone. Naofumi was smiling. Everything was okay. It was like she'd woken up to paradise. "What, what happened?" She asked Naofumi.

"I don't really remember much myself, to be honest." He sat up in the bed, and Raphtalia sat up with him. Looking at his face curiously. After using the effect last night, he'd gone through so much pain. He could hardly remember how he'd unlocked the **Shield of Hope II**. "I know I came in here last night… and that I decided that I refused to rely on my rage alone to carry me forward. And then, I somehow used you to help unlock the next tier in my Hope Series. And it had an ability that healed you of your curse."

...

Raphtalia looked down at her skin again, this time in awe. She didn't look bothered by the fact that she had faint flame-shaped scars on her forearms. "I guess that means you have another reason to love this shield now," Naofumi said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. While he still didn't like his Shield all that much… he was appreciating having it more.

"You mean…" It looked like tears were forming in her eyes. "I'll get… to fight beside you still?" She wouldn't have to rest for a long time. Watching from the sidelines as her favorite person in the world risked his life to fight the Church and the Waves of Catastrophe. She'd still get to fight alongside him.

Naofumi looked caught off guard by her response. "Of course."

Her mouth was open as if she was going to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. He wondered what was going through her mind, and then she spoke in a small voice. "I… I…"

"Is there something wrong?"

He didn't know if it was because he looked Raphtalia in the eyes at that moment, or if he finally overcame his nervousness and became more aware, but he realized that Raphtalia was crying. Silent tears traveled down the sides of her face. Her tail was bristling behind her, but not from anger. A few of her tears fell onto the bed. "I'm… I'm glad you're okay Master Naofumi!" She said loudly as she hugged him.

Naofumi's body reacted instinctively, hugging the crying girl close while they sat on the bed. His mind stunned at what was going on. She continued to cry into his shoulder. She could tell, after having looked in his eyes. They weren't haunted or full of guilt like before. They were back to what they were. A little shadowed from the memory of what he'd done. But he was still there. He was still him.

He was okay. He wasn't hurting because of what happened in the Capital anymore. She was so happy...

"I'm so sorry..."

"Wha… What for?" Naofumi was finally able to ask.

She continued to cry, unable to say more. She was sorry for the pain he had gone through. Sorry that she couldn't have done more to protect him. Sorry that she couldn't have arrived sooner to save him. Sorry that she'd gotten herself hurt in order to help him.

He continued to hold her, his mind gradually realizing what was happening. Tears started to leak from his own eyes, and he buried his face in her hair. Her auburn, soft hair. He had almost lost her. He had almost lost himself. Yet they were still here, they were still together. They were scarred, but they were okay.

That was all that mattered to him at that moment...

After a few moments, Raphtalia's sobs had died down to sniffles. "I'm sorry… I was so afraid that I was going to be useless and a burden… but I guess I did help you…"

…

Naofumi sighed as if releasing a heavyweight from off his back. "It's okay… it hurt a lot… it still hurts to think about it… but I'm fine with it now. I'm fine with what happened. Because I'm aware of my Hate now, and I'm not going to allow it to rule over me again."

The two finally separated, and Naofumi looked her in the eyes. Her deep tea-red eyes were swollen from crying. Her lips trembling, and her nose a little runny. Yet she still looked beautiful. "I'm not carrying this burden alone anymore, after all." He said calmly.

Raphtalia shakily nodded her head, looking back down to the bed afterward. He then patted her on the head, and the surprise action caused her to look up at him. He was smiling. "You've helped me for so long... going through all that pain to heal your curse was worth it. In a way, it kind of felt like walking through fire and brimstone." He said, chuckling at the end. "Now I know how it must feel to stay with me on a daily basis."

It was only a joke, but fresh tears came to Raphtalia's eyes again. "Naofumi, there's no one here to interrupt us… right?" She asked, one of her hands moving to hold his. The feeling coursing through her. This desire… she couldn't resist it anymore. She had to do it!

"Um, yeah. Why do you- mmph!" Raphtalia jumped forward, tackling Naofumi off the bed. Cutting him off with the force of a semi as she embraced and kissed him on the lips all at the same time.

There was no stopping the tears this time. She was so relieved that he didn't think less of her for what she did. She was so relieved that he was okay. That he loved her. That he wanted to share everything, including his burdens with her. That he'd walk through fire and brimstone for her, just as she would for him.

It was a heat in the moment action, and her body had screamed for her to take it. And take it she gladly did.

He embraced her back after a few seconds. One of his hands moving to rub the back of her head comfortingly as he kissed her again and again. Unlike the first time, there was no blood or sweat. Her lips were moist instead of dry. Fresh and not burned. They tasted sweet instead of salty from her tears. And her skin and hair. They were soft, healthy, alive! It was a mess of sloppy kisses because of their inexperience, but it was so much better than what they'd shared in the square...

The two of them separated after a moment to breathe. Feeling so high that they could see the clouds they were floating on. "I meant what I said before," Naofumi said between breaths. "I love you. And I'm not going to let you go." He said honestly.

This time around, the confession felt so much easier. Even though Raphtalia wasn't lying asleep in a bed. Even though the world wasn't ending… even though part of him wanted to hold back because of Bitch, he knew it. He knew it deep down. Somehow, he would never be the same if this wonderful girl wasn't at his side.

He'd won the lottery obtaining Raphtalia and falling in love with her. And he didn't want to let her go. Ever.

Raphtalia laid on top of Naofumi, allowing herself to relax in his embrace. She could hear the sincerity in his words. The fast beating of his heart in his chest. And after finally hearing him say them… she just felt so happy. So… complete...

"I love you too, Naofum-"

"Um, eh-hem." She was moving to kiss him again when somebody cleared their throat.

Raphtalia and Naofumi jumped with a start and quickly separated, looking in shock at the doorway. Ren stood there, looking uncomfortably away from the two of them. Naofumi and Raphtalia started to blush heavily as they realized the Sword Hero of all people had just walked in on their little moment. Raphtalia quickly adjusted her nightgown to make sure it was still properly on.

"What is it, Ren?" Naofumi asked as he adjusted his shirt. Hoping his cheeks weren't too red from embarrassment like Raphtalia's.

"Um… Van told me we should gather in the dining room to discuss some things… he wanted me to pass the message on to you…" Ren glanced at them and then turned his head away again. Was he… thinking they'd been doing something else on the ground? "If you need more time though… I could just… um…"

_'Wait… does he think…!' _Naofumi almost wanted to laugh as he realized it. _'Holy hell! Ren probably thought we were about to have sex!'_ He thought happily, cackling like an immature mad man in his mind. _'Oh man! This is comedy gold! We couldn't have timed it more perfectly!'_

"Are you thinking something rude Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked with her hands on her hips. She was still blushing heavily too, which made it look even funnier!

Oh, how he loved this side of her. "Nothing at all," Naofumi responded before looking back to the sixteen-year-old hero with a grin on his face. "We'll go down in a moment." Naofumi didn't clarify on why they wouldn't go down immediately while still grinning. He even threw in a wink while he was at it.

Man, it was great to be Twenty.

"Oh, um, great… then… I'll just-" Ren turned around and bolted out of the room. Too afraid to try and say anything more. His social ineptitude spanned far more than being bad at comforting others.

He did not want to face this.

Naofumi finally started to laugh. "Oh, that poor boy." He said happily. He could hold a cool and aloof manner in the face of danger, but he couldn't handle the thought of two people being intimate. "I almost feel bad for him. Almost."

"Naofumi. That wasn't very nice of you." Raphtalia said poutingly. She still wasn't sure what was going on. All she knew was that Naofumi had just played around with Sir Ren.

Naofumi shrugged, patting her on the head. "Are you complaining that we're alone now?" He asked.

"... Eep!" Raphtalia put her hands over her cheeks to hide the rapid blush that came over them again. They were indeed alone. And they had already kissed. And he'd confessed to her. Which meant… if Rifana was right, that meant they were now dating! Which meant even more kissing! _'AH! AHHHHHHHHH!'_

Naofumi smiled and found her so adorable that he pecked her on the lips again. "Don't worry. If you want, I can go join them right now." He said. "It sounds like important things are about to happen. And I'm sure Filo and the others will want to see that you're okay now."

Raphtalia blushed even more deeply after Naofumi kissed her lips. But again, at his care, the feeling felt so good. So right… she honestly wanted to kiss him more for it. "Alright, then-" She stopped speaking as she finally remembered something very important. _'Oh no… I can't believe I forgot! Oh no oh no OH NO!'_

Kissing people made you pregnant. She'd already kissed Naofumi once back in the Capital. And now they'd gone and had… Gods know how many more in the last few minutes! If she hadn't been pregnant after the Capital, she'd definitely be pregnant now!

'_What do I do!? What do I do!? WHAT DO I DO!?'_ She thought in a panic. If she didn't tell Naofumi now, then in a few months it would really become obvious that she was pregnant! What when her stomach started to expand, and she wouldn't be able to excuse it by saying she was getting more stout for him.

"So, um, was there something else you wanted to talk to me about?" Naofumi asked. Again, unaware of what Raphtalia was thinking. She'd been saying something, but then had suddenly stopped speaking.

Raphtalia was heavily blushing now. "Well… um… uh..."

Naofumi looked at her with growing concern. He cupped one of her hot flushed cheeks with his hand. "Hey, Raphtalia?" He asked worriedly.

His concern for her melted through to her heart. _'... I have to tell him.'_ She realized with a sigh. '_I can't hide something like this.'_ There was no way she could hide something this important from him. "Naofumi… there's something I need to confess." She said, lowering her hands while she looked shyly down at the ground. Her tail wagged apprehensively behind her. Her hands moved to her stomach.

Naofumi was confused by the 180 in her emotions. "What is it Raphtalia?" He asked. His hand still cupping her cheek.

Raphtalia stared at the ground a moment more. Than she looked up at Naofumi. "I… um… I might have… ImighthavekissedyouonthelipstobringyoutoyoursensesbackintheCapitalandgottenpregnant!" Raphtalia blurted out quickly.

…

Naofumi tilted his head to the side in confusion. "What...?"

Raphtalia breathed in deeply to calm herself. "I kissed you on the lips back in the Capital, Naofumi," Raphtalia said more coherently.

…

He stopped cupping her face. He was looking at her weirdly. He could remember the kiss. It had been his first, and he hadn't exactly been in the right mood for it, but he knew why Raphtalia had done it. So why was Raphtalia treating it like it was the end of the world? Especially after what they'd just shared. "And why is that…" Naofumi trailed off as he realized it. _'No! I just realized that was probably her first kiss too! I can't believe I blew it so badly yesterday! Damn it!'_ He thought in frustration.

That wasn't how first kisses were supposed to go between people in love! It was like a trope out of an anime! '_Maybe I could suggest a do-over, but I don't know if it would be awkward or not to suggest that! I mean, we just made out- Holy hell, did I seriously just make out with Raphtalia!? How did I manage to do that-'_ He was starting to blush and freak out too. How the hell had he, an average looking otaku, made out with a hot girl like Raphtalia!? Like, had he just gone past winning the lottery to freaking ruling the universe or something!? This was awesome! This was epic! This was...

Naofumi cut his thoughts off as he looked at Raphtalia and saw her gradually looking sadder and sadder. "Hey, um, I'm sorry, but I don't really remember it all that well," Naofumi said nervously. Hoping Raphtalia wouldn't see through the lie. He could remember the first kiss very well. "But, if you want, maybe, we could, um, you know… try it again?" He said awkwardly.

_'Damn it! What's wrong with me! I was just making fun of Ren a moment ago and now I'm tripping over myself trying to ask Raphtalia if she wants to try a redo a damn kiss! DAMN IT!'_ He took back what he'd said before. Being a twenty-year-old otaku with no experience with girls sucked! It'd be even worse if they ever worked themselves up to get past first base.

...

Raphtalia looked less shy and more confused now. "But… Aren't you afraid I'll really get pregnant if we do that?" She finally asked. _'If I'm not already pregnant from the first one… or the second one… or the third one… or the fourth...'_ How many had they just had? She honestly wasn't sure.

…

…

...

…

…

Naofumi looked at Raphtalia as if she'd grown a second head. His mind, which had completely and utterly stopped, started to creak into motion again after a very long pause. "I'm sorry... What?" He finally asked, sounding very confused, and maybe even a little concerned. He'd never expected to hear those words leave Raphtalia's mouth.

Why was Raphtalia worried that she was pregnant?! Had they actually… but that was impossible! He would have remembered doing something like that!

"I mean…" Raphtalia started to play with one of her hair braids. "I asked my parents about it once, and my dad said pregnancy happened when a boy and girl kissed each other. And we kissed yesterday… and I lost track on the floor... so wouldn't it follow that I might be pregnant now if we kissed more?" She asked meekly.

…

_'Wait… is she saying…' _A light finally went on in Naofumi's mind. He'd been worrying like crazy that somehow he and Raphtalia had had sex. Or that if he were to kiss her now, it would lead to them having sex right then and there. Upon realizing her explanation for it though, he internally sighed with relief. Almost wanting to laugh at the absurdity of it.

_'Oh thank the Gods. I was worried she'd meant that we'd-...'_

…

…

…

…

…

...

...

...

His mind had frozen again. Longer than the last time. Something along the lines of, **.error. .Naofumi. not found** was flashing through his brain.

"Um, Nao-Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked in concern. "Is everything okay?" Was he taking the news really badly? Did he not want to be a father?

Raphtalia's voice got the wheel in his head turning again. _'... Wait a minute, does she actually think that she can get pregnant just by kissing someone… … …!'_

"Naofumi… um, is it okay if I'm pregnant?" Raphtalia asked, sensing his mind going into a panic.

His eyes had widened in realization. A cold sweat broke out on his skin. A cold, dreadful feeling ran down his spine. It'd been so long since he last thought about this happening. Raphtalia had been acting mature and grown-up for so long that it was hard to picture the little girl she'd been over two months ago.

Now, he wanted to run. He wanted to hide. He wanted to face anything and anyone but this. Hell, he'd rather face Bitch and the knights of Melromarc all over again! Even that would be better than this!

"Naofumi?"

No, he was cornered in this room. His worst dream had been realized. There was no get out of jail free card. There was no demi-human that could help him out. He was all on his own. Because of the one thing he'd forgotten to do. With the one problem he had never wanted to face. Especially after having kissed her plenty of times, the last one of his own volition. His feelings for her had also sealed the deal.

"Naofumi… are you okay?" Raphtalia asked worriedly. Naofumi had paled considerably over the last few seconds. She didn't know why. _'What's wrong? Is he… is he going to leave me because I'm pregnant?!'_ Raphtalia thought frantically. Her ability to read his mind stopped working as she grew more and more panicked. Would Naofumi really leave her because of this?

_'WHY!? WHY DOES THIS WORLD HATE ME SO MUCH!?'_

There had to be some group of divine beings out there right now laughing their ***es off. He had forgotten all about the Talk. And now, not only did Naofumi, the otaku, have to give someone 'The Talk.' That someone happened to be his new 'girlfriend' of all people.

It was the worst sick joke in the history of sick jokes that a group of divine narrators could play on him.

_'DAMN IT! DAMN IT ALL!' _He took back what he'd thought before. This wasn't like ruling the universe. This was like winning the lottery and then finding out how much was being taken away because of tax reasons!

He'd rather face both Bitch and Motoyasu along with everyone else in this world that hated him instead of this!

"Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked again. On the verge of crying and having a full-blown panic attack.

"... … Well, um, Raphtalia…" Naofumi finally got to talking. Placing a hand on her shoulder that helped delay her mental breakdown. He sounded very much like a man in a desert trying desperately to find something to end his suffering. "What I'm about to tell you is very awkward… but you don't get pregnant by kissing someone." He explained.

…

…

...

Raphtalia looked at Naofumi for a long moment. Trying to understand what he'd just said. "You mean… so I'm not pregnant?"

"Yes. I mean, that isn't how it works. At all." Naofumi clarified. He'd somehow managed to stay completely calm as he spoke.

…

A small part of Raphtalia honestly felt disappointed at hearing that. It was like a part of her had actually wanted to become a mother. Still, it was small compared to the overwhelming relief that flooded her. She wasn't pregnant. She wasn't going to have to not fight for nine months, or possibly longer.

If that was also the case, then that meant she could have been all over his lips before with no consequences! As much as it made her blush to think about it, she wanted to kiss him right then and there again out of sheer relief that it would bring nothing but happy feelings out of each other.

_'Please don't press further. Please give me an out from this situation. Please, if there really are Gods in this world, then I ask, no, I'm begging you to please not have her-'_ Naofumi was thinking. Seeing the happy look on Raphtalia's face.

"But if kissing doesn't get me pregnant, then… Then how does it work?"

"... How does what work?" Naofumi asked, hoping that by playing dumb she would think he had no idea.

"How do I avoid getting pregnant?" Raphtalia asked. Putting her hands on her hips. Her face became stern. Clearly, she wanted an explanation.

...

…

Naofumi looked up at the ceiling. As if he was asking the heavens, _'Why me?'_ The Gods of this world were likely rolling around on their heavenly floors, laughing their butts off at Naofumi's predicament.

So much for pleading for mercy.

He was desperate enough that he would have even preferred it if Filo, or Eclair, or Melty came in to interrupt them. Hell, he would have preferred it if Itsuki came to bail them out. Yet for some damn reason, everyone was finally leaving them the hell alone! He didn't want to be left alone! He wanted someone to bail him out of this so he wouldn't have to face the fact that he had to give his girlfriend the talk!

"Well… Raphtalia… you see…"

Raphtalia was still sternly looking at Naofumi. Wanting to know desperately what it was they needed to avoid doing so she wouldn't be burdened with a child during the waves.

"Naofumi, are you in here?"

Naofumi looked to the doorway. The Gods of this world had finally granted him mercy! Itsuki had just walked through the door! Looking for him!

"Askooneoftheadultdemi-humanservantshereaboutit!There'splentyofthemaround!" Naofumi quickly said as he bolted for the door, grabbing Itsuki's arm like a wild daredevil. "ComeonRentoldmetherewassomemeetingweweneedtobeat!"

"Wait, Naofumi, slow down!" Itsuki yelled as Naofumi left a dust trail in their wake fleeing the room. He'd just wanted to thank him for healing Rishia. "NaofumiIIIIIIiiiiiii…" Itsuki's voice faded away as they got farther away from the room.

Naofumi had been given his get out of jail free card. And he was not risking it for anything. _'DAMN YOU WORLD! YOU'RE NOT GETTING THIS OTAKU WITH THAT TRICK NOW!'_

…

Raphtalia slowly poked her head out of the room. Looking confusedly down the hallway where Naofumi and Itsuki had disappeared. '_What was up with Naofumi?...'_

She hadn't really gotten what he'd said there… she hadn't learned how to avoid getting pregnant either, but then she started to grin. '_So kissing Naofumi won't make me pregnant! That's great!'_ Oh, she couldn't wait for the meeting to get over so she could kiss him all over again! Hell, she was thinking about all sorts of scenarios now where she could just ambush him out of nowhere and kiss those delicious lips of his.

...

At the thought of ambushing Naofumi out of nowhere with a kiss though, Raphtalia started to fiercely blush. Her tail wagged so fiercely behind her. It was like she was about to lift off the ground from the force of her tail wagging. '_Oh nooooOOOOOOOOOO!'_

Even if she wouldn't get pregnant. The thought of kissing Naofumi repeatedly still made her feel really embarrassed.

She fled the room to find someone to talk with.

Maybe they could help with giving her some relationship advice so she wouldn't get so embarrassed at wanting to kiss Naofumi all the time.

* * *

_In another part of the manor_

Ren leaned on the balcony railing, looking out over Van Reichnott's land. His Legendary Sword was in its sheath form on his back. The wind blew through his hair while he observed the day outside… and yes, the remnants of a blush were disappearing from his cheeks. '_Did I have to walk in on that?!'_ He thought, shuddering to himself.

He was glad Naofumi and Raphtalia were feeling a lot better. But … he shook his head, trying to erase the image of what he saw from his mind. '_No, I'm not going to think about it. I'll just be happy that they're feeling better. Like Itsuki...'_

…

He managed to get his mind off of it. But then his mind brought up a memory from yesterday.

_"You imposter! You were never the Sword Hero! Neither you nor-"_

Ren grit his teeth and clenched the balcony railing. He'd tried being the strong one yesterday. The pillar of reason and support. But he'd also been struggling with his own issues. They just hadn't seemed as major as what Itsuki and Naofumi were going through.

Now that they were okay though, and since he was all by himself, he couldn't avoid it any longer. _'Are the NPC's in this country that far gone to believe such idiocy?!'_ He thought angrily to himself.

He'd defeated bandit hordes along roadways to make traveling from place to place safer. He'd helped Leruno out after Motoyasu's idiocy had nearly destroyed the village. He'd been defeating strong monsters everywhere he went so normal adventurers could have a safer time leveling up.

But no. The Pope had him labeled as a false hero. And because of his word alone, everyone in Melromarc believed it.

It was stupid! He was wielding the freaking Legendary Sword for crying out loud! He had powers no normal NPC like that knight had ever experienced! How could he and the others be programmed to believe such idiocy!? How could the developers-

He gasped in realization, and his grip on the railing loosened. He was still scowling at himself as he hung his head. _'Even now? Even after everything I've experienced?... Why do I still default to thinking about everything from a gamer's perspective?'_

Was it his own form of mental self-defense like Itsuki? Did a part of him still not want to think that this couldn't be a game? '_... Or is it because that Knight is right… and I want to blame what's happening on poor programming?'_ He thought depressedly.

He'd already had the experience with the slavers in the guild using him. The Church trying to get him to go along with their agenda. Nobles wanting him to do jobs for them through the guild that were questionable at best, highly illegal at worst. And then there was the Pope, who'd tried to have him eliminated when he showed he wouldn't go along with any of it.

But on the other hand. It wasn't like he'd been a good hero either. He'd focused most of his attention before the First Wave on leveling up out in the wild. He hadn't been helping anyone or doing many quests. He'd been solely focused on increasing his own strength rather than increasing the strength of his party and helping people out. And then after the First Wave, he'd made plenty of mistakes...

He looked back up at Van's domain. In the distance, he could see his party members at the edge of the forest. Doing their early morning training by dealing with some monsters that 'spawned' in the area.

Sure, that was game-like. Monsters just randomly appearing out of nowhere. He'd seen that plenty of times in his games. Including Brave Star Online. The potions or medicines he took activated almost immediately, that was game-like. The status magic icon in the corner of his vision was definitely game-like. There were still so many different factors pointing to this being a game...

He focused on his party members. Welt took down a large frog monster all by himself using a sword form Eclair had taught him last night. Welt pulled his sword out of the creature and cheered happily. Farrie and the others surrounded Welt, praising him on his accomplishment. He couldn't tell, but it looked like Batka was harrumphing since he'd killed five of the large frog monsters by himself and he wasn't being praised for it.

_'They're real though…'_ He looked out at the fields where the demi-humans were at work. The crops were being tended by only a necessary few. The rest were preparing the land for combat. Combat, or retreat. _'They're real too… even if this world is different from my own… even if it reminds me of Brave Star Online… it isn't Brave Star Online. This is all real…'_ Which made his mistakes all the more apparent.

He had, regardless of what happened before, been tricked by a group of slavers representing the Guild to do an illegal quest. He'd killed the dragon Gaelion. He'd possibly done Gods know how many other things on the few quests he did do before the First Wave. And the first Wave, if he'd actually taken the fight seriously and tried his hardest to kill the Wave Boss, could he have prevented some of the casualties that happened in Lute Village? Could he have chosen another route entirely that wouldn't have resulted in him killing Wyndia's adoptive Father?

…

"What are you doing up here, Sir Ren?"

Speak of the devil. Ren turned away from the fields to look behind him. Wyndia stood in the doorway of the balcony. It was like a slap to the face because of where his line of thought had been going.

She was wearing her Light Metal armor. In the sunlight, the small, flexible, interconnected plates protecting her torso glistened, reminiscent to a dragon's scales. Her katana rested in its sheath. Her arms were crossed, and she looked at him with the same calm face she'd worn ever since the day she joined his party. She was 16 in demi-human levels, and she had the body of a sixteen-year-old too. She'd explained before that her particular demi-human species didn't age any older than their late teens with levels. But it still surprised him every time he looked and didn't see the little girl he'd originally met.

In some ways, her walk, her attitude, her willingness to help out those around her, they reminded him of his best-

Ren shook his head to clear it. '_No, this is Wyndia._ _Not… her.'_ She might look like her, and sometimes act like her, but she wasn't her. He knew he'd never see that girl from his world again. Not since he'd been killed in his old world. He sometimes wondered if his best friend was happy or not. And that only made him feel worse. "What is it, Wyndia?" Ren asked calmly.

"I was only wondering why you were up here all alone when you should be getting ready for the hero's meeting," Wyndia said calmly.

"I could ask you why you're not out leveling up with the rest of the party," Ren responded calmly.

"Then you'd be avoiding my question." Wyndia calmly responded.

"... Yes, I would be." Ren admitted.

…

Wyndia joined him at the railing. She was silent for a moment, looking out at the demihumans working in the fields, her tail trailing from side to side behind her... "Thanks, by the way, for helping Itsuki and Naofumi yesterday," Ren said.

She didn't respond. Still looking out over the fields. "I know I'm not the best with others. And the fact that you went out of your way and helped them both… I really appreciate it…" She still didn't say anything. So he went back to being awkwardly silent. Not sure what he should say.

...

"I'm worried." She finally admitted.

"... About what?" Ren asked.

"It's not about what, but whom." She looked at him. "Why are you really up here all alone, Sir Ren?" She asked again.

Ren met her calm leveled gaze. For a moment in time, neither of them looked away from each other. Like an almost invisible battle of wills was going on between them... Then, at last, Ren looked away from her. "I've been thinking… that the Legendary Sword chose the wrong person." He finally admitted.

Wyndia stayed silent, watching as Ren gripped the railing tightly with one hand. "I died in my world protecting my best friend. I died. I shouldn't have died and left everyone behind. And yet I did… and I appeared here in this world, holding this sword… and I don't know why anymore." Ren hung his head. "I don't know why the Sword chose me. I'm not strong like Itsuki and Naofumi. I'm not good with people… I'm not the type that gets along with others."

He looked down at the Legendary Sword in his hand. He looked defeated as he spoke again. "The Sword chose the wrong person… I'm too flawed… I couldn't even save… my best friend back home without dying-"

**Slap!**

"Ow!" Ren held the side of his face.

"I'm sorry. Are you going to snap out of your pity party now?" Wyndia asked sarcastically. She had just slapped Ren.

Ren looked to her in surprise. She didn't look calm anymore. Literal fires burned in her eyes and laced in her words. "Whether you like it or not, the Legendary Sword chose you, Ren Amaki, to wield it. Not me, not Welt, not Bakta, not Sir Naofumi or Sir Itsuki or anyone else. It chose you." She said, poking him in the chest hard. He winced a little at that. Her Attack stat, another game-like feature, had gotten high enough where that poke hurt despite him being over twenty levels above her. A downside from his sword focusing more on offensive stats instead of defense.

She continued to calmly glare at him. "I won't forgive you for killing my adoptive Father. But you had the strength to beat him!" She said. "You suck at helping people. You're always distant and wanting to be alone. But I've been with you long enough to know that you try your best. I know that you want to do what's right. And I know that you're strong! No matter what anyone else says, you're the Sword Hero! You hold the power to stop the Waves of Catastrophe! So stop getting down on yourself! It isn't like you Ren Amaki!"

Ren stared at her in amazement for a moment. For a moment, it had been like he was back home. Doubting himself again for the choices he had made. Only for the best girl he'd known in the entire world to drag him by the hair out of his self-pity. Of course, she did it because she loved him. Wyndia... he still thought that she hated his guts.

...

Ren recomposed himself, though he was slightly smiling. "You're right," Ren said calmly. Wyndia looked surprised at the fact that Ren was smiling. He rarely ever smiled. He was normally calm and aloof, or sad and depressed. "The opinions of other strangers don't matter. If I'm being honest, it was just some random knight who made me start to doubt myself." Ren looked out over the grounds again at his party. "I know who my friends are. And I know that their opinion is what really counts." Besides, he hadn't had it as bad as Naofumi or Itsuki. If they could still smile and hope after everything he had been through... then he could do the same.

He started to walk past Wyndia to head for the doorway. He paused for just long enough though to give her a head pat. She'd gone out of her way to help Three of the Cardinal Heroes. Itsuki had informed him recently that head patting was the appropriate way to show demi-humans your appreciation. "Thank you, Wyndia. I really needed to hear that… and I also appreciate what you did last night with the blanket. I'm glad to have you as my friend." He then walked back into the manor.

…

Red adorned Wyndia's face. Her tail was wagging crazily behind her. Whether out of anger, indignation, or possibly embarrassment at the possibility that she had enjoyed that head pat way more than she should have, she didn't know. She put her hands on her head and covered her ears while trying hard not to scream. This guy had killed her adoptive Father Gaelion! She couldn't forgive him for that! She was only staying by his side to make sure he upheld his promise! That he… he…

_'Gahhhhhh!'_ Wyndia covered her red face. She was definitely embarrassed about enjoying that head pat. Very much enjoying it way more than she should have. His hand had felt so firm, so strong-

"I didn't say you could touch my head Sir Ren!" Wyndia yelled indignantly, running back in after Ren. She had enjoyed it, but that didn't mean she couldn't be mad about it. Or maybe she was mad that Ren had called her a 'friend.'

**SLAP!**

"YEOW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR-"

**SLAP!**

"IDIOT!"

* * *

_Outskirts_

A war camp was nestled at the base of a hill. Large tents were set up. Groups of knights in freshly polished armor bustled about hurriedly. They were busy taking down the camp and preparing to march. Large flags with the symbol of Melromarc flew in the breeze on poles over the busy camp.

"My lady."

Mirelia looked down from where she was being outfitted in her armor. One of her Shadows was kneeling nearby. "What's the status of the Kingdom?" The Queen asked.

"I daresay, the status of our Kingdom is grave indeed." The Shadow said calmly. "Siltvelt has broken through our south-eastern border, and is entering Melromarc by the thousands."

"I thought Siltvelt was in the Northeast," Mirellia said calmly.

"It appears one of the leaders in Shieldfreeden gave them permission to cross through their lands. I daresay, we did not realize they'd pull such a move until they'd broken through our defenses."

Mirelia frowned deeply at that. One of her arms was finished being outfitted with armor. So she moved her hand to position her fan in front of her face. "So we will have to fight them within our own country?"

"I'm afraid so, my lady."

That put a headache into her plans. But it wasn't the worst possible scenario. "We will manage somehow. What of the situation with the Cardinal Heroes?"

"The Sword and Bow Heroes came to the Capital and rescued the Shield Hero, his party, and your daughter using a portal skill. Where they went, I daresay, is a mystery."

The Queen frowned behind her fan. "It's better that they disappeared somewhere instead of being killed. If you don't know where they are, then neither will our enemies-"

"I'm afraid there is worse news from the Capital, my Lady." The Shadow interrupted, looking up at the Queen.

"What could be worse than the Cardinal Heroes going missing-" The Queen was asking.

"Pope Balamus has taken control."

…

…

The Queen was fully outfitted in her armor when she turned to face the Shadow. "What?"

"I daresay, my lady." The Shadow bowed in respect. "He used the Shield Hero's escape as an excuse to depose your husband. He even went as far as casting Judgment on part of the city to try and kill the Cardinal Heroes during their escape. The people there who aren't loyal to the Pope are too afraid of him to act. I daresay, he now holds the reins to what's going on inside of Melromarc."

...

The knights in the room paled. The Queen's face had hardened exponentially. "How did he accomplish this?" She asked. "Even with the threat Siltvelt poses, he shouldn't have been able to march in and take power."

"I daresay, there were traitors all over in the ranks. Including the Royal Commander. When the time was right, they swore their loyalty to their religious leader and deposed your husband from the throne."

…

Queen Mirelia thought it over for a good while. "… And how is my foolish Husband?" She finally asked.

"Your husband and every knight loyal to him and you are imprisoned in the dungeons. I daresay, it's likely that when the city recovers from the fight in a few days time, the Pope will put them all on trial and have them executed in public for their 'crimes.'" The Shadow said calmly. Having not moved an inch while Mirelia had processed the news.

Her Majesty's attributes were fire and water. Fire because of her fiery personality. Water because of her calm and collected behavior. A lifetime of work had helped her to control them both. And had helped her to unlock an ability that combined both affinities together. While there were times Fire would flare out when she was alone or times when she appeared calmer than an untouched lake. If she were truly and thoroughly pissed off, yet had a level head...

"Is that so?" Mirelia's voice was cold as ice behind her fan. Despite the lack of expletives, or anger, the knights paled even more at those three words. Along with the change of atmosphere that filled the room.

This, this was the Vixen of Melromarc people had grown to fear. The one who hid everything behind her eyes, a fan, and a voice lacking any and all emotion. That was when her enemies knew she was dangerous. When her very presence exuded such coldness that everyone in the room could feel it. It wouldn't be enough to just burn her enemies away in a blazing inferno or to drown them in a calm torrent of backstabbing politics.

No, her wrath would be as cold as the ice she wielded.

"Continue watching the Capital. Do not interfere unless it's absolutely necessary. I have lost enough Shadows already. That is all." She turned around, walking towards the entrance to her grand tent.

"Yes, my lady." A blink later, and the Shadow was gone.

A set of servants pulled aside the tent flaps. All activity stopped as Mirelia walked outside. Her chilly armored presence sent a chill down the spines of everyone present.

"What are your orders, your Majesty?" A Knight-Captain got on one knee as she approached. Bowing his head respectively.

"We are moving too slowly. I want us to double our speed to the Capital at once." She ordered.

"My lady, I beg your pardon, but were we not coming back to deal with the Siltvelt army-"

"You heard me, Captain Fullock." The Queen said, her tone sending shivers down all the men nearby. "The Capital has demanded my attention." She looked at the knights all around.

"Pope Balamus and his followers have revealed themselves to be traitors to the crown!" She loudly pronounced, so every knight nearby could hear. "They have taken control of our Capital, deposed the royal family, and are actively working to kill three of the Cardinal Heroes of Legend! Our war with Siltvelt can wait! Right now, Pope Balamus must be stopped before he brings about a catastrophe worse than any Wave upon our Kingdom!" She yelled authoritatively. "I know it is a lot to ask, but will you fight for me?! Will you fight for the sake of our Kingdom!?"

The Knights all around cheered for their Queen. There was no question as to where their loyalty lied. She had done more than enough for their kingdom to earn their respect. They would follow her even to the grave.

"As you wish, your Majesty. We will do as you have commanded." The Captain bowed his head lower in respect and trust. "You heard your Queen!" The Captain stood up, yelling at the other knights. "We will march in the hour towards the Capital, and we will double our current pace! Move it! Move it!"

The Knights immediately complied. Moving like a hive of bees in bringing down the rest of the tents and getting all the supplies on the wagons.

Mirelia looked around, frowning at it all. They were motivated, and more than willing to go at an exhausting pace to reach the Capital. But even at double the pace, it was going to take them several days to get from where they were to the Capital. And then they'd have a formidable enemy to face once they arrived. '_To think… I'd thought Siltvelt would stay out of my kingdom's business and prevent this from happening.'_

This had been the worst scenario she could think of happening. She'd thought she made it clear at the conference of Nations in Faubley. She'd thought she had been explicit that no one was to interfere. That she was dealing with a dark faction in her kingdom and that any outside interference could drive them underground. What she hadn't revealed was how it could also drive them to power if the situation was played right.

If any other nation had attacked, the Pope's coup wouldn't have stood a chance. But because it was Siltvelt that was attacking, it gave him and his followers the perfect chance. It gave them a rallying cry to keep the people in line. Ignorant and obedient in the face of the current threat while they followed their own dark objective in obtaining power.

Now, it looked like she didn't have a choice. Pope Balamus had made his finishing move much earlier than she had predicted. Siltvelt's actions had given her an excuse to leave the conference and return to her kingdom. But now she didn't only have to deal with a large army of demi-humans eight days before the next Wave of Catastrophe, but she also had to deal with a man hungry for power. A man trying to murder all the Cardinal Heroes while trying to appear like a saint. Clean and pure.

'_Balamus, I don't know what I'll do when I get home.'_ She thought darkly. '_But when I get my hands on you. When I am through with you and Siltvelt's politics... I will make sure your death is worse than ice.'_

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Ahhhh, the satisfaction of this chapter is hard to put into words. I'm just glad that Naofumi and Raphtalia are finally together. And that Raphtalia is, hopefully, going to get the talk. It makes me excited to see how their relationship will progress going forward. XD**

**Also, I think I've gotten this type of review several times. I'm not going to just outright make a character more powerful without a good excuse. Look at Gaming Spear and other stories on here to figure out why I don't go that route. I'll make a few headcanons here and there, but I'm still operating within the hardcoded boundaries of the Shield Verse lore. And I'm doing much better than before since I understand better what the rules are.**

**I guess there's something else to explain here (something I'm including to help people whenever they create a human OC in Shield Hero). Magic affinities for humans (excluding demi-humans since they fall under a different set of rules for magic affinities) are predetermined by two things. Personality, and Behavior. As an example, someone who's normally calm and collected has Water as an affinity. Someone who's stubborn and hard to budge on a subject has Earth. Someone that's free-spirited/does whatever they please has Wind. Someone that's passionate and/or always angry will have Fire. Someone willing to help others has Support. While those who care about others can have Healing. These can be behavior-wise, or personality. It's not all there is to it as characters like Rishia show. But it's a big part of what determines a person's magic affinities. So please, if you're making an OC, consider their behavior and personality before applying magic affinities.**

**I also hope you note the two magic affinities Naofumi has and realize he doesn't have them because of his Shield.**

**Alright then. On to the omake!**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**Teaching The Talk**

* * *

"Alright, listen up kids, I'm only going to go through this once," Naofumi said blandly. He stood in front of a chalkboard in a part of Van's Estate. This was not a subject he wanted to go through several times.

In front of him seated in chairs were Raphtalia, Filo, Melty, Eclair, Wyndia, Ren, Itsuki, and Rishia.

"Why do I have to be here?" Ren asked, looking embarrassedly down at his chair.

"Because you need to understand people better Sir Ren," Wyndia said, not turning to face him.

"But this isn't what I meant when I said I was bad with people-"

"Hush!" Wyndia still didn't turn to look. She was red in the cheeks as it was herself.

"But, Naofumi, I think me and Rishia already had the Talk ourselves-"

"FUEH!" Rishia screeched in fear.

"Not that we'd be doing… that anytime soon." Itsuki added. Rishia had a long way to go.

"Mommy? What is The Talk?" Filo asked Raphtalia.

"I don't know. Daddy's about to teach us." She told her happily.

"It worries me that Naofumi's going to be the one trying to teach it," Melty commented.

"Shouldn't we be out preparing for battle or something-" Eclair tried to say.

"Hush! I really need to hear this!" Raphtalia cut the knight off.

"Why are you even in a relationship with Naofumi when you don't know what sex is?" Ren asked.

"Sir Ren!"

**Slap!**

"Ow! Come on!" Ren complained to Wyndia. Sure it was insensitive to ask, but somebody needed to ask it!

"Fuehhh! P-Please don't have me listen to this again Sir Itsuki! It's embarrassing!" Rishia covered her head.

"May I please be excused for sword training, Sir Naofumi?" Eclair asked, raising her hand.

Naofumi sighed, hiding his face behind his Shield. "_Why do the Gods of this world hate me so?" _He whispered quietly to himself. All while the room gradually spun into more chaos.

"Well, um, it's not my fault Naofumi forgot about giving me the Talk?!" Raphtalia said embarrassedly.

Seriously, had she known kissing wouldn't get her pregnant, she would have been all over Naofumi's lips a hell of a lot sooner.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	40. 40: Meeting of the Three Holy Heroes

**FANFIC CONTEST: Alright. RLT posted the details about the fanfic contest in his latest chapter. It starts on April 30th, and the stories aren't posted under the actual Author's Account. They will all be posted under one account hosted by the Shield Hero Discord Server. The fics that receive the most favorites will win the contest. I hope that you'll all read each one, and favorite the one you think deserves to win.**

* * *

**Thanks for all the support once more. Hope of the Shield Hero is now the most followed story in the Shield Hero Fandom (excluding crossovers). Guess the only thing left to conquer is the Favorites section. And then, it'll be onward to further glory!**

**I don't have much else to say. Let's keep the ball rolling and advance the story into this latest plot hook.**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _32 more Favorites, 34 more Followers (Total: 1289 Favorites, 1494 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:**_ April 27th, 2020 2:13 A.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Chapter Forty:** _First Meeting of the Three Holy Heroes_

* * *

_The Dining Room_

"The Meeting of the Three Holy Heroes will now begin," Van said happily.

The three Cardinal Heroes of legend sat at a long rectangular table. Ren and Itsuki sat on one side, with a chair between them. Naofumi sat on the other side by himself. None of them had their party members in the room. It was the first time since their first night in this new world that they had sat down together to discuss things.

Ren had several large red slap marks on one side of his face. Itsuki looked uncomfortable where he sat. And Naofumi was trying not to think about what had happened earlier. '_To think I almost had to give Raphtalia, "The Talk."'_ He shuddered just thinking about how that mess would have gone down.

He wasn't exactly an expert on girls. Yeah, he knew what sex was. He was a twenty-year-old otaku who had introduced his younger brother to a dating simulator game back home… but as an otaku, it was very embarrassing to think about giving someone "The Talk". Especially when the person he almost had to give it to was his new girlfriend.

'_Come to think of it, have I lost all rights to accuse anyone else of being a lolicon?'_ He thought about the interesting question to himself for a moment and then shook his head. '_Nah. Raphtalia isn't a loli. It's ridiculous to think that now.'_

That was how her race worked. She was ten years old in human years. But demi-human years/levels made her 18 to 19. Physically and mentally. She was nowhere near loli territory…

_'... maybe it was a little rude of me to just bolt out like that… I'll make it up to her later. I don't want her to feel bad about it. But I'm double-checking with her next time to make sure she talked to a demi-human about… stuff.'_

Whatever he felt about it, he did not want to get trapped in that situation again…

…

_'Is it weird to be thinking about this at the start of an important meeting? Probably.'_

Naofumi tuned out his thoughts and finally noticed he and the other Heroes had been silent for over a minute. Van was looking over the table expectantly. The two teenagers were just sitting in their spots awkwardly. Glancing at Naofumi, and then looking off to the side again.

The silence was likely because of him. He'd done plenty of things beforehand to make this awkward. Making Ren assume he and Raphtalia were about to have sex and then later dragging Itsuki out of the room at the speed of sound without explaining why. Naofumi sighed, realizing it'd fall upon him to get the ball rolling. But what should they even start with?...

"... How about we get each other up to speed about what's been happening to us," Naofumi finally suggested. _'That seems like the safe path to go on.'_

Ren and Itsuki looked at each other and nodded. "Okay... you go ahead and start Naofumi," Itsuki suggested.

Naofumi sat back in his chair. He proceeded to give a short summary of his travels. How he got a trading certificate from the Lord of Lute Village. The places he'd traveled to as a Night Merchant helping people out. How he'd learned to craft accessories and potions. Got ambushed by Church Shadows a time or two. General things like that. There wasn't much of note that'd happened during that last month. And some of what did happen… he'd rather keep personal than share with anyone else. Including his experience down in the dungeon with Raphtalia and their adopted daughter.

Itsuki asked a couple of questions. Like why Naofumi crafted by hand instead of using his weapon. This led to Naofumi learning you could use your weapons to craft items for you. A discovery that honestly surprised him. '_I'll have to try that trick another time.'_ But there weren't any other particular questions Itsuki asked that stuck out to Naofumi. Ren sat in silence all the while, listening attentively while sometimes rubbing at the side of his face where the slap marks gradually disappeared.

After a few minutes, he got to the point when he'd been captured. "I was traveling to Dragon Village to meet a blacksmith friend of mine to see if I could find a way out of the country. On the way, I took a side trip to a village to heal someone. While I was gone, Motoyasu recognized and ambushed Raphtalia with a group of Knights and Shadows, injuring her. Filo and I got back in time and tried to protect her, but Motoyasu blew me off a cliff with a Skill while Filo was taking Raphtalia away. I was captured shortly after that and taken to the Capital." Naofumi explained simply.

"... Do you know how Motoyasu found out where you were?" Ren finally asked. "When I'd checked before Leruno. He was living in self-inflicted exile in the mountains."

"I don't know. I made sure to wear my **Mask Shield** at all times… well, actually, there were times I stopped wearing it when we stopped for breaks." Naofumi thought about it more. "I don't remember any travelers seeing me without it on though. So I honestly don't know."

Ren and Itsuki thought it over. It seemed the awkwardness from earlier had finally passed. "I guess we'll have to force it out of Motoyasu next time we see him," Ren said seriously.

"Alright. I told you what happened to me. How about you two? What have you both been doing? And how did you both know I'd need your help in the Capital?" Naofumi said.

"Alright. Do you want to start Itsuki, or should I?" Ren asked.

Itsuki looked somberly down at the ground. "I guess I can start."

"What? Did something happen?" Naofumi asked, noticing Itsuki's mood change. And then he remembered what Ren's party member had told him the day before. '_Oh... '_ He wanted to mentally facepalm for his insensitive comment. _'Way to go Naofumi.'_

...

When Itsuki didn't speak, Ren sighed and spoke on his behalf. "To summarize what Itsuki's already told me. His acts of vigilantism got him labeled as a fugitive and a false hero by the Church. And they tried to kill him and his party."

"... Yeah, I figured it might be that." Naofumi said. Itsuki had literally been killing nobility in the name of Justice for demi-humans. It would have been shocking if the Church hadn't attempted to kill him sooner or later.

Both of them looked at Itsuki. The blonde boy sighed but proceeded to explain what had happened. Including how a noble had been excessively cruel to his slaves just to draw Itsuki out. The Church set a trap for him and his party, and they walked right into it. He managed to kill the bastard noble thanks to the help of that one demi-girl Naofumi had helped. Maya. Naofumi was glad to hear that Maya was doing well, and hoped Raphtalia met up with her while they were here. But after that, they hadn't realized it was a trap until it was too late.

Itsuki briefly explained what happened in the tavern leading up to the fight. "They said it was because I've been murdering nobles left and right. But the real reason is that I chose to protect and help demihumans escape their masters instead of helping out humanity." Itsuki explained.

"So to cover their ***es, they tried to have you and your party killed off... no wonder the Church hates you." Naofumi said.

"That's only part of it…" Itsuki said somberly. "They also know about this place because I tried to use **Transport Bow** while they had the skill locked. It didn't let me portal. But because I tried to use it, they somehow saw where I was trying to transport my party and figured that's where I'd been transporting the demi-humans I rescued."

Naofumi frowned. '_And that's why Ren's party member told me they were expecting an attack here.'_ "... Okay. Continue." He said.

"I ended up killing all of them in the tavern, but one of my party members died. The Shadows outside the tavern got away. I didn't try to pursue since... I'd accidentally hurt one of my own party members really badly…" Itsuki looked sad for a moment, but then looked up determinedly. "After that, I tried to get in contact with Ren secretly through the Guild in Van's town to distract myself from what happened. But he was MIA. But because of the Guild, I learned about Motoyasu capturing you. And soon after when I was preparing to leave, Ren and his party stumbled onto Van's Estate. Tired, injured, but alive."

"Which leads to what happened to me… but before that." Ren suddenly set his sword on the table. "I owe you an apology Naofumi. I didn't believe what you told me before back in the Capital. But you were right... This isn't a game." He looked Naofumi in the eyes as he said it.

Naofumi looked surprised at hearing that from the loner boy. And was even more surprised when Itsuki nodded his head in agreement. "I was stupid. We both were… a lot of what happened could have been prevented if we'd taken our roles more seriously... can you accept our apologies, Naofumi?" Ren asked.

…

Naofumi sighed. "I didn't come here looking for apologies." He said dryly. Much to their chagrin. "Besides, apologizing will get us nowhere. I've made mistakes too. It's better to just leave them behind and figure out a solution to our problems now." Naofumi then said. "If we want to get past all this, we're going to have to work together instead of separately."

Ren sighed in relief. "I agree... Which is why I'm doing this." After saying that, Ren activated the blue gem on his Legendary Sword, and then a slew of different monster materials came bursting out. Much to Itsuki and Naofumi's surprise.

Van had been silent, observing the Heroes up till this point. At Ren's action though, he started to smile. "I see why you asked to have the table cleared beforehand, Sir Ren," Van commented from the head of the table where he sat. "You have a lot of interesting things to display here."

Naofumi looked down in shock. The table was absolutely covered in all sorts of different monster materials. Ent monster materials. Frog monster materials. Chimera Monster materials. Even DRAGON monster materials! And those were only the ones he recognized! '_How the hell did he do that?!'_ He thought in shock. He had no doubt Ren had been killing and killing since becoming the Sword Hero. What he was wondering was how he'd ejected all these different monster parts out of his Sword!

His Shield was like an endless recycle bin for these stupid things! He'd never seen them again after disposing of them with his Shield (or with Filo's gullet).

"Ren, what is this?" Itsuki asked in shock.

"You two have been busy. So I've been doing a fair amount of monster-hunting around Melromarc." Ren said calmly. But he did look pleased with their reactions.

"Why though?" Naofumi asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ren asked. "This is to help you two unlock more bows and Shields."

Naofumi stared down in more shock at the different monster materials. Ren was actually doing something this direct to help both him and Itsuki out?

"Don't a lot of these parts belong to the same monster though?" Itsuki asked, pointing out the dragon materials specifically as they were the most numerous. Bones, scales, fangs/claws, etc.

"My party and I were cutting a dragon up to bury it. And I stored most of what I could in my sword out of respect for the dragon and so I could put the parts to good use." Ren said, folding his arms. "My plan was to use a lot of it to make armor and weapons. However, I discovered that you could unlock multiple swords by absorbing the different dragon parts. I tried it on a lot of the larger monsters I faced after that. And got the same results." He said. "A lot of the swords are useless so I haven't touched them, but a few of them provide some good skills or abilities. Since you two have been busy with other things, I figured this could be a step in the right direction in helping us to work together."

"You mean, you didn't know about the monster parts-" Naofumi had been relying on absorbing multiple parts of monsters to unlock more shields ever since he'd bought Raphtalia. However, he realized what Ren was doing. And inwardly, his respect for the guy increased tenfold, so he decided not to finish his sentence since it would have been very rude. "Alright. That'll work with me." Without saying anything else, Naofumi went along the table. Absorbing unfamiliar parts of different monsters. Soon after, Itsuki started doing the same thing.

Naofumi unlocked a crap ton of different shields. His **Chimera Series** got completed. He got a few unfamiliar shields among the **Ent and Frog Families**. There were a few unfamiliar monster shields he didn't know. For the most part, the equip bonuses from each shield were either Defense stat boosts, Stamina boosts, Agility boosts, SP boosts, MP regeneration boosts (the jewel accessory craftsman in him swooned at that), random resistance boosts and, surprisingly, boosts that improved his senses. Including how well he could see in the dark. '_Heh. I wonder if I can unlock a shield that'd improve something stupid like swimming.'_ He thought sarcastically to himself. It seemed stupid to even think such a Shield could exist.

Sadly, there weren't any new skills that he learned from the horde of monster materials. And only one shield increased his attack stat... by one. The **Dragon Fang Shield**. '_This is the biggest rip-off of my freaking life!'_ Naofumi thought as the one shield stared at his face tauntingly in the Shield Menu. There wasn't even one new skill for him to use?!

He equipped the **Dragon Fang Shield** and harrumphed as he sat down in his seat. It looked like he was wearing an over-glorified black shield with a symbol of a dragon's fang etched onto it. He'd spite his shield by unlocking the Shield that increased his attack stat first. Then he'd see how his jealous Yandere Shield liked it when he punched a balloon again with his increased attack stat! _'Take that you stupid Shield!'_ It was still a 1 stat increase to attack!

...

"Thanks, Ren." Itsuki was looking in disbelief at his HUD. Seeing the list of row upon row of new Bows he'd unlocked. A few on the list were very rare. Which meant, to Itsuki, they would be very powerful. A couple also had new skills, all of which Itsuki remembered from his game.

"Yeah, thank you Ren," Naofumi said in disbelief. On a more serious note. None of the unlocked Shields were stronger than his **Chimera Viper Shield**. Which was the safest shield he could have equipped outside the Cursed and Blessed Series. But completing the Chimera series had given his **Chimera Viper Shield** a small boost in its overall stats. His defense stat had just taken a drop. But the small boost to his **Chimera Viper Shield** would help close that temporary gap. And if he actually spent time equipping some of these other shields that gave him defense boosts once unlocked, then he'd have a somewhat higher defense than before once his debuff ended.

"It's no problem. I realized that if we're going to beat the Waves of Catastrophe, we're going to have to help each other out like this. So, once I realized this wasn't a game anymore, I started preparing all of this for when we were going to meet at the Wave of Catastrophe." He said. "That was, up until the Pope tried to kill me off."

There was one dragon part specifically that Ren hadn't taken out. But it was something he refused to share or use. Wyndia had extracted it with care from Gaelion's carcass. Even more so than what she'd shown with the fangs. He'd give it back to her one day. Full, and intact.

Seeing Itsuki and Naofumi done, Ren used his sword to absorb the remaining monster materials again off the table.

"Alright, so what's happened to you that made you realize I was right?" Naofumi asked. He didn't want to just know now about how Ren knew he was in the Capital. Or why the Pope had tried to kill him. He wanted to know what had caused the loner boy to wake up to reality.

"It was that job request," Ren answered. "The quest to kill an evil warmongering dragon I knew from my game turned out differently… I learned the dragon wasn't evil, nor was he planning on doing any harm to the village. But I didn't learn the truth until after I'd fatally wounded it, and the demi-human it was protecting ran out to cry over her adoptive father dying."

That was a big **OOF!** there. Naofumi stayed silent, watching as Ren relived the memory in his mind.

"That demi-human the dragon was protecting ran away from her master years ago with her parents. But slavers ended up killing her mother first, and her real Father sacrificed himself so she would be safe... It…" Ren gulped. Remembering the moment where he'd screwed up terribly as vividly as the day it happened. "Let's just say after I learned all that, and after the dragon was dead, a group of slavers arrived to take her… ..." Ren paused, reflecting for a few more seconds. "But, I realized that it wasn't a game I was playing anymore... and I didn't appreciate being used." He said, his voice hard. "I beat the living hell out all of them for tricking me and sent them packing. Before I took Wyndia into my party to become her new protector."

He was leaving out parts because of how personal it was. But Naofumi could tell Ren was serious when he said it wasn't a game to him anymore. "That's... messed up." That was all Naofumi could think to say. Ren hadn't learned about someone planning on accusing him of rape. But a group of evil people had tried to use him as a means to fulfill their sinister ends.

"If you think that's messed up, I also learned that Wyndia's former master was Pope Balamus." He added.

"... so, the leader of the Three Heroes Church that hates demi-humans also owns them as slaves?" Naofumi asked sarcastically. "I didn't see that coming."

"It's not just the nobility of this country that's rotten," Itsuki muttered. "Their religion is corrupt to the core too."

At least Naofumi knew the name of Ren's demi-human party member now. He'd been close to just coming up with his own nickname for her. Maybe something like "Valley Girl". She seemed like a Valley Girl to him. Would she get mad at him if he called her that? Probably. But if people didn't give him their name, it was a natural part of Naofumi to supply them with a nickname to remember them by. Something simple and easy to remember.

"Back to my story. After I took Wyndia in, I portaled my party back to the Capital for their class ups-" Ren was saying.

"Alright, hold up, before you continue, how can you both teleport?!" Naofumi yelled. He'd already seen it happen back in the Capital. But now that it was on the table, he had to ask.

"Well. Can't you portal around Naofumi?" Itsuki asked as if it was a normal everyday thing for people to know.

_'... I wish! That would make being on the run a hell of a lot easier!'_ Naofumi thought angrily. So it wasn't just Itsuki that could teleport. Ren could do it too! Which likely meant it was a skill Motoyasu also had! Which could explain how Motoyasu got to him so quickly from across the country!

Was it supposed to be something specific to the Cardinal Heroes?! If so, how come he was the only one that didn't know about it?!

"He hasn't absorbed any sand from the Dragon Hourglass. And I doubt he's level 50 since his party can't class up. So he wouldn't be able to portal anyways." Ren answered.

"... Yeah, I guess you're right." Itsuki said with a shrug. "Do you have any extra sand?"

"Unfortunately, I do not," Ren said.

"That's too bad."

"Stop talking as if I don't know what's going on!" Naofumi said angrily.

"I'll explain more later Naofumi. It's knowledge that's useless for now because of your level anyway." Ren went back to explaining his story, and Naofumi could only sit and fume while listening. "I went to the Dragon Hourglass for my party's class ups. I had a chat with Pope Balamus while I was there. I think he suspected what I'd done to those slavers, but he didn't bring it up."

Ren continued from there. Giving a summary of his experiences after that. From taking down bandit leaders on the way to Leruno. Taking down the Bio-Plant with his party multiple times because of failing to get all the seeds. Naofumi noted he had actually absorbed a few of those seeds to unlock something called the **Bio-Plant Shield**. It had a weird ability with it that allowed him to modify the Bio-Plant Seeds. He'd placed a few of them into his inventory. He'd tinker with them in his free time… if he remembered about them with everything else he had to do that is.

Finally, Ren got to the part of being down in the Church Archives. "We found a couple of books down there that we managed to extract. But Wyndia found one that revealed a hidden history with the waves." He gave a brief explanation of what he remembered from it.

"So... You're saying, demi-humans really didn't come from humans breeding with monsters?" Naofumi asked.

"No, from the sounds of it. They came because of the waves... along with the first Bow and Shield Hero…" Ren answered.

"Came from the waves…" Itsuki looked baffled.

Ren shrugged helplessly. "I don't understand that part either. It's what I can remember."

Naofumi thought hard about it. It'd be great news to tell Raphtalia. But... '_If people are loyal to the Three Heroes Church now despite the Church encouraging the nobles to treat their slaves inhumanely and kill them… how many would leave if they learned the Church had been lying to them for decades, no, centuries about the nature of their enemy...'_ He thought logically to himself.

It seemed like the persecution for demi-humans was centered around the Church. But if it turned out the same Church had been lying to the people for centuries about what had really happened… he filed that into his brain. It was possible it'd be far more important later on.

"Unfortunately, we didn't get to learn more because of the Pope." Ren chuckled dryly. "That damn bastard ambushed us, destroyed the book with a fire spell, and tried to have us killed. I tried to use my strongest skill against him, but he was wielding a weird weapon that used one of my own Sword Skills to reflect it... I honestly thought we were going to die down there."

"Hmmm." Van finally leaned forward in his chair. "Pardon me, Heroes. I will be back in just a moment." Van stood up from his chair and walked out of the room. "There is something I have to check."

"During the fight." Ren continued. "Wyndia used her Dragon Vein Magic to blow a hole in the wall to the sewers. We escaped, and during the confusion, one of my party members decided to take one of the knocked out Church Knights and kidnapped him."

…

...

...

"YOU WHAT?!" Itsuki and Naofumi both yelled.

"You didn't tell me that yesterday!" Itsuki yelled.

"Why would you kidnap someone?!" Naofumi asked.

"Well, it was one of my party members that kidnapped the guy. Not me. I didn't even realize it until we'd stopped to take a break."

...

Naofumi and Itsuki were still looking at him weirdly. "I already said I wasn't the one to kidnap him!" Ren said in his defense. "And I swear all we did was ask some questions, threatened him a few times, hit him over the head once when he refused to talk, and we learned some useful information. Including the plans to capture Naofumi and to assassinate him while he was awaiting trial!"

"... I can never look at you the same again." Itsuki said.

"Me neither." Naofumi agreed. "That's just messed up."

Ren sighed. Refusing to try and argue it any further. "After that, we left the Knight behind, followed the sewer system out of the Capital, and we fled all night and the next day to get here. That should cover everything between me and Itsuki." Ren said.

Now Naofumi was caught up with them. And they were caught up with him. He'd learned he could craft items with his Shield. He and Itsuki had unlocked dozens of new shields and bows thanks to Ren. He knew how they'd known to come to the Capital to help him. And now he wasn't the source of awkwardness in the room any longer. What with Ren admitting to kidnapping and beating the person he'd kidnapped.

This meeting was off to a very good start. Unfortunately, Van had left them alone for the time being. So they couldn't move on to the main topic of discussion yet...

"So… What are we talking about next?" Naofumi asked.

"I want to ask about your Cursed Series," Itsuki said.

Naofumi looked at Itsuki. Ren was about to ask Itsuki if that was a good idea, but Naofumi nodded and began to talk.

He explained how he'd first unlocked it way back after his first duel with Motoyasu. But the morning after, he couldn't find it in his Shield menu. He still wasn't sure what had set it off. But it hadn't made an appearance again until his duel with Myne. When she had defeated him and had whispered in his ears what she was going to do to his party.

When he was done with his explanation, Ren and Itsuki looked disgusted. "She wanted to torture your party members and her sister to death?" Ren asked.

"Using Idol Rabier… That damn…" Itsuki clenched his fist. Their already low opinion of the First Princess fell even lower than before.

"After hearing that, well, I guess you could say something in me broke," Naofumi said dryly. They could understand. It was bad enough to be beaten unfairly. But to have those you loved and cared about to be promised such a horrid death... that was a whole new level of depravity. "I had no control over what I was doing after that. I was attacking everyone that came close because they looked like that damn bitch. I didn't just want to kill her. I wanted to kill her in the worst ways imaginable." He folded his arms. The memory still hurt somewhat, but not like before. Still, he didn't want to dwell on it. "I take it since you asked that you both have Cursed Series too?"

"I do," Itsuki admitted. "I'm not sure about Ren."

They both looked to Ren, who shook his head. "Not as far as I've seen." He sounded calm, but his eyes looked unsure. Since he really didn't know if he had unlocked one or not.

"I know for a fact Motoyasu has one," Naofumi commented. "He was wielding this strange spear with a sinister aura on it when I fought him on that cliffside road and at the Capital. His eyes were a different color, and he was behaving more erratically than usual. And that spear was much more powerful than the other spears he was using." He said.

"Motoyasu has one too…" Itsuki said, looking behind him at his Legendary Bow. He didn't dare equip the Cursed Series to show if it had the same results or not. "On my HUD, it calls itself, **Bow of Justice II**."

"Mine says it's the **Shield of Rage II**," Naofumi said. "I know I was very angry while I had it equipped… so based on the way Motoyasu acted while he used the spear, I'd guess he has Envy or something similar to it." Naofumi guessed. "Since he honestly sounded very jealous while he used it."

"Maybe…" Ren looked at his own Sword Menu. He had dozens upon dozens of different swords… but he saw none under a Cursed Series. He would have taken solace in that if Naofumi hadn't said he'd unlocked it after the Sacred Duel but couldn't see it until during the duel with Bitch. Which meant it was possible he could have one too, and he just didn't know it. "I'm guessing that since you two have tiers for your Cursed Series that they're meant to get even stronger," Ren commented. He didn't want to consider the possibility of him also having access to the series. And he'd been thinking it ever since Itsuki told him about his experience with the Cursed Bow yesterday. How he'd been using it for weeks before that every time he encountered a noble without even realizing he was using it. Like it was natural to use it, and then move on to something else when the job was done.

"I definitely noticed a difference in strength after I unlocked the second Tier of Rage," Naofumi commented. "But I was already out of control after equipping the first tier. The second one almost consumed me entirely." Naofumi said.

"When I unlocked the second tier… I almost didn't want to unequip the bow. I wanted to continue on. To dispense my Justice on everyone in the town for being in on the trap. To dispense Justice on the Church and the rulers of this kingdom until the roads were red with their blood."

It was a dark moment in Itsuki's mind. It had only been through intense strength of will that he'd pulled out just after dispensing Justice on only their ambushers in the tavern. And it hadn't been enough to prevent himself from hurting Rishia.

"So we know that they're strong and that us Cardinal Heroes can somehow unlock them… but at the same time, they're very dangerous. And can possibly get even stronger and more out of control with each tier.." Ren summarized what they knew.

Naofumi thought about it. But even after hearing Itsuki explain what had happened to him before, he couldn't connect more dots. "Yeah... I'd hope you don't ever unlock it, Ren. It takes a large toll. Physically, and mentally."

"I can agree with that." Itsuki sounded somber as he said it. He'd seen for himself what his Bow could do. He didn't want to risk hurting Rishia or any of his other party members ever again. "What about that other series you use Naofumi? The one with the really bright shield."

"You mean the Hopeful Series?" Naofumi asked.

"Yes. Is that one safe to use?"

"It categorizes it under the title **Blessed Series**. But besides that, I don't know much about it." Naofumi said. Honestly feeling sorry that he didn't know much more about it. "I think Raphtalia somehow unlocked it for me… but I still don't understand how she did it." He continued. "It's positive, but at the same time, I feel like it can land me back in my Cursed Series if I mess up or something." It was weird to explain it. "Still, I managed to beat Motoyasu with it in the duel. And I almost beat Bitch using it against her back in the Capital. And besides those two instances, I managed to cleanse Raphtalia and one of your party member's curses with it." He said to Itsuki. "But now I have a 20% debuff applied to my defense stat for using it. And while the skill **Hope Asunder** is useful, it doesn't raise my attack when I use it. And the target's defense goes back to normal within a few minutes. Not to mention, I get the feeling that one wrong move, and I could end up using the Cursed Series somehow."

"So what you're saying is that for now, it's not a safe bet to use either series if we unlock them?" Ren asked.

Naofumi nodded. "Not until we know more about them at least. Who knows, your guys' **Blessed Series** might be better than mine since you can attack."

At that moment, Van Reichnott came back in again. "Hey Van, do you know what the Cursed or Blessed Series are?" Naofumi asked.

"... I'm sorry, what are those?" Van asked.

…

"I thought you knew about them!" Naofumi said angrily.

"Why would I know about them? I just walked in here." Van said, smiling brightly.

"You gave me advice related to them yesterday!" Naofumi said in frustration.

Van thought about it. "Ah, I remember now!" He said, smiling brightly. "I just told you to have Faith in yourself and gave you a saying about the Cardinal Heroes from the Queen. Who was I to know the results?" He said while still smiling. "I just said what I felt was wise to say."

…

Naofumi facepalmed. "Great. So we're nowhere closer to understanding them."

"It would appear not, Sir Shield Hero," Van said happily.

"... You two have attack stats." Naofumi turned to Ren and Itsuki. "Maybe you could help jostle his memory a little more-"

"Nope."

"Absolutely not."

Naofumi sighed at their reactions. "I figured you'd say that…"

"Anyways, Sir Shield Hero, would you happen to know where the Second Princess is? There's something I want to ask her about." Van asked politely.

"I'm pretty sure wherever she is, she's with Filo," Naofumi said. "Outside of that, I have no clue."

"Ah, thank you. I will be back in a moment then." Van left the room once more.

"Fine, let's just move on. I'd rather learn about the problems we're about to deal with than talk about something we have no clue about-" Naofumi was saying. Whether Van was there or not, he just wanted to move on to something else.

"One last thing before that," Itsuki said.

"And what is that?" Naofumi sarcastically asked.

"You say you almost beat Motoyasu's party member during that duel. I talked to the Second Princess last night after you healed Raphtalia and Rishia. And she told me more about your duel with her sister. How you weren't just holding your own, but you were managing to beat her even before you used your **Hopeful Series**. So I discussed it over with Itsuki after he was done making sure Rishia was okay." The blonde boy blushed slightly at his words. "And we both wanted to ask you this... how were you able to fight toe to toe with Myne despite being vastly under-leveled?"

…

"You're not asking if I was cheating, are you?" Naofumi asked.

"If I still thought this was a game. I would have asked how you met God." Itsuki said. "But since the two of us know this isn't a game, we concluded that you found a way to get strong. And we want to know your secrets so we can get stronger too."

"I also shared my monster materials so you wouldn't feel like we were cheating you in asking for your secrets," Ren admitted.

That made a lot of sense to Naofumi. But it was also confusing as hell since he thought he'd been doing everything normally. Had he really been doing anything special to give himself a strength boost? Or was a level 66 Bitch not supposed to be more overpowered compared to a level 42 Cardinal Hero?

"Is it because your Shield is different from what was in our games?" Itsuki asked.

"Well, obviously," Naofumi said as if he was offended. "I don't know what you all were talking about that first night. My defense has almost always been enough to keep me from taking damage from any monster I meet. When I had the right shield equipped, that stupid Bitch did little to no damage against me." Most of what they'd said about the Shielder class that first night had turned out to be a lie. Except for the fact that he couldn't do any damage.

He really wished that had been a lie. "And I don't know about any secret to getting stronger. I've only put in a lot of hard work and training to get where I'm at now."

…

…

Ren and Itsuki looked at each other, then back to Naofumi. "Hard work?" They both asked incredulously.

If that was how it worked, then it really was nowhere close to what their games had been like.

"Yeah. I mean, I obviously can't kill the monsters myself. There aren't many ways for me to attack. I had no support from Melromarc. I had little game knowledge thanks to you Cardinal Dumb***es." Ren and Itsuki flinched at that part. Mainly because it was true. "Everyone didn't like me. I was a wanted fugitive. And to top things off, I wasn't used to using a shield before being isekaied to this world. So I had to learn the hard way how to get used to fighting with a Shield, how to cast magic, craft accessories, compound medicines, etc. Hell, if I didn't have Raphtalia and Filo, I wouldn't have been able to get anywhere! I would have died at the First Wave! Hell, I might not have even been there if it wasn't for Itsuki mentioning that you needed to register at the Dragon Hourglass beforehand!" He finished his rant.

Ren and Itsuki both thought it best to shift gears. "Speaking of your party members, I noticed they're more powerful than what they should be for Level 40's without a class-up," Ren said.

"Well, that's simple to explain. They've trained a lot too. And they both have stat and growth boosts thanks to my **Slave User Shields** and **Monster Tamer Shields**." Naofumi answered.

...

The two were silent. Naofumi looked from one to the other. "Let me pull up my HUD… yeah, I also have a **Raccoon Shield** that gives Raphtalia a passive boost to her overall stats. And the **Filolial Shield Series** does a similar thing for Filo."

Ren and Itsuki were still silent. They hadn't heard of weapons in their games doing that before. "... How did you unlock these Shields?" Ren finally asked.

"Well, the **Raccoon Shield** was because I absorbed some of Raphtalia's hair from a haircut. The **Slave User Shields** involved me absorbing slave ink along with some blood from Raphtalia. The **Monster Tamer Shields** and **Filolial Shield** were because of me absorbing some of Filo's feathers and her egg. And… yeah, one time she got hurt and some of her blood dribbled into my shield. That unlocked another shield in the **Monster Tamer Shield Series **that made her even stronger."

…

The two were silent. Itsuki looked shocked. Ren nodded his head to himself. "So it isn't just the individual parts of monsters that unlock certain shields." He muttered to himself. That sounded really handy.

"How does that even work?" Itsuki asked incredulously. Game or not, that sounded more broken than some of the cheats other players showed on UTube to quickly level and strengthen the player party on Dimension Wave!

Naofumi shrugged. "I just discovered them as I went along. I didn't know if they'd unlock anything or not. But absorbing everything I came across into my Shield seemed better than leaving a mess behind to track me with. And I found out some of those messes and materials unlocked shields." He frowned, remembering the **Chef Shield** he'd unlocked by absorbing leftovers made from a chef. '_What a dumb series to unlock.'_ He was just waiting for the day when a new subset titled: "**The Butler Series**" appeared in his Shield Menu.

"Okay, so you've found unique shields that boost your party member's effectiveness." Ren was already thinking to himself. If a **Raccoon Shield** existed. Maybe he could absorb some hair from Wyndia or his other party members and see if a **Dog Sword **or something else unlocked or not… Then again, Wyndia had already slapped him several times today. So asking her for hair after the meeting might not be a good idea...

"Are you actually thinking about trying that?!" Itsuki asked Ren incredulously.

"It's either that or get pounded by strong enemies down the road," Ren said calmly. "If it works for Naofumi, we might as well give it a shot. Besides, I'd rather not watch my party members die because I chose not to try something that could help them grow-" He flinched, realizing what he'd just said.

Gods, Ren really was horrible with other people!

Itsuki didn't know how to respond at first... Then he sighed. "I'll... give it a try too." The poor boy looked like he needed a hug. If it meant not having any more of his party members, no, his friends dying, he'd try anything.

"So, um, Naofumi. We know how your party is strong. But how have you been strengthening your weapon?" Ren asked. Wanting desperately to move the subject away from its current spot so he wouldn't look like a bigger jerk.

"Like I said. All I've been doing is working hard and training." Naofumi said.

"There has to be more than that," Ren said.

"Well, I've also been unlocking the stat bonuses from every Shield I get," Naofumi said. Wanting to help Ren out of his blunder by delving back into the topic of discussion. "All I have to do is have them equipped for a certain period of time, and then I unlock the bonus and move on to the next one. That's seriously all I've been doing to make my weapon stronger. Hell, I'm doing that now by equipping this stupid shield." He said, indicating the **Dragon Fang Shield** he had equipped.

...

"But..." Ren asked incredulously. "Aren't all those bonuses only one or two stat points?!"

"Well, yeah. But for me, all those small boosts add up after a while. I have at least two hundred different shields from absorbing monster materials and other random objects. I'd say a quarter to a third of them give me defense boosts. Unlocking the rest has given me boosts to my defense, speed, MP, SP, and stamina, along with passive resistances to poison, paralysis, elemental attacks, slash attacks, and other types of attacks. Some even improve my compounding, crafting, cooking, or other skills. If it was only a couple dozen, it wouldn't amount to much. But I found unlocking every shield I came across was better than only relying on a few."

…

Ren and Itsuki stared at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Hey, I know a lot of those stat boosts are only +1 or +2 or whatever. But I didn't have a choice!" Naofumi said defensively. "I don't know any other way besides leveling to improve my weapon!"

"There's no way that's the only way," Itsuki mumbled.

"There has to be more to it than that." Ren also mumbled.

"It doesn't explain how he could beat a level 66 at his current level." Itsuki continued.

"Well, I'm not aware that I'm doing anything else," Naofumi said.

"So…" Itsuki and Ren spoke at the same time. Expecting to say the same thing.

"You're saying you don't level up and transfer energy from Shield to Shield to help them grow stronger?"

"You don't look for the rarest weapons or ores to increase your Shield's stats?"

…

Both of them looked at each other confusedly. "What are you talking about? That isn't how it works!" They yelled at each other at the same time.

Naofumi looked between them confusedly. "Energy transfer? Rare weapons?" He asked them both. He didn't recognize either of those things.

"The more you use a weapon. The more you master it." Ren said seriously. "Then when you get a stronger weapon. You can reset one of your previous weapons to obtain energy to awaken the new weapon so it's stronger and gains new abilities!"

"That isn't how it works! You're supposed to find weapons made from rare materials! Meteor iron weapons will be stronger than regular iron weapons because of how rare meteor iron is!" Itsuki said angrily.

"Don't lie to Naofumi! Rarity is determined by how much energy you use from resetting weapon mastery levels to upgrade a weapon's rarity!"

"What kind of bull **** is that?!" Itsuki demanded angrily. "That isn't how you get energy at all!"

Naofumi looked between the two confusedly as they argued back and forth. They sounded like they were saying the truth. But neither of them believed each other.

'_This is reminding me of something… what is it…'_

They argued for a moment more when Naofumi finally remembered. Ren had told about the class-up system and weapon copy system after the Duel. He hadn't heard of either of those things before. Neither of them had been in his help guide... But... all it'd taken was for him to trust that Ren was telling the truth, and then they appeared in his menu and help guide for him to look over.

So... '_Maybe they're both telling the truth. But... I won't know for sure unless I decide to trust them...'_ He thought it over, and then nodded his head. _'I don't have any reason at this point not to trust them actually. It was only because of them that me, Raphtalia, and the rest of my party got out of the Capital safely.'_ At that thought, his HUD beeped notifications at him. He pulled it up, and he learned his help guide had been updated. He looked, and to his amazement, both methods that Itsuki and Ren were arguing over were now detailed in his help guide.

"Hey, Ren, Itsuki-" He tried to get their attention. But they were still arguing.

"I already said that isn't how it works! By inserting rare ores into weapons, you can upgrade certain stats!" Itsuki yelled. "That's how you're supposed to do it!"

"No! Only leveling up and resetting weapons for energy allows you to-" Ren was yelling.

"WILL YOU BOTH SHUT UP ALREADY!?"

Ren and Itsuki looked to Naofumi in shock at his outburst. "You're both right." He said more calmly. "Both of your sets of strengthening methods just appeared in my help guide." Naofumi was reading them over on his HUD screen. He was shocked he hadn't discovered this before. It titled them as **Weapon Strengthening Methods**. Ren's was listed under the **Holy Sword**. And Itsuki's was listed under the **Holy Bow**. All of Ren's methods were listed. But there was one spot that had ?'s on it under Itsuki's weapon. It appeared Itsuki had made reference to it, but not enough for a full description to be given. "Itsuki, what's your energy strengthening method?"

"How do you know I have an energy-" Itsuki was asking.

"Just spill it," Naofumi said blandly.

"Okay. It's called **Item Enchantment**." Itsuki said defensively. "All I have to do is convert an item or monster drop into energy, and I can use that energy to enchant a weapon. The more I enchant a weapon, the stronger the weapon gets. But it has the chance of failing and resetting the weapon's enchantment level back to 0. I don't normally try to go past 6 or 7 because of that since the risk becomes greater than the potential payoff."

After Itsuki explained it, the ?'s disappeared from the slot. Being replaced with **Item Enchantment** along with the description for how it was used. "He's not lying," Naofumi said seriously.

"What are you saying Naofumi?" Ren asked confusedly. He'd never heard of anything as ridiculous as that before from his game.

"Somehow, both of your strengthening methods are correct," Naofumi said blandly. "I haven't heard of either of them before. But I can use both sets now." To make certain, he looked over his Shield Menu. His **Light Metal Shield** now appeared as **Light Metal Shield (0/30) C, Mastery 100**. Its base stats had all gone up too because of mastery and because of Light Metal's rarity. Even though he hadn't known the methods existed, his Shield had kept track of its use. And now that he knew, it had raised all its stats for him. There were different options he could use to. Including an option to insert ore from his inventory into ore slots to upgrade stats on the Shield.

There was also an option to reset the mastery level of his shield, so he chose yes.

**Light Metal Shield (0/30) C, Mastery 0.** **Energy acquired.**

The stats became lower without the mastery boost. But the stat increases from the other methods still applied. Leaving its defense higher than before. Excited, he started to reset the Mastery level for other shields he'd equipped in the past. Balloons shields he'd equipped only to unlock. The **Pipe Shield**. The **Rope Shield**, and other past Shields he'd used for combat at one time or another. Then, when he found he had enough energy, he equipped the **Chimera Viper Shield** and selected an option on his HUD to Awaken it. His Shield glowed in front of Ren and Itsuki, and one of the greatest things he'd ever witnessed appeared before his eyes.

**Chimera Viper Shield (Awakened) 0/30 C**

**Ability Unlocked:**

**Equip Bonus: Skill [Change Shield]; "Antidote Compounding Up"; Poison Resistance (Medium)**

**Special Effect: Snake Venom Fang (Large); "Long Hook"**

His eyes widened at the all-around increase. Not only had the Shield's equip stats increased, but Snake Venom Fang had gone from Medium to Large, and the Hook ability looked like it'd stretch farther than before to wrap victims.

"No way…" Ren recognized the glow. It was what happened to his weapons when he awoke them.

"Hey Itsuki, is it any item you use to enchant your weapons? Or-" Naofumi was asking.

"I normally use monster drops since a lot of them are trash," Itsuki said.

"... And, um, where do you find those?" Naofumi asked.

...

"..." Itsuki looked like he wanted to facepalm. Or poke fun at Naofumi for not knowing something as simple as that. But the weight of Naofumi's discovery was too great. And Naofumi had already brought up a good point earlier about it being his and Ren's fault that he didn't have much gaming knowledge about this world. If anyone was to blame for that, it was himself. "In your inventory menu. There's a special box to the right of your main inventory that lists the drops of all the monsters you've absorbed with your weapon." He said.

Naofumi checked. At first, it wasn't there. And then the desired inventory box appeared. His eyes boggled at the slew of monster drops he had to search through. And it wasn't just monster drops. It held the parts of every monster he'd absorbed in the past. Every single balloon up to the monster parts he'd absorbed from Ren was listed there.

'_HOW THE HELL DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS SOONER!?'_ He thought angrily. Sure, there were a lot of trash drops. But scrolling through it, there was also a lot of useful stuff. There were weapons and armor (one set of armor looked really nice). There were materials he needed to make Soul-Healing Potions, Accessories (a couple of monsters had already infused gemstones as drops! Sweet!), and other rare stuff! And there was still more to look through!

He could have made a killing with all of this selling it to the market!

'_Had I known about this, I would have put a higher priority on absorbing monsters instead of throwing them to Filo to eat! How many stupid monsters has she gobbled up before I could absorb a part of them?! My damn daughter probably ate a whole fortune's worth of drops!'_ He thought angrily.

Naofumi chose a trash drop from a balloon monster and chose the option to use it for an item enchantment on his current Shield. It was converted to energy inside his shield, and the random enchantment was applied to the **Awakened Chimera Viper Shield**, a slight glow that Itsuki recognized came off from it. '_Heh, maybe this is how I'll finally increase my attack.'_ The thought cheered him up. He'd looked at the **Bee Needle Shields** and the two other shields he had that gave him an attack bonus of +1. But none of them had increased beyond that even with the addition of the other strengthening methods. So if this did increase his attack, then he'd have a brand new, favorite strengthening method that he'd love to use on every single one of his shie-

**Cooking Efficacy: +2%**

…

…

...

"DAMN IT!" Naofumi yelled at his shield. "DAMN DAMN DAMN IT!"

"What is it?!" Ren and Itsuki yelled in shock.

"Do you want me to become a butler!? Huh?! Should I just stop being the Shield Hero and become the Shield Butler if you're going to keep on giving me bonuses to my cooking stat you damn Shield!?" He yelled angrily at the Yandere Shield.

Ren and Itsuki looked at each other again while Naofumi threw a tantrum at his shield. "So, weirdness aside, do you think Naofumi's lying to us?" Itsuki asked.

"Were you lying earlier about your way of getting strong?" Ren asked.

"No, of course not," Itsuki said.

"I wasn't lying either… and even though this is strange to think about, I'm going to trust Naofumi when he says we're both right." As he said that, Ren received notifications from his help guide. He checked, and information similar to what Naofumi had on his help guide appeared under his own known strengthening methods. "And now I know for sure he's correct. It shows I can use your strengthening methods on my swords too, Itsuki."

Itsuki looked surprised. Then he looked at his Bow and seriously considered the possibility of Ren not lying about his strengthening method. Itsuki had been relying on his strengthening method for so long from Dimension Wave… was it actually possible it wasn't the only one in this world that was like his game but wasn't a game…

...

He considered it and made his choice. '_Ren and Naofumi wouldn't lie about something as important as this.'_ Immediately after, his help guide pinged with updates. It was the same thing Ren had.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Itsuki looked shocked.

"That's what I'm thinking." Ren had just used Itsuki's Item Enchantment method on one of his swords and got **Fire Damage: +4%**. Because the sword was also made from rare dragon materials, it's base stats had all shot up. And he still had the rarity option that came from his strengthening method on the side that could be upgraded from C (Common) to UR (Ultra-Rare) and higher.

"With all this, we might actually stand a chance," Itsuki said incredulously. He'd just reset the mastery levels of some of his previous bows and awakened one of his favorite bows. Not only was it stronger, but it had upgraded one of its special effects. Allowing him to see more clearly in the dark. He was also using the leftover energy he had from resetting some of his earlier weapons to upgrade the bow's rarity level from **C** to a higher rarity level. Each increase from **C **to **UC **to **R** to **UR** and up increased the weapon stats and sometimes unlocked other cool abilities that either further improved his enhanced aim or dealt more damage to a certain type of monster. The bonus depended on the bow he was upgrading.

Ren had shared all his monster parts. Naofumi had shared his knowledge about how to strengthen his party members. Naofumi had received the strengthening methods, along with the knowledge about the monster drop inventory menu. And Itsuki and Ren had learned each other's strengthening methods inadvertently through Naofumi. They were not only caught up on what had been happening with each other now, but they had gained access to a means that would make them much stronger than before.

Maybe with all this, they wouldn't have to even rely on their Cursed Series! They'd be able to get by on their own strength! And if Naofumi was right and they could unlock weapons that increased the strength of their party members...

"Naofumi, thank you," Ren said, interrupting Naofumi during his rant at his shield.

"What for?" Naofumi asked confusedly.

"Your help here might have just given us the edge we need to protect the demi-humans I rescued," Itsuki said seriously.

Naofumi looked confused. "Um... What exactly did I do?" He asked.

...

Ren and Itsuki looked at each other... and then they laughed. "To think our biggest help is coming from a noob," Ren said.

"Such an ignorant noob." Itsuki agreed while laughing.

"Hey, I'm right here!" Naofumi yelled angrily.

They both continued to laugh at Naofumi's expense. '_No wonder the other two treated this as a game! Had I had all this stuff at the start, I probably would have never gotten past seeing this as a game! Damn it!'_ Oh well, at least he knew about it now. Once his defense debuff ended, and once he had time to properly go through their strengthening methods for his best shields, he'd really become a force to be reckoned with.

"Sir Heroes."

The three Heroes looked to Van, who walked in for the third time. Filo (in loli form) and Melty followed right behind him. Filo waved happily at Naofumi, and he somewhat cheered up and waved back at her. "It sounds like this has been an informative session for you three. But there are other matters we must attend to now." He said while smiling. "Like the plans for defending my estate from Idol Rabier's likely imminent attack among other things."

…

The three nodded. "Right. But um, did you need to find Second Princess to discuss that?" Naofumi asked.

"My name's not Second Princess!" Melty stamped her foot angrily. "It's Melty! How many times do I have to say it?!"

"Or Mel!" Filo said cheerfully, hugging the blue-haired girl close. "I love calling you Mel!"

"Filo, not now!" Melty said childishly to the cute blonde loli. "I'm trying to be angry with your Father here!"

Itsuki and Ren sobered up and nodded. "I guess we couldn't avoid the subject forever," Itsuki said.

"At least we're all caught up now… and we've all gained something valuable from this." Ren said seriously. "Maybe after we're done here, we can make preparations for fighting off the next Wave."

"Trust me, Heroes, after this, there is something far more important we need to deal with than the Waves of Catastrophe. I'll have Princess Melty explain the weapon you saw, Sir Ren. After we decide on the details for the defense of my lands and the rescued demi-humans."

Ren and the others looked surprised. "How important is a single weapon when the next Wave of Catastrophe is 8 days away?" He asked.

"It…" Melty thought for a second how to best respond. "If what Van told me is correct… the weapon you told him about might be the one I learned about from legends on Melromarc's past." She admitted. "One that'd be more dangerous in the Pope's hands than the coming Wave."

"I was afraid that might be the case." Van Reichnott said. This time frowning seriously.

The Three Heroes all looked stunned. "So, since this is going to take a while and we have much to talk about, would any of you like some tea?" Van asked nicely.

The meeting progressed with all three Heroes actively listening to Van and Melty while drinking tea.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Welp, I'm at the end of my buffer chapters. The only thing I have to rely on now going forward is my Outline. Which, after looking it over, is a little outdated with all the various changes I've made in the story. You all better start reviewing some ideas now. XD**

**Also, in the last chapter, I gave some LN knowledge about magic affinities. This chapter was to show a more thorough depiction of Ren and Itsuki's Upgrade methods. I think I'm missing one from Itsuki. But it's because I don't have enough knowledge about it yet to determine how it's used. However, I've listed the main ones from both Ren and Itsuki. And I have to admit, I put a little more detail into it than normal because of the number of people I've seen who quite frankly don't understand how they work. So it's mainly a way of helping to clear some confusion for them that authors on have caused.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy the omake! And hopefully, I'll have another chapter ready next week (I really hope so, I have Finals, wish me luck!).**

* * *

**OOF!**

* * *

"What are we doing here again?" Naofumi asked the others.

"I think we're going over the list of biggest OOF! moments we've seen in our story so far." Itsuki said.

"... And why are we doing that?" Naofumi asked.

"I'm pretty sure it's because the Author is running out of omake ideas for us," Ren said calmly.

"OOF!" Motoyasu said with an exaggerated face. "Author's going to feel that one in the morning."

"Fine, I guess first up on the list, we have the Knight Commander not realizing his pants were gone until he was bowing before King Trash," Naofumi said dryly.

"OOF!" The other heroes all said at the same time.

"After that, we have the moment when the Church Shadow was pathetically killed in the mine cavern after he realized the Church's foolish plot fell to pieces." Naofumi continued.

"OOF!"

"Then we have the moment when Naofumi had to break into the Three Heroes Church so he could register to fight in the Wave of Catastrophe," Itsuki said next.

"MAJOR OOF! Corrupt religion or what?!"

"And then there was the time when Motoyasu being an idiot for challenging Naofumi to a duel," Ren said after that.

"OOF!"

"Double OOF!" Naofumi said. "He never stood a chance."

"Hey, that wasn't that big an OOF!" Motoyasu said angrily.

"Honestly, it kind of was." Ren and Itsuki both agreed with Naofumi.

"Well, it wasn't as big an OOF! as Naofumi forgetting to give his girl; The Talk!" Motoyasu said in his defense.

All three heroes looked at Naofumi, who blushed heavily. "How was I supposed to know?! Demi-humans age physically and mentally with their levels!" Naofumi yelled.

As much as that was true, the other Heroes had to agree on one thing. "Forgetting about "The Talk" has been the biggest OOF! yet in this story." They said at the same time.

Naofumi scowled. "At least I didn't unlock my Cursed Series through something as lame as not being able to trust my friends." He said.

"OOOOOOOOF!" Ren and Itsuki both yelled long and loud. Much to Motoyasu's chagrin.

Because that was, in all honesty, the biggest OOF! in the history of OOF!'s.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	41. 41: Cross-Party Interactions

**Fetch, I** **don't know if it's what I said in the last chapter or not, but you guys really threw a lot of support. Do you guys love exposition that much, or do you want this to be the overall top fic that badly? Not that I'm complaining of course. XD**

**Let's have a good time reading this chapter!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:**_ 52 Favorites, 44 Followers (Total: 1341 Favorites, 1538 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated: **_May 4th, 2020 (May the Force be with you today) 1:00 P.M. EST_

* * *

**Chapter Forty-One:** _Cross-__Party Interactions_

* * *

_Outside, Afternoon_

"Huah! Hah! Huah!" Eclair grunted with each wide sweep she took with her sword.

She was in Van's backyard again. Practicing various sword forms like yesterday. She was dressed in her custom armor. But her helmet was off. Letting her long clean strawberry hair flow with her movements.

Welt, who'd come back from monster grinding, laid on the ground nearby. Passed out from trying to train with Eclair. Karn was nowhere to be seen. Likely because Eclair was too much to train with. A lesson Welt hadn't come to realize yet.

'_Those months of imprisonment made me rusty. I have to improve!'_ She thought determinedly. She thrust and then feinted back.

She wasn't going to take her unfair imprisonment sitting down. She had to get to where she was before being imprisoned. Sir Naofumi's safety, Princess Melty's safety, and the Queen's safety depended on her getting stronger in her sword skills again.

That was another thing. Now that she was free, she somehow had to inform the Queen about what had happened to her and the Shield Hero. But she'd asked Van Reichnott about it, and he said the Queen wasn't in Faubley anymore. No one was sure where she'd gone, though Van assumed she was returning to the kingdom to deal with all the messes. Knowing that, Eclair wanted to make sure she was ready in case the Queen needed her aid.

'_But it's not just the Queen. I have my obligation to help Sir Naofumi and Princess Melty…'_ The two being in the same party made helping them both easier. The Second Princess wanted to stick to Filo like a glove (as weird as that sounded). Yet her own heart still ached somewhat thinking about…

She threw herself into the sword forms she'd learned. Both in Melromarc and in Faubley. '_I can't distract myself with those thoughts. I have to improve.'_ She had more responsibility than ever before now. '_I have to get stronger. I have to get better. I have to-'_ She cut sideways, brought her sword up, and turned to thrust again.

Her reflexes stopped her just short of accidentally skewering the auburn-haired demi-woman who had been quietly approaching her.

"Eep!" Raphtalia jumped several feet back to avoid being stabbed. "I'm sorry." Her armor had been badly damaged by Naofumi's flames. So she was dressed in a set of extra clothes. It was like her regular outfit, but without armor attachments. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"... No, it's me who should apologize Miss Raphtalia," Eclair breathed in calmly and sheathed her sword. "Are you feeling better?"

Raphtalia nodded. She looked oddly shy compared to before. "I am. Much better." Her tail wagged slowly behind her.

"Good... Is there something you need from me?" Eclair asked. Glancing at Raphtalia's nervous tail wagging.

Raphtalia gulped. "Well, um… since you asked... Do you… could you give me advice?" Raphtalia asked.

"About what?" Eclair asked.

"About… about..." Eclair stared at the grown Tanuki, who was beginning to tremble. "About..."

"About what?" Eclair impatiently asked.

"About being in a relationship with someone you love?!" She nervously asked.

'_... ... What?!'_

Raphtalia's tail was wagging fast and embarrassedly behind her. "I, I mean, I, I keep on going around, trying to find someone to talk to about it, but I, um, it's so hard for me to try and ask someone I haven't met yet about something as important as this!" She said. Blushing bright red like a tomato.

…

On the outside, Eclair stared calmly at the nervous Tanuki girl. On the inside, she was screaming her head off. _'No, no, no, Gods please, no, no... NOOOOOOOO!'_ It was bad enough that the Shield Hero already loved Raphtalia. It was even worse that the Tanuki woman loved him back. The worst was that the Tanuki woman was asking Eclair for relationship advice about being in love with the Shield Hero!

"Um," Eclair muttered, trying to keep the bitterness out of her tone. "I don't have any advice to give on that." '_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'_

"It's, it's just," She didn't look like she heard Eclair. "I want to do things around Naofumi. Like, um, sneaking up on him, and um, surprising him out of nowhere with a, a, a, k-k-ki-k-k-kiss-" Raphtalia covered her head again. "-But it's so embarrassing! I don't know what to do! I just feel so good around him, but, but then, um, uh, AHHHHHHHHHH!" She started rolling around on the ground in her embarrassment.

It was a good thing Raphtalia was trying to speak to Eclair first about it. Only Eclair might have been capable of keeping a calm face at the scene. "Oh dear." Eclair muttered.

She proceeded to try and help Raphtalia to calm down.

* * *

It took a while, but Raphtalia eventually did calm down somewhat. "There. Are you feeling better?" Eclair asked.

Raphtalia shakily nodded. "S-Sorry about that," Raphtalia said, looking down ashamedly.

"It's fine," Eclair said calmly. It wasn't really fine for various reasons. Some more obvious than others.

Raphtalia was quiet. "Also, I'm sorry, but I'm not the person to ask about relationships," Eclair said. Had Naofumi been there, he would have thought the whole scene was right out of an anime. "I don't think I could be of help to you."

Raphtalia was surprised. Eclair had a face that would have been considered beautiful by almost every man in the world. "But… but haven't you been in a relationship before Eclair?" Raphtalia asked curiously. It seemed almost unbelievable that someone like her wouldn't have been in love before. Wouldn't she have had all sorts of suitors asking for her hand?

Eclair grit her teeth. _'No. Because the only person I was ever interested in is already taken. And he turned out to not be who I thought he was.'_ She angrily thought.

Her heart ached for more than one reason. Besides the fact that he was already taken, the Shield Hero she'd pictured was tall. A white knight, a handsome guy. His voice was smooth, and his charisma knew no bounds. He was a true knight among knights.

Naofumi did not fit the ideal description of her Shield Hero, at all.

In fact, from what she saw in the Capital and since then, none of the four Heroes fit her ideal fantasy of a Cardinal Hero. Each of them was flawed. Young. A little ill-tempered or envious. And from what she'd seen of the Sword Hero's skills, since he had been a close second with the Shield Hero in her mind, they were sloppy and all over the place. There was no skill in his swings whatsoever.

It really goes to show how childhood imagination and reality don't quite match up. It had been a silly childhood crush. She couldn't believe she'd ever actually put any thought into something as ridiculous as that.

Eclair didn't voice any of that though, keeping a calm serious look on her face. "No, I have not." She said. "I'm afraid my interest in swordsmanship kept everyone else around me at arm's length." That was also true. If there was anything she truly loved with a passion, it was a good sword. That required no imagination. And you could always rely on it.

"Oh…" Raphtalia perked up somewhat. "Then maybe… Could you teach me some swordsmanship then?" She asked.

Eclair looked only slightly caught off guard. "Teach you?"

"It might help to take my mind off of what's been happening… and I've been trying my best to help Naofumi for a while… but I rely too much on magic to help me get through a fight." She admitted. Magic had worked against normal knights and adventurer bandits. But it had failed incredibly against Motoyasu when he used an area of effect skill along with other times in the past.

As much as she wanted advice about boys (and learning how to avoid getting pregnant), she wanted to improve so she could better help Naofumi on the field of battle. And maybe letting off some steam would make it easier to talk about it with someone else. "So, could you help me to improve my swordsmanship please, Eclair?" Raphtalia asked.

Eclair looked slightly concerned. But it was genuine and not faked. "Wouldn't it be better if you didn't push yourself so soon after recovering from a curse-"

"No, I'm perfectly fine now! Watch!" Raphtalia got down. Holding herself on her feet and one hand. She put her other hand behind her back.

"One, two, three, four…" Raphtalia started doing push-ups. Using just her left hand to push up each time.

Eclair's eyes were wide. Then, she was further impressed when the Tanuki girl started pushing up and down using only her left thumb. _'What in the world?!'_ Her STR stat must have been off the chart! When she hadn't been reading, hunting monsters, or driving Filo, Raphtalia had been training hard to get stronger.

"Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen!" She wasn't slowing down. In fact, she was warming up.

Eclair couldn't watch any longer. "Fine, I'll teach you some sword forms to practice," Eclair said quickly.

Raphtalia jumped back up, smiling happily. "Yay! Thank you Eclair!" She said, bowing happily.

…

"Out of curiosity. How many of those can you do?" Eclair asked. The musclehead part of her was curious.

Raphtalia thought to herself for a moment. "I think the last time I really pushed myself… I did almost a thousand." She said.

"A thousand!?"

"But then I switched to my strong hand. And I think I did an extra fifteen hundred." She said, thinking it over.

Eclair was a musclehead when it came to training. But besides an old adventurer, she hadn't heard of anyone else accomplishing such an astonishing physical feat. '_How did she get so strong?'_ To think she needed help with training with a sword! Then again, sword training required much more than just strength and endurance. It required skill, reflexes, intuition, patience, a touch of instinct, and other attributes that could only be learned through practice. Brute force alone wasn't enough to win a fight. Eclair had shown that perfectly back in the Capital against many of the knights she'd faced. They'd trained to overpower their opponents. She trained in every step of every form to take down all types of swordsmen.

"I did train a lot in my free time to get stronger. But sometimes, when Naofumi unlocks shields, a couple of them made me feel… lighter." Raphtalia answered.

"Lighter?"

"It's hard to describe. After that, I had to push harder to feel like I was getting stronger..." Raphtalia shook her head. Naofumi's Shield really was a strange little thing. It made her wonder if there were other ways she was getting stronger from it. "Anyway, where do you want me to start?" She asked.

Eclair thought to herself for a moment. "Take this." Eclair picked up a wooden sword and threw it to Raphtalia, who caught it. She didn't have her magic silver sword on hand. "I'd like to see your skills for myself," Eclair said.

Raphtalia felt the weight of the sword. It felt too light to her. "Alright, what should I do-" She turned, and her eyes widened in surprise as her reflexes barely reacted in time to block Eclair's downward strike.

"Survive." Eclair's voice was calm, but she looked excited.

'_Let's see what this Tanuki girl is made of.'_ It didn't matter if the Tanuki girl was in love with the Shield Hero or not now. If she could do over two thousand one finger push-ups, then, finally, Eclair might actually have an opponent that could push her to her limits!

Who was she to hold on to a childhood crush?! This was the real stuff that sent excitement through her veins!

The two quickly separated. And then flew forward to go all out in the clash.

* * *

"Hey, Rach. You doing anything?"

Rachel calmly breathed in, moving some of her black hair away from her face. Karn was walking up to her. "No. The demi-humans I'm supposed to train aren't going to be here for another hour."

Rachel had been calmly sitting out front by one of the pruned trees. Observing the morning sky and doing a form of meditation before Karn had appeared. "Well, you should come see what Aksel is doing then." Karn chuckled into his hand.

"You're interrupting my peace and quiet for something ridiculous, aren't you." Rachel said calmly.

"Why of course! Do I ever come to you with serious news?" Karn said jokingly.

"Rarely." Rachel stood and stretched herself. "Let me guess. The big oaf's getting himself into trouble already?" Rachel asked.

"It depends on what your version of trouble is," Karn said while still chuckling.

Rachel patted the dust off her mage cloak and sighed. "Well, I have nothing better to do. Tersia and Farrie are off doing whatever until training. Let me see what our favorite lolicon is up to now."

The two of them walked through the front doors into Van's manor. A demi-human servant bowed to them as they passed. "Now. Do you want to tell me what it is Aksel's doing? Or is it going to be one of your usual guessing games?" Rachel calmly asked.

"If you guess it in three tries, I'll tell you if you're right or not," Karn said with a smile.

Rachel stayed calm as they continued on. "Does it involve Maya?" She asked since that was the first thing to come to mind with their party lolicon tank.

"Nope, good guess though!" Karn said with a laugh.

Rachel smirked. "If he's not doing something with Maya, it has to be something else… is he pestering Rishia about what it was like to be in a coma for over half a week?" She asked.

"Nope. As far as I know, Sir Itsuki kept anyone from disturbing her up till the meeting." He said with a shrug. "She should be in the library now actually."

The poor Fueh girl must have still been shell shocked about waking up to Sir Itsuki like that. And was finding solace in the comfort of books. "Hmmm…" Rachel thought long and hard for the last guess. It couldn't involve any of their party members since they were all accounted for.

She recognized that they were walking up to one of the two rooms Van was letting them use as Sir Itsuki's party members. Aksel, Karn, and Marx had shared this room before. But now, with the addition of Sir Ren and his party, who'd come back in earlier after grinding some monsters, there was the swordsman who was probably training with Eclair, the demi-girl who was out killing monsters herself now, and-

"It involves one of Sir Ren's party members. The tank." Rachel dryly guessed. She didn't know Ren's party all that well. But she had a very good guess as to what their tank was like.

"Ding ding ding! We have a winner! And her name is Rachel!" Karn opened the door wide with a flourish right after her guess.

"You think you're so tough, don't you!?"

"Yeah, tough enough to beat you even with this dumb injury?!"

Aksel sat on one end of a table. His right elbow pressed into the wood. On the opposite side of him was Ren's party tank. Bakta. His right elbow was also pressed into the wood.

"URGHHHHHHHH!" And yes, both of them were arm wrestling. Even though Aksel's right arm was still bandaged around his bicep where he'd been hurt. They were neck and neck, each giving it their all to try and beat the other in a game of strength.

Rachel sighed. "Why am I not surprised?" It seemed men were the same, no matter where you looked. Put two large guys with the same job in the same room, and fireworks were almost guaranteed to happen.

"Don't think just because you're part of the Bow Hero's party that I'm going easy on you!" Bakta yelled.

"What's that!? Is the poor noble going to cry when he gets his *** handed to him by a wounded commoner?!" Aksel taunted. "Don't hold back! Not like it'll help you win if you try anyway!"

"Oh, now I'm really going to kick your-"

"**Fast Shadow Hand**."

Their little game was suddenly brought to a grinding halt. A dark hand made of Shadows gripped them in the center of the table by their arms, lifting them up into the air. The look of confusion on Bakta's face was already worth it. The way blood drained out of Aksel's face when he realized who the hand belonged to, however, was priceless.

Karn was already super happy that he'd thought about bringing Rachel along.

"What do you think you're doing, idiots." Rachel suddenly looked way larger than the two tanks. And far more intimidating too from where they dangled in the air by her magic. This spell was one Rachel didn't use often. It had a weak magic attack stat. And it didn't do well with blocking magic. However, in situations like this against non-magic opponents, it came very much in handy for intimidation purposes.

"Eep!" Aksel quickly bowed repeatedly in the air again and again in apology. "I'm sorry Rachel! I'm sorry! He was calling me a weakling, and I wanted to prove him wrong!" Bakta still looked confused. Though he grew more worried at Aksel's reaction to the mage.

"So you risked opening up your injury again after I did my best to heal it in an attempt to satisfy your pride?" Her voice was chilly, so much so that Bakta froze in fear. As if he was finally realizing the danger he was in. "And you." She glared at the cowering tank. "Who are you to pick a fight with someone that's wounded. Would you rather I be your opponent you worthless piece of ****?" Another hand made of shadows appeared behind her, and she clenched it as if in anticipation of crushing something, or someone.

"EEP! NOPE! NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE!" Bakta started freaking out from the scary aura coming off the calm and reserved mage.

"... Good." Satisfied with their reactions, both shadow hands disappeared, dropping Bakta and Aksel to the ground. They both groaned in pain from the impact. Rachel checked her gauge using her HUD and was pleased to see the two weak spells hadn't cost her too much MP. And both victims looked sufficiently frightened. "We don't have time for petty squabbles. I hope you've both learned your lesson."

The two tanks got on their knees and bowed to Rachel. "Yes, we understand! We'll work on getting along in the future!" They both said at the same time.

"... Now, is there anything else you wanted me to deal with, Karn?" She politely asked.

Karn stood back, looking off to the side in disappointment. Though it had been entertaining to see the two party tanks almost piss themselves in fear. It was over far too quickly. "You could have torn into them a little bit more." He said sadly.

"What was that?" Rachel raised one of her hands. Shadows came off from it.

Karn immediately paled. "Oh! Nothing, nothing at all!" Karn quickly perked up and grinned widely. "Yep! Good job Rach! You always know how to handle a situation!" He gave a thumbs-up as he said it.

"... Good. I'll see you after training." Rachel gave one last calm look at the two tanks, before dispelling the dark shadow magic from her hand. She walked out of the room.

…

"No offense… but your party member scares me." Bakta admitted. The poor guy looked ready to pee his pants.

"She has that effect on people." Aksel agreed, a nervous sweatdrop falling down his forehead.

"Eh. Don't let that turn you off from her though." Karn said, laughingly taking his own seat. "She might not look like it, but she has a kind heart inside that outer shell of hers."

Aksel grimaced and put a hand over his bicep. "Yeah. She has her quirks, but once you get beyond that shell, she isn't a bad friend to have." He admitted.

"But wasn't what she did there a little… I don't know, overkill?" Bakta asked.

"Well. You already saw what one of her magic affinities is. She gets Shadow for being so calm and reserved all the time... Want to take a guess as to what her second one is?" Karn asked.

Bakta chuckled. "I don't even use magic. How the hell should I know what someone's affinity is?"

"But don't you wear that dull bulky enchanted armor?" Karn asked. "Surely you'd know something about magic from wearing that."

"It's not dull! It was a gift from my parents!" Bakta bellowed angrily. "And just because I wear it, it doesn't mean I understand how magic works-"

"Wow. Your parents must not like you very much." Aksel sarcastically interrupted. "That armor looks like it needs some upgrades."

"... You little…" Bakta grumbled at Aksel.

"I'm rather amazed actually. For a noble's son, you're even easier to rile up than the other brats I knew growing up." Karn said with a smile. "If you're not interested in magic, I'm going to guess you're illiterate too." It was a guess on Karn's part.

Bakta looked shocked at that. "How did you know that?!" He asked.

"Wait, seriously?" Aksel asked. "I'm a commoner and my dad still taught me how to read and write."

"Well... I know a little, but not much… I'm the fifth son of a noble, so I didn't think I'd have to run my Father's estate. I thought it'd be better to become an officer in the Royal Knights." Bakta said, to his embarrassment.

"But you can't become an officer in the Royal Knights if you can't read or write!" Karn was laughing at the end.

"That's…" Bakta deflated. "True."

"I mean, I might not use magic, but I understand how it works somewhat," Aksel said. "I wouldn't use enchanted armor if I didn't understand how it worked or what it's limitations were." Some armors had great enchantments which sometimes came at a price. Like greater defense for the cost of mobility. Or resistance to water and fire for the cost of being weaker to earth and wind.

"But my parents gifted my armor and Shield to me when they heard I'd joined the Sword Hero's party. I thought since it came from them that I should wear it."

That comment actually took some of the wind out of Karn's next planned comment to jab into the noble's son. "Oh… really?"

"Yeah. I don't have the Shield anymore, but it was enchanted too like my armor. It broke during our encounter with the Pope in the Church Archives. I tried to block a strong magic spell with it, and it shattered. I didn't realize trying to do that would break it..." Bakta sighed. "I'm not sure what they'll think now. Hearing that I'm a criminal alongside the Sword Hero."

"... Out of curiosity, who are your parents?" Karn asked after a moment. Bakta was already an oddity being illiterate and untrained in magic. To hear about a pair of nobles gifting their son a Shield in Melromarc though. The Shield was a symbol of the enemy. No noble he'd met would ever gift that to someone unless they utterly despised them. And for all of Aksel's jabs, the enchanted armor Bakta wore was pretty good. It'd only need replacing soon once he got to the 60's and higher.

"I doubt you'd know them. They live in one of the outer western provinces of Melromarc now-" Bakta was saying.

"Try me." Karn interrupted.

"... Aren't you coming on a little strong there, Karn?" Aksel asked.

"I worked for plenty of nobles in my former life Axe. I'd like to know if I worked with his parents at one point or not." Karn said, sounding oddly serious for once instead of laidback.

Batka looked surprised at that and then thought about it some more. He didn't remember ever seeing Karn before. But... "I mean, they're not really popular… okay. But if I tell you, you can't share it outside of this room." He finally agreed.

Karn nodded. And waited while Bakta gathered up his courage. "My parents are the… the… … … the Paynes." He finally said.

…

Aksel burst out laughing. "Wait, so your last name is Pain?! HAHAHAHAHA!" He started rolling around on the floor.

"Shut up! It's not spelled like pain! But this is why I didn't want to share it!" Bakta said, flushing red with embarrassment. He hadn't even told the rest of his party his last name.

Tersia and Farrie would make fun of him till the day he died if they ever learned it.

"Bakta! The noble Payne!" Aksel continued laughing as the other tank flushed redder and redder.

"Hmmm..." Karn thought to himself for a moment as a fight was on the verge of breaking out again. "Yes, I remember them now. An older gentleman with greying hair and thick glasses. And a short wife a bit on the stout side." He said. "She had… I think her hair was blonde. But it might have been greying too. She was strict, but she was nice like her husband."

Bakta stopped and looked at Karn in surprise. "Yeah, that's them." He said.

He shrugged. "They were actually pretty nice compared to other nobles. They didn't treat me like crap for helping them out... Though I'm surprised your mother didn't teach you to at least read and write. She didn't seem like the type to allow her children to grow up stupid."

Bakta still looked stunned, and a little embarrassed. He didn't want to admit she had tried to teach him in the past.

Karn thought about it more. "Now that I think about it, weren't they moved to one of the poorest provinces in the west?" He asked.

Bakta started sweating bullets. "Um… uh… m-m-maybe?"

"Hmmm... I take back what I said before. You're not a spoiled brat... You're a fallen noble spoiled brat." He said while smiling.

"Fallen what?" Aksel asked.

"His parents were moved to a province suffering from severe famine and bandit attacks. They're losing money trying to protect the place and bring in supplies from neighboring regions. It's probably reached the point where they're having to live at almost the same level as us commoners." Karn said.

Bakta grimaced. "We still have some money left… but I don't know how much my parents used to gift me my armor, broadsword, and shield." He said sadly. He felt worse now about breaking that piece of equipment. But at least it'd been broken protecting the party instead of for something really lame and stupid like a bar fight. He could easily picture something like that happening a couple of months ago before the Wave of Catastrophe struck.

"Hey, it'll be alright. I remember that they don't worship the Three Heroes Church either. And the fact that they haven't given up on their province must mean they're somewhat good." Karn said with a smile.

"Yeah, but they didn't worship any of the Cardinal Heroes before the Waves. Knowing them, I doubt they'd start believing the legends now."

"Eh, hard times are hitting everyone. And you're working alongside a Cardinal Hero to stop a legend from destroying our world." Karn said with a shrug as he stood up and stretched. "Might get them to change their minds… probably." He shrugged. "They're pretty stubborn. Kind of like you. But they're good people. Maybe some of that goodness rubbed off on you too... probably."

"Wow, thanks a lot," Bakta muttered sarcastically.

"Are you already leaving Karn?" Aksel asked.

"Yeah, no point to stay if you aren't going to fight and entertain me," Karn said with a bored chuckle. "I prefer that over sentimentality."

"Careful. Rach might be hiding behind the door to make sure we don't start fighting again." Aksel said.

Bakta paled at that. "Wait, you don't mean she heard what I said!"

"Don't worry. Even if she did, she wouldn't tell anyone else your last name."

"And how do you know that-" Bakta was angrily replying.

"Healing,"

Bakta stared in confusion at Karn as he was walking out the door. He gave him a smirk. "Rach's other magic affinity is healing. She wouldn't share stuff to hurt other people without good reason. And you seem nice like your parents despite your... noble tendencies. So don't worry about her." He shrugged playfully. "If worse comes to worst and you piss her off again, she'd take it out on you personally. And I'm sure afterward that she'd use a spell or two to stitch you back together." Karn left, laughing his head off as whatever blood that had been left in Bakta's face drained away.

"He's, he's not being serious… is he?" He squeaked out.

Aksel was groaning, sitting on the edge of his bed again. "I don't think so… but I'd rather be safe than sorry." Rachel had managed to use healing magic to stop the bleeding and close his arm wound. But she didn't practice with Healing magic very often. So it wasn't as strong as her Shadow/Dark magic. Her offensive magic could very well do what Karn had implied.

It was something he didn't want to mess with after seeing the ways she took down monsters and slavers in the past.

Bakta sighed forlornly. "Let's save the rematch for after you're healed up then." He finally said. "I'd rather not get on her bad side…"

"Yeah, I'd rather not-"

...

It took a moment for Aksel to realize what Bakta had said. "What the hell do you mean by rematch?"

Bakta smirked. "Your arm was just slightly lower than mine when she interfered, so technically, since the match was interrupted, I won."

"Bull****!" Aksel yelled. Sitting up again. "Your arm was lower, not mine!"

"You're just mad because I beat you, stupid commoner!" Bakta said proudly.

"Don't call me stupid when you don't even know how to read, idiot Pain!" Aksel yelled angrily.

Bakta flushed red with anger. "Is that a challenge small stuff?!"

Aksel was already up and in position at the table again. "Bring it, boy!"

And just like that, the two meatheaded tanks of the Sword and Bow parties resumed their arm wrestling match anew.

At least they had a way to train. Or get on Rachel's bad side if they didn't specify it was training to her next time.

"I'm going to throttle you!" They both yelled at the same time.

* * *

_Thirty Minutes Later_

"Gasp!" "Gasp!"

Eclair and Raphtalia were both on the ground, panting hard, and covered in sweat. Raphtalia had light bruises all over her arms and legs. Eclair had only one slightly red mark on her cheek. Eclair got it when Raphtalia, out of desperation, used her only magic sword technique to disappear and reappear to the side of Eclair. The trick had only worked once though. And Eclair had very thoroughly schooled the Tanuki girl every time she tried to use it after that. And schooled her in everything else too while she was at it.

"How… how did you get so skilled?!" Raphtalia asked incredulously. Eclair's attacks weren't particularly strong against her. But the strawberry swordsman had gotten hits on the Tanuki girl so many times she'd lost count.

"Training… years and years… of training." Eclair answered between breaths. She may have beaten the hell out of Raphtalia. But the Tanuki girl definitely had endurance. And she could take a hit.

"That's… amazing." Raphtalia said. It had been like trying to fight a river. Everflowing and ever-changing. Even her speed hadn't been enough to give her an advantage over the strawberry swordsman.

"Indeed." For a hero's companion, she was definitely strong, fast, and had good endurance. Had Raphtalia had more stamina, Eclair would have eventually faltered and ended up covered in a lot of bruises too. She definitely had to train her endurance levels again. They'd proved to almost be her downfall in the practice duel.

...

The two panted for a little while, gradually recovering from the bout.

"So how… how did I do?" Raphtalia finally asked.

"Besides the parts where you tried to cheat?" Eclair asked for clarification.

"We never specified that there'd be no magic." Raphtalia said with a pout.

"There is no room for magic in an honorable duel," Eclair replied. Much to Raphtalia's chagrin and pride. "As for how well you did-"

"Aw come on, where's the fun in not using magic?"

The interruption surprised them. Both Raphtalia and Eclair both stood up, brandishing their wood swords in self-defense. "Who's there?" Eclair said calmly. Welt was still passed out on the ground from overtraining.

"... Relax. There's no reason for me to attack you." Light twisted in the air in front of them, and then Maya reappeared. The raccoon demi-human grinned widely at them as she held up two water canisters. "It looked like you were fighting pretty hard there." She tossed them both the canisters. Which they caught.

"Um, thanks, I guess," Raphralia said unsurely. Not recognizing the demi-human in front of her.

Maya took a vial of Magic Healing Water out and drank it. "Awesome fight by the way. It was definitely something interesting to watch."

"Wait, you're that girl from yesterday," Eclair remembered this demi-girl materializing out of nowhere to take down a knight. "Are you one of the Hero's party members?"

"Yes, I'm with Sir Itsuki. The name's Maya." She smiled happily. "It's a pleasure to meet you again Raphtalia!"

Raphtalia drank from her canister. The water was refreshing after trying so hard to get a hit on Eclair. "Maya…" Raphtalia thought the name over. She also looked at the smiling black-haired demi-human more closely. Did she recognize her from somewhere- "Wait, you're the little girl-"

"That you held in your lap while Sir Itsuki and Sir Naofumi talked in that one inn," Maya said happily. She was happy to see that Raphtalia still remembered her.

Raphtalia smiled brightly, dropped the wooden sword, rushed forward, and embraced the raccoon girl. "I'm so happy you're okay!" Maya was surprised at Raphtalia's strength but hugged the older girl in response.

They pulled back. "You're already so big." She looked just slightly younger than Raphtalia. "And you're casting illusion magic too?"

Maya laughed. Looking genuinely happy with being reunited with Raphtalia. "Sir Itsuki and the others helped with Powerleveling me. I didn't think it was possible to grow up so quickly before." She said. "As for the magic. Well. That involved a lot of studying at night. And maybe a crystal ball or two from Sir Itsuki so I could learn to use magic."

Maya stepped back. "**First Hiding.**" She disappeared into a haze of light. And then, two seconds later, she reappeared a few feet to the right, rubbing the back of her neck while still smiling. "Since I learned that spell from a Crystal Ball, it doesn't hide me for long. But it helped me with understanding how to use magic." She said happily. "I can use other spells to hide my presence besides that one."

"It wasn't too difficult for me to pick up magic," Raphtalia said, smiling brightly herself at being reunited with the young girl. "It was like rediscovering an old friend."

"That's what it felt like for me too!" Maya said happily. The two looked like they would have gone on and on if allowed.

"I'm sorry to interrupt." Eclair butted in. They looked at her. "I can see you two know each other. But may I finish what I was going to say to Miss Raphtalia first?" Eclair asked.

"Oh, yes, of course," Raphtalia said, standing at attention.

"Not like I'm going to stop you." Maya playfully teased.

Eclair frowned at the raccoon girl, and faced Raphtalia again. "Your forms are full of holes." She said, not sugarcoating how horribly Raphtalia had done. "Anyone with half your speed could have seen your movements a mile away. And anyone with a little bit of skill could easily defeat you. It's almost like you tried to teach yourself in the past."

Raphtalia sweatdropped. "Well, I did teach myself." She said embarrassedly. "I only ever got taught the basics. And that was back before the Second Wave struck Lute." She also hadn't had the opportunity to spar against many human opponents. Her main specialty was killing monsters. Not long drawn out duels. Watching swordsmen in towns practice their forms and stances could only get her so far too.

Eclair thought to herself. "That's no excuse for your form to be so terrible. I'm not near as fast as you Miss Raphtalia. And yet I still beat you after months of imprisonment." She said seriously. "Imagine if a competent foe attacked you and the Shield Hero."

Raphtalia looked tired. "However, it's quite commendable that you've already managed to integrate magic into your sword forms." Eclair continued. "That requires a level of skill most knights never achieve. That means you have the potential to become a much better swordsman than you are now."

Raphtalia blushed at the praise. "Does that mean you'll teach me?" She asked.

"You're the Companion of one of the Holy Heroes. I would be doing Sir Naofumi disfavor by allowing you to stay in your current shape." Eclair said seriously. She looked Raphtalia over and grimaced. "I'd recommend stopping for today though." She really had left quite a number of bruises on Raphtalia's arms and legs. And that likely didn't include what was under her clothes.

"Yeah, you look a little banged up there, Raphtalia." Maya agreed.

"It's fine. I can hardly feel the pain. I'm sure Naofumi could heal all this up after we're done..." It came out fine. But then Raphtalia remembered why she'd dueled Eclair, and her cheeks flushed red again. "Um… M-M-Maya… could I ask you for some ad-ad-advice?" She turned to the other demi-human girl nervously.

Eclair sighed to herself. Raphtalia was already on the same path of embarrassment like before. '_Here we go again.'_

"Yeah, what is it Raphtalia?" She asked.

"Do you… do you know how to avoid… avoid getting pregnant?" She asked, her tail wagging embarrassedly behind her. But not as much as when she'd talked to Eclair.

…

'_Wait, she didn't say that earlier?! She asked for relationship advice, not that?!'_ Eclair thought incredulously.

Maya looked confused. "Um… I mean I've grown up too… but I… I honestly don't know." She admitted. "My parents never got the chance to sit down to have that chat with me."

"Heheh, me neither," Raphtalia admitted. Looking a lot less embarrassed. It seemed having known Maya a while back, it made it easier to ask her about it.

'_My Gods, BOTH OF THEM DON'T KNOW ABOUT THIS STUFF?!'_ Eclair thought in bewilderment. What was up with their parents!? Did they have some reason not to teach their daughters the Birds and the Bees?!

"My parents told me all it took was a kiss." Raphtalia quietly admitted. "But then Naofumi told me that wasn't how it worked after I kissed him."

"Whoa, were you trying to get yourself pregnant Raphtalia?" Maya asked curiously.

"N-N-NO!" Raphtalia nearly shrieked. "I just, um, wanted to thank him for healing me! That's all!"

"... okay... but kissing doesn't make you pregnant?" Maya asked.

Raphtalia nodded. Maya looked stunned at the revelation. And then she started grinning widely. "Oh yeah. I know what I'm going to do to my knight in shining armor next time I get the chance." She started rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

It was really hard to tell if she was joking or being serious.

"Oh, are you in love with someone too?" Raphtalia asked curiously.

Maya flushed in embarrassment. "N-NO!" Her sleek black tail wagged embarrassedly behind her. "OF COURSE I'M NOT!"

It was amazing how easy it was to read that she was lying there.

Eclair shook her head in disbelief. '_If she'd just started with that, I could have easily explained it for her.'_ She'd had the privilege of getting the talk from her Father. And she wouldn't be shy in explaining such a simple thing to these girls.

Besides that, Raphtalia looked way more relaxed talking to Maya instead of Eclair about this. "Well. My other problem though is the thought of ambushing Naofumi out of nowhere with kisses, I want to do it, but it's so… embarrassing…" Raphtalia trailed off. Her ears twitched on top of her head. Maya's ears also twitched, and she jerked her head around. Embarrassment forgotten.

Eclair was snapped out of her thoughts. "What is it?" Eclair asked. She couldn't hear anything, but she'd been around demi-humans long enough to know their senses were more finely tuned than humans'. Whether it was smell, sight, hearing, or in some cases, instinct.

Maya set herself against the ground. Tilting her head so her ear could be pressed against it. "I'm hearing rumblings. It's like…" She muttered to herself, and then she disappeared.

"**Hide Mirage.**" Raphtalia cast the spell over herself. Disappearing from view.

"Wait, Miss Raphtalia-" Eclair tried to stop Raphtalia to ask what was happening, but Raphtalia had already disappeared. '_What's going on-'_ She was thinking.

"_Don't act out of character. Something's out there. We're going to check it out."_

Eclair almost flinched at Maya's voice but kept her cool. She started doing basic downward thrusts in front of herself as Maya whispered into her ear. "_Just in case. Stay here and act normal until we get back. And whatever you do, don't allow anyone to go into the forest."_

She didn't say more. A few seconds later, the branches of a tree slightly shook, but other than that, there was no sign of where the girl had runoff to.

"I guess... while they're practicing magic together, I can stay here… and practice my sword forms… again…" Eclair got into the sword form she had been doing before Raphtalia interrupted her, and continued.

'_Am I going to have to be the one that gives those two the Talk?'_ She pondered as she lost herself in her sword form… '_Nah, I'm sure they'll ask someone else about it. It's not something for me to worry about.'_

She just had to act normal for now. And hope that what they'd heard wasn't bad news.

"Ugh..." Well, it was about to get a lot easier to act normal.

"It's about time you woke up!" Eclair yelled at the tired swordsmen from Ren's party. "What are you doing slacking off on training!?"

Welt immediately jumped up. "Wh-Wh-Wha-" He was saying in confusion.

"Come on! Your form is still nowhere close to perfection!" Eclair charged the poor guy.

"Wait, but I already passed out once from training-" **POW!** "Owwwwwww!" Welt nearly collapsed when Eclair's wooden sword struck him across his chest.

"No slacking! Stay on your feet and fight like your life depends on it!" Eclair ordered. "The enemy will show you no mercy, and neither will I!"

_'Why did I have to choose to be a freaking swordsmannnnnnnn!'_ Welt lamented inside his mind as he once again had to defend himself from the Rose Knight. Failing very miserably in the process as he could hardly keep up with her fast-flowing movements.

"Now put your whole body into it! Come on! Where did you learn to parry!? Your grandpa! Don't you dare hold back anything from me!" Eclair continued to yell, fighting Welt with the ease of destroying a level 1 monster.

She was a monster herself.

How the hell was she still this good despite being imprisoned for almost three months and pushing herself to exhaustion again and again?

_'Wahhhhhhh!'_ Welt complained inside his mind.

Being part of the Shield Hero's party was so unfair!

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Sorry, the ending of the Chapter here is going to be considered the omake. Because that was too much comedy to end on. Hope you enjoyed the Filler a Reviewer suggested. Seemed like the perfect time to flesh out more of the party members that haven't had so much screentime.**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	42. 42: Broken Past

**Have to say before we start. RLT is writing an awesome AU fic right now called SnowBlind. If you're looking for a fic that's A. Raphumi. B. Funny. And C. AU. This is your fic. It has made my week worth it. It's one of the few stories I've seen here that uses the characters and doesn't follow the events of the canon route. It has been majorly refreshing to read. I honestly wish there were more fics like it in the fandom.**

**Now, on to the story!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** 32 more Favorites, 45 more Followers (Total: 1373 Favorites, 1583 Followers)

* * *

**Updated:**_ May 11th, 2020 11:15 A.M. (EST)_

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Two:** _Broken Past_

* * *

Raphtalia ran through the wooded forest. Fast and lithe, unseen because of her illusion spell. '_That rumbling…'_ She couldn't hear what it was yet. But she felt something every time her feet hit the ground. The ground gave soft, almost unnoticeable vibrations. Like something large was moving in the distance.

A horrid feeling traveled up her spine. '_What is that...'_ It felt, cold, uninviting...

"So, any guesses about what's out there?"

Raphtalia almost stumbled but managed to stay upright while keeping herself moving. A branch opposite her to the side shook slightly. "Maya, can you see my spell?" Raphtalia asked.

"Not really, I'm not good at perceiving other people's illusion magic yet. You're just making a lot of noise." The invisible Maya commented. "I'd recommend making a lot less. I get the feeling we're not alone out here."

Raphtalia grimaced and made efforts to reduce her noise output. "There, I can hardly hear you now. So want to take a guess what we're running towards?" Maya asked.

"I don't know what it is. But there's a large number of them." Raphtalia said.

"Think it could be a herd of large monsters preparing to attack a town?" Maya asked.

"No… even a hundred large monsters together wouldn't make this much noise so far out."

The two girls said nothing more and continued running through the forested hills. Avoiding branches or kicking rocks and the like. The closer she got, the worse the feeling got. '_Why… why do I want to turn and flee?'_ She didn't know what it was. But there was something… very wrong about the direction they were heading. Like her body was screaming at her not to go that way. And it wasn't because of what they were hearing.

They traveled a few miles under the disguise of illusion magic. As they got closer, the rumbling got louder. If it wasn't for the bracelet Naofumi had made for her and a couple of Magic Healing Potions Maya had on hand, Raphtalia would have run out of MP long before they got there.

They stopped at the edge of a hill, looking down on a road cut into the forest. The vibrations through the earth had become more discernible. And the noise had gradually gotten louder and louder as they approached. Still, they could have never guessed what appeared below them.

Down below was an army.

On the wide dirt row, row upon row of knights in shining polished armor marched in sync with each other. Their weapons were sharp and glistening on their backs and on their sides. Their hard stomps with their boots sent pulses of vibrations throughout the land as each footfall echoed with each other like the inside of a drum. Sending monsters and all other forms of life fleeing in terror miles around.

"What… the…" Maya whispered in plain shock. Seeing the size of the army.

It wasn't only knights. Rows of robed figures were interspersed here and there. Mages. Several figures also flitted throughout both sides of the forest around the traveling army. One of them passed overhead right above the silent Raphtalia and Maya. Another one jumped through the trees farther back from them. They kept on glancing left and right, looking for the faintest sign of enemy demi-humans as they continued on.

'_Church Shadows...'_ Raphtalia shivered slightly.

"I'm really glad we chose to keep ourselves hidden," Maya whispered in Raphtalia's ear. Afraid of being overheard.

There were wagons protected by knights on horseback. Pulled by horses, Filolials, and Rider dragons. All of which wore armor and looked bred for war. A lot of the wagons had coverings over them. But there was one wagon with an assembled ballistae sticking out from it.

As they watched, several knights on horseback marched by below their hiding spot. Several of them held banners, inscribed with depictions of the rosary of the Three Holy Heroes.

It didn't take a genius to figure out where this army's loyalty lied.

If they were forced to count. There had to be hundreds, no thousands. Marching in sync towards a location. Like a well-disciplined machine. "How did an army this large get past Van's scouts?" Maya asked in disbelief.

Her question was soon answered.

Another wagon passed. Maya put a hand over her mouth in horror. There were cages in the back. Sitting dejectedly in them were demi-humans. Beaten and battered. Even from a distance, Maya still recognized a few that Van had had spying the routes from the Capital to his property. And there was more along with them. Demi-humans who had been living freely in the Capital, who had the misfortunate of not getting out in time after the Church's takeover.

"What… but… why?" Maya whispered in disbelief. Where were they taking them?

Raphtalia looked down the road, and she recognized the mountains in the distance.

'_No…'_ She couldn't believe it. She could recognize them. They were the same ones she'd seen only twice. The first time when she had been taken out of a slave wagon and led down into a cellar. And the second time soon after she had been bought and taken at night. Even in the dark, she could remember the outline of those mountains under the light of stars.

It was the mountain range next to Idol Rabier's Estate.

She'd forgotten how Van's lands were right on Idol's doorstep.

Maya realized it too. "This is bad." For once, there was no joking in her voice. "If they're going to Idol…"

Raphtalia started breathing in and out heavily. Had she not been hidden by her illusion spell, it would have been easy to see how on the verge she was to freaking out. _'No... NO!'_ She slapped herself, forcing herself out of the thoughts that attacked her mind.

"Raphtalia, are you alright?" Maya asked in concern.

"I'm fine." Raphtalia looked over the army in growing concern. "Weren't you-" A Shadow paused on a nearby tree. And she stopped talking in fear. But the Shadow quickly moved on after the others. "Weren't you expecting Idol Rabier to attack with an army?"

Maya's ears flickered on her head. "Yes. But only with his local army… but with this many..." Maya backed away, and Raphtalia did the same. They were both running low on MP, and there were Church Shadows around. In fact, another one flew through the trees overhead again right as they got up.

Raphtalia and Maya drank the last Magic Healing potions Maya had. Then they quickly fled back in the direction of Van's Estate.

Van and the Heroes had to know what was going on.

And Raphtalia had to distance herself before she cracked.

* * *

It was nerve-wracking the whole trip back. Raphtalia and Maya ran out of MP a couple miles away from the traveling army. Raphtalia didn't have her sword on her either. Something she really wished she'd grabbed beforehand.

They almost thought a couple times when they heard a sound that they were going to get ambushed by Church Shadows, but every time it turned out to be some random monster wandering around in the forest. Fortunately, Maya's daggers were enough to easily dispatch the lower leveled monsters. And Raphtalia didn't have to help.

If she hadn't been struggling with repressing thoughts from her mind. Raphtalia would have been proud of Maya for how strong she'd become.

Despite the lack of Shadows, the two didn't let their guard down. Not until they'd finally gotten to Van's Estate. When they got back, they informed Eclair about what they'd found. Sent her and Welt off to find those who'd been training in the forest. And then went in and reported to Van and the Heroes what they'd discovered while they were still in the middle of their meeting.

That was where they were at now.

"... What?"

The Three Heroes looked shocked. Maya and Raphtalia stood at the end of the table opposite of Van Reichnott. Van's expression was calm. Melty and Filo, who were still in the room, sat silently at the table. Filo, because she recognized something serious was going on and was staying quiet. And Melty… because she didn't know what to say.

Naofumi looked Raphtalia over in shock and worry. She was still covered in light bruises from her bout with Eclair. She wasn't wearing any armor and was dressed in an extra set of her regular clothes without armor attached to it.

She'd been far too under-equipped for going out to scout an enemy army!

Then again, had she not done it, they wouldn't be aware of the army.

"The Three Heroes Church sent an army to reinforce Idol Rabier," Maya said. "We didn't get a number. But there were thousands marching down the highway north of us."

"There... there were Knights, mages, cavalry, and a few Church Shadows as well as some armored wagons," Raphtalia said. "I didn't get a good look at what was in the back of some of them. But I saw a Ballistae on one of them."

"... what the hell…" Itsuki looked astounded. "Thousands?"

Van thought to himself. "I didn't think the Pope would send such a large army our way…" Ren said. Van had, at best, several hundred demi-humans and villagers who could fight, along with the Three Heroes and their parties.

"I mean, he doesn't realize we're here, does he?" Itsuki asked.

"It's either that. Or he really hates demi-humans that much." Ren responded seriously.

Naofumi was still quiet. Looking at Raphtalia in quiet shock and worry. She noticed his worried glance and gave him a small smile. Letting him know she was okay. Still, he felt oddly concerned for her seeing all those bruises. He wondered how she got them, and maybe it was just him, or did Raphtalia look tense to him? Was there something else she was struggling with too?

Was this what it was like to worry about your Tanuki girlfriend?

That was a thought his otaku self never thought he'd experience back in Japan.

"As much as I'm worried about the army, I've even more worried about the Shadows going along with them…" Van said forebodingly. "If I know Idol from what my Father told me during the war… he'd order the Shadows to encircle my lands while his forces integrated with his new reinforcements."

Ren started thinking to himself, while Itsuki looked bewildered. "You're saying we're going to have to deal with those guys again as well as this army?!"

Maya looked downcastedly down at the ground. "I… I personally don't think it'd be a good idea to try and fight against that large a force, Sir Itsuki." She suggested.

They'd managed to defeat several hundred knights back in the Capital. But they'd had the element of surprise on their side then. Even if they didn't know the Heroes were here, the surprise factor wouldn't be as grand as the Capital.

"But if we don't fight, then that'd mean we'd have to get everyone ready to flee before they attacked-" Itsuki was saying.

"No, if Van's right about Idol's strategy... fleeing before the attack would be the worst possible thing to do," Ren said seriously.

"And why is that?" Itsuki asked.

"Because if the Shadows encircle Van's lands before we leave, it'll be over," Ren answered before Itsuki could finish.

All eyes turned to him. Waiting for an explanation. "It's a strategy people in my world used against me since… I was one of the best that fought alone." Ren looked down at his sword. It was weird to find even this lining up with a strategy from the games he played. Then again, it had been a strategy that real-life players had used on him, not NPC's.

It wasn't a game, but it was real people they were fighting against here. Sometimes, strategies from games mirror real-life strategies. "It's a cowardly strategy. But, sometimes, when large groups attack a solo player or a smaller group, they send scouts to surround an ambush area. That way, if the player catches wind of the ambush and tries to flee, they can warn the main group where he's headed and then slow him or her down. If Van's correct about Idol, they're going to attempt to do the same thing to us here. Either they'll kill us here, or follow us to kill us wherever we flee."

…

"That would… fit Idol's cowardly tendencies. According to my Father, it was one of his favorite strategies during the war with Siltvelt." All the heroes looked to Van, who didn't look quite so cheerful anymore. "I'm sorry… this surprise army has put quite a wrinkle in our plans. I'm unsure why my scouts didn't inform me about it…"

Maya looked to him dejectedly. "I saw some of them. Beaten and chained up in cages in the back of one wagon." She said. "There were other demi-humans with them too. I don't know if that was the only wagon holding them or not."

Raphtalia's hand clenched at her side.

"That explains why a couple of them haven't returned." Van looked older than before. "I should have told them to be more careful."

Melty placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You couldn't have known this was going to happen Lord Reichnott."

"No, but I could have tried harder to keep them safe." Van said, sighing at the end.

Maya and Raphtalia felt fortunate that they'd followed their guts and snuck up on the army using illusion magic. Had they not done that. Had they used their illusion magic even a mile out to conserve MP, they could have been ambushed themselves by a patrolling Shadow before realizing what was coming.

"This is just what we needed. Another thing on our plate of crap that we already had to deal with." Itsuki said grumpily.

"No kidding," Naofumi said dryly. "Just when things can't get any worse, they get worse."

First, they'd had the problem of defending the Estate from Idol Rabier's imminent attack. There were the slaves from Idol they needed to free. Then, of course, there was also the problem Melty had told them about earlier before Raphtalia and Maya came in.

* * *

"_If what Sir Ren described to me is correct… the Pope is wielding an ancient weapon that's capable of taking on the form of all the Cardinal Weapons.' Melty said._

"_A weapon that takes on the form of our weapons?" Itsuki asked._

_The other Heroes sat in silence. Listening quietly as Melty explained._

"_There's only one weapon I know of that's capable of replicating the skills of the Cardinal Heroes… A long time ago, an unknown alchemist, a genius for his time, tried to find a way to duplicate the four weapons of the Legendary Heroes. He wanted to make an ultimate weapon that could change forms between all four to use the skills of each. But he did so not to help the people, but to use it for personal gain._

_"His attempt was successful, and the weapon he created was called the Replica. However, he was ultimately defeated by the Cardinal Heroes summoned back then before he could take over the world. After the battle, the Heroes found his body. But they didn't find the weapon. It was presumed to be lost. And it's been lost ever since… until now."_

"_... Is it really possible for a weapon like that to exist?" Itsuki asked._

"_I can't even imagine the materials he would have needed to create it," Ren said to himself._

_Naofumi was quiet, thinking it over. "If it's the stuff of legend, then how do you know about it, Second Princess?" He asked._

_Melty frowned but was too busy being serious to throw a tantrum at the nickname. "Anyone familiar with the History of Melromarc, or Church History has heard the stories about it. It was a one of a kind weapon based on your weapons, Sir Heroes."_

"_I have heard some of the stories myself," Van affirmed. "I wasn't sure if the weapon Ren described was the Replica though. But if Princess Melty believes it to be the case, then I agree with her. Such a weapon would be far more dangerous in the hands of the Pope than the current Waves of Catastrophe."_

_Itsuki and Ren looked between Van and the Second Princess. Itsuki in disbelief. Ren in calm acceptance. For him, it was just another shot out of left field that proved how this wasn't Brave Star Online._

"_But… if it's really something from legend, then finding it should have been big news." Naofumi said. "That is, unless…" Naofumi thought about it more. "Unless it wasn't lost to begin with." He said in realization._

"_It's likely that the Church stole the weapon in the aftermath of that battle and hid it away for all these centuries," Melty said while frowning._

_Her mother hadn't prepared her for any of this._

"_If you had a weapon like that. You wouldn't even need to summon the Four Heroes." Ren commented._

"_It is powerful, Sir Sword Hero. But it requires a tremendous amount of MP for anyone to use it. It's one of the weapon's few drawbacks. And if the legends really are correct, it wields only a fourth of the power of the original Cardinal Weapons. If the Heroes themselves could barely beat the Waves, then a fourth of the power would never cut it."_

'_Only a fourth of the power… yet it still used one of my skills to reflect my strongest attack.' Ren thought somberly. 'I probably didn't even see the full extent of its capabilities if it can transform into all our weapons!' _

_"We're getting a little off subject here. We must deal with the Pope after my neighbor Idol is defeated." Van said seriously. "As long as the Pope's in charge, demi-humans all over the country will be in danger."_

_"And if my Mother tries to attack the Capital while the Pope possesses the Replica. She and the rest of her soldiers could be annihilated." Melty said._

_"That's how powerful it's supposed to be?!" Itsuki asked in disbelief. "But you said it had only a quarter of the power our weapons have!"_

_"It's said that the heroes of legend were capable of destroying entire mountains with their weapons, Sir Bow Hero," Melty informed him to his shock. "If those legends are true, imagine what someone with a fourth of that power could do."_

_"If it can use all our skills, even those we haven't unlocked yet… he could trample everyone under his feet," Ren said. "And if it only takes a large amount of MP… then the more people that joined him, the harder it'd be to win,"_

_"Yes. And right now, the Pope has one of the more populous countries in the world at his disposal. Imagine what he could do if he managed to gather the Church's Followers from all over the country to the Capital?" Van asked._

_"... He'd be damn near impossible to stop. Not without slaughtering a bunch of people." Naofumi said to himself._

_"Which is why the sooner you face him while his forces are divided. The better your chances are of ending this entire conflict once and for all."_

_The discussion went on for some time after that. There were details about how they'd draw the Pope out to confront them. Where the best place to fight him would be so he wouldn't be able to easily gather his Followers. And things like that._

_But they had been nowhere close to having a plan set up for when that time came before Raphtalia and Maya arrived with their piece of news._

* * *

So to list, there was the problem of Idol's imminent attack. There was the Pope taking over the country and being in possession of the Legendary Replica Weapon. There were Gods know how many demi-humans being targeted all over the country. And now, they had an army of thousands right on their doorstep. Ready to wipe out one of their only sources of allies in all of Melromarc. Along with a bunch of innocents.

The three heroes truly looked at a loss for what they should do. Raphtalia and Maya took their seats at the table. Not having anything more to say about what they saw. Both of them felt like they'd put a damper on the Cardinal Hero's moods. Raphtalia still looked somewhat tense. Prompting Naofumi to gently massage her shoulder.

He muttered a quick **Fast Heal** under his breath. A light green glow surrounded the Tanuki woman, healing her bruises. She briefly rested her hand on the hand massaging her shoulder, smiling to let him know she appreciated it. But the tenseness didn't go away and she focused on the meeting again. He eventually stopped and rested his hand in his lap again.

Ren gave the two of them a glance but didn't comment.

"Holy Heroes, I am open to your suggestions and great wisdom," Van said after they were silent for a while.

Itsuki and Ren both thought to themselves. "I… ... ... I really don't know what we can do here," Ren said in a defeated voice. "We're just three people against a kingdom…"

Silence surrounded the table for a moment. Naofumi clenched his fist underneath. '_Damn it…'_

"... we could try to portal everyone away in the time we have?" Itsuki asked.

"With the skill's cooldown and the limited number of people we can portal at a time. We'd be nowhere close to getting everyone away." Ren said.

"Then we portal away the women and the children," Itsuki said. "And we attack Idol before he attacks us."

"That'd be walking right into his hands. We might make it out alive, but almost everyone else wouldn't." Naofumi said. "And he'd kill those slaves before we broke down the doors… if we made it that far."

It was odd for him to think about it now. He'd spent so much time running away. And here he'd been for the last several hours, trying to plan a stand against Idol and in turn the Pope. Now, with the news of the large army assisting Idol, it seemed like the only option was to run.

Was this what it boiled down to? Was he going to have to run away from all his problems again?

"Should we risk being followed and evacuate the people as fast as we can before Idol attacks?" Naofumi suggested.

Raphtalia's shoulders visibly tensed. But she didn't voice anything.

...

"I don't know if we could evacuate everyone quickly… but, if me, Ren, and Naofumi upgrade our best weapons, we could probably still defend this place long enough for everyone to get away safely." Itsuki said.

"That's suicide. Even with our parties for support, we wouldn't be able to hold back thousands of Knights and mages." Ren said.

"But the Second Princess told us our weapons are capable of blowing up mountains!"

"That's also from an ancient legend!" Ren argued back. "Even if we can get that strong, there's no way we could get there by the end of the day! We need time and materials for that!"

"Fine! Then how about we use the-"

"No." Itsuki and Ren looked at Naofumi. "We're not going to use the Cursed Series. Not when it could risk hurting our own."

Raphtalia, without turning, gripped his hand under the table comfortingly.

...

"Then... what are we supposed to do?!" Itsuki defeatedly asked. The morning had started out so optimistic… and all of a sudden their plans for the defense of Van's estate, the counter-attack on Idol's city, and taking down the Pope had all gone up in flames. "If we can't get everyone away… then all my efforts to rescue those slaves…"

"... Do not worry, Sir Bow Hero. Not all is lost." Van said. "If there is no other choice, then I have another measure at the ready."

"You do Lord Reichnott?" Melty asked.

Filo looked at the noble curiously. "Does it involve food?" She finally spoke up.

"Filo!" Melty complained.

_'... Of course. Food would be the first thing on Filo's mind.'_ Naofumi thought with a groan. Then again, he couldn't remember the last time he'd personally cooked for her with everything going on.

He'd have to remedy that soon.

Van smiled at Filo's cute comment. "Of course. I was afraid it'd come to this. But if we truly don't stand a chance even with Three Cardinal Heroes on our side, then I have no choice." He looked to Itsuki. "While you brought the rescued slaves here, my people and I have been preparing for the day when we'd have to give up our lands and hide. His face turned a tad serious. "If we can't defend, I can promise my people will be ready to evacuate within the hour. We will be long gone before the Church's Shadows ever arrive to encircle my lands…"

"But… Where would they flee to?" Naofumi asked. "Would they be safe there?"

Van pulled out a map and smoothed it out on the table. "Our planned route would be South to here." He said, pointing at a southern portion of the map. "I've already had runners map it out over the last two weeks just in case something like this happened... There aren't many towns in between us and there. And there shouldn't be anyone living in the area. After the atrocities the Church committed there."

Raphtalia didn't gasp, but her hand gripped Naofumi's hand more tightly when she saw where Van's finger was hovering over. Naofumi couldn't read the characters on the map very well. But… it looked like the region Van pointed at was labeled **Seaetto**. "My people are industrious. We can use magic to clean our tracks the whole trip there. And, once we arrived, we could turn some of the abandoned buildings into temporary shelters while we planned our next course of action."

"So we can flee now before they have the chance to attack…" Itsuki seriously considered the idea.

"Yeah…" Ren looked surprised. Suddenly, solving this problem seemed to be a lot easier. "We could take the time to flee now. Upgrade our weapons, and then-"

"But what would happen to the Slaves Idol is holding?" Raphtalia asked. "What about the demi-humans that the Knights captured?"

…

The table had gone silent again. If Van's ploy worked, everyone would get away safely. However, if they fled…

"Knowing Idol… he wouldn't be happy about us escaping… so he'd take his anger out on the demi-humans he's holding." Van said.

Raphtalia gripped Naofumi's hand even more tightly, enough that it almost hurt. Her tail bristled behind her. She became taut like she was about to pounce. "Then we can't leave!" She said angrily. "We have to attack Idol and rescue those slaves!"

The other two heroes looked at Raphtalia in surprise. "But they have an army, and we have to save the people here. Why on earth would we want to attack when we can come back another-" Itsuki was asking.

"How dare you!" Raphtalia yelled, shocking the blonde boy into silence. "You put in more effort than anyone else to free this country's slaves! And now you want to flee and allow that vile coward to kill those innocent people?!"

"We're not saying that," Ren said in a calming voice. Causing Raphtalia to face him. "We're saying this is the best course of action we can take right now. We can't prioritize the lives of the few over the lives of the many-"

"You don't get it, do you?! Idol doesn't just torture slaves!" Raphtalia yelled. "He breaks them! He whips them until they scream! He takes away their will to live any way he can! He makes them wish that they'd never been born! And he takes pleasure throughout the whole process! That's what you're dooming those demi-humans too if you flee right now!"

The whole table stared at her in shock. The look of anger and hatred on her face was feral. She looked like she wanted to murder someone. "He did that to women! He did that, TO INNOCENT CHILDREN! HE DID THAT TO ME! HE DID IT TO MY BEST FRIEND! I HAD TO LISTEN TO HER AND SO MANY OTHERS SCREAM OUT FOR FRIENDS, PARENTS, SIBLINGS! SOME OF WHOM HE TORTURED TO DEATH RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM! AND YOU WANT TO RUN AWAY AND LEAVE THOSE PEOPLE TO DIE AT THE HANDS OF THAT HORRIBLE MONSTER-"

Naofumi squeezed her hand, looking at her worriedly. The action caused her to stop yelling.

Everyone at the table stared at her in shock. "Raph… Raphtalia?" Melty said in shock.

"... ... Naofumi… I'm going to go somewhere else." Raphtalia couldn't say more. With eyes filling with tears, she got back up and ran out of the room. Still shaking in almost unrestrained anger and sadness.

Naofumi looked back at her, and then back at the table. All of them were still silent.

Van's plan would save his people. But it'd likely cost the lives of every slave Idol held hostage in his estate... along with the lives of those being transported there right now.

"... Daddy, why is Mommy so angry?" Filo asked.

"I… I think I know why… How about we agree to think it over and meet back in a half-hour to decide on what to do," Naofumi suggested.

"Every minute we spend could be one minute closer to our window of opportunity closing-" Itsuki was saying.

"No, the Shield Hero is right," Van said, interrupting Itsuki. "There are times when we should listen to our emotions. And then there are times when we should listen with calm minds. There are many things troubling us now. Maybe a break and some time to think will reveal a better course of action."

Naofumi bowed his head in respect to Van. "I'll be back." He promised. He then got up and quickly left the room. "Come on Filo!"

"Okay!" Filo ran out after Naofumi.

"Wait, I'm coming too!" Melty ran out after Filo and Naofumi.

"I can talk to the parties about what's happening," Maya said to Itsuki. Hopefully, by now, Eclair would have found and brought back the mages training in the forest.

"Yeah, thank you, Maya," Itsuki said. Looking off to the side. Maya ran out of the room. "You can go to Ren... I'm going to stay here to think."

Ren stood up. "Alright." He left to make sure his party members were safe.

Van stood up. "I will inform my people to begin preparing now. And then have them leave when it's decided on what we should do." Van said.

Itsuki stayed silent, pondering over the problem to himself as Van left.

* * *

_"... Before Naofumi, I was owned by three different slaveholders… I only saw the third one at the celebration last night. I saw you talking to him shortly before the Spear Hero challenged Naofumi. He was the one who tortured me the most out of all three of them. Idol Rabier." Raphtalia admitted._

_"There were others like me that he owned. Most of them were only women and children, including my best friend Rifana... That noble loves to torture others, especially demi-humans… he hates them… And he tortured my best friend, even though she was sick. I don't even know if she's still alive or not since it was a little over a month ago when I last saw her..."_

* * *

Itsuki grimaced, remembering some of what Raphtalia had said in the past. '_If I'd only chosen to go after that large bastard first…'_

…

He sighed, putting his face into his hands. '_What is the right thing for me to do here?'_

He wanted to save everyone, including Idol's slaves… but how could he save them? How could he save Raphtalia's best friend when there was an army in the way? Wasn't it for the best if they chose to flee now?

But then what if Crystal's friend was held by Idol? Or Marx's family? Or Aksel's friends? Could he live with himself if they were there, and that they'd be killed if he didn't do something about it?

Even if the chances of them being there were low...

* * *

Raphtalia stood in Naofumi's party room. Looking sadly out the window at Van's Estate.

'_I'm so close… I'm so close, yet I'm so far.'_ Raphtalia thought sadly, looking in the direction of the mountain range signifying where Idol's Estate was at.

_**Crack!**_

_Rifana screamed out in pain. And Raphtalia screamed with her too. "No! Please stop it!" She begged the fat noble whipping Rifana. "Please stop hurting my best friend!"_

Raphtalia's hands clenched.

"_That's right! Scream for me, little demi! Cry as I hurt the ones you care for!"_

_**Crack!**_ "_AHHHHHHHH!"_

Raphtalia blinked. Her fist was buried in the wall. She'd punched a hole right through it. It hurt. She took her hand out, massaging it while trying to hold back the memories again. _'That man… that wretched, horrid, vile man…'_ She shuddered, a single tear escaping her eye.

It hurt. It hurt so much to think about it. She could almost feel the harsh whip digging into her back all over again... hear the screams of her best friend... see everything she'd held dear being taken away by the monster holding a whip...

"Mommy?"

Raphtalia turned from the window in surprise.

Filo ran into the room. Melty followed right behind her. "Is everything okay, Raphtalia?" Melty asked.

Raphtalia looked away from Van's lands down to Filo. She mustered up a smile and patted the girl on the head. Melty walked up beside Filo. "Yes, everything is okay." She said, trying to appear happy. Trying to hide the fact that she'd punched a hole in the wall and almost broke down in frustration.

"Then why was Mommy so tense during the meeting?" Filo asked innocently. "Why did mommy get so angry? Why is mommy crying?"

Raphtalia looked caught off guard. Filo, surprisingly, was becoming more observant. She was barely over a month old, yet she was making leaps and bounds in growing up. "You did look pretty upset Raphtalia. Is there any way we can help?" Melty asked genuinely.

…

Raphtalia looked sad again. "Yes, mommy is upset." She admitted. "But I'll be fine. I've suffered much worse than what I'm experiencing now."

"Is it something Mommy wants to share with Filo or Mel?" Filo asked, reaching up with one hand to rub one of Raphtalia's cheeks. "Filo knows it's easier to get through sad times when Filo's with family."

Raphtalia smiled somewhat at Filo's attempt to comfort her. "No, I'd rather not share this with you or Mel, Filo," Raphtalia said, hugging the two cute little girls close. "This is something mommy doesn't want to burden you or your friend with." Melty and Filo hugged Raphtalia back. Both girls looking cutely sad together.

"Is it something you'd burden me with?" Naofumi asked calmly from where he observed the three in the doorway.

Plan one had failed. Filo's cuteness and Melty's sincerity hadn't worked. So it was time for him to try.

…

Raphtalia looked up at him, her face unsure. And then she looked down sadly at Filo and Melty again before nodding her head. "Filo, Melty, can you leave us alone for a moment?" She asked.

Filo nodded. "Okay. Filo and Mel will leave. I love you, mommy." Filo hugged Raphtalia one more time, and then she and Melty quickly ran out of the room. Likely in search of some food. Leaving only Naofumi and Raphtalia inside.

When they were gone, Naofumi walked up to and gripped her hands in his. "Talk to me, Raphtalia. What's going on? Why were you so tense during the meeting? What happened out there that made you explode in there?" Naofumi asked like rapid-fire.

He couldn't contain his worry any longer. It felt horrible to see Raphtalia angry, tense, and sad. He wanted to help if only to see her smile again.

…

Raphtalia looked to Naofumi at last. There was anger flashing in her eyes. "I don't… I don't want to flee." She said. "I don't… I don't want any more people to suffer what I suffered in that horrid place." She said.

Realizing how close she was. Sharing these things with Naofumi. Memories unbidden traveled through her mind. Memories she'd suppressed of that horrible time of her life.

* * *

_**Crack!**_

"_Come on little girl!? Scream for me!"_

_Little Raphtalia hung from a chain connected to the ceiling. Oddly smiling as the whip cracked against her back again and again. Flecks of blood flew off from it onto the floor and the walls. Holding the whip was a fat man that looked like a bad man._

_She'd only been here a few days. Yet it felt like an eternity._

_She tried to act like it didn't hurt. But whenever she did, the slave crest on her chest burned a bright purple. Inflicting more pain on her already frail body. It drove her crazy. But she couldn't lose that smile, not now. Not after Mother and father had told her to always smile. Not when she had to bear this for her parents and everyone in the village who hadn't made it. So no matter how bad things got. No matter how much she suffered without them there to help. She had to smile. For their sake, and for the sake of everyone around her. She had to._

_"Come on! Scream for me damn it!" The bad man holding the whip yelled as he cracked the whip against her back more and more. "Stop smiling you damn demi!"_

_Blood slowly dribbled down her legs and onto the floor below. He whipped her again, and again, and again in frustration. She still smiled throughout the whipping process._

_Was this the day it'd end? Was this the day it'd finally be over? Was this when the mean man would go too far and finally end everything? It hurt so much._

"_Fine, if you're going to be boring!" One last whip slashed against her back, and then the chains came off. An assistant bandaged her back, making sure she wouldn't bleed out from her injuries. Then, she was tossed into her cell like a useless rag doll next to her friend. That same broken smile still on her face._

'_Mommy… daddy… I miss you so much... I want to see you again...'_

* * *

Raphtalia trembled at the memory. Naofumi stared back at her calmly. "I don't… want them to suffer like I did." She whispered. Tears appearing in the rims of her eyes.

"I know. I don't want that to happen either." Naofumi said.

"Then how... how can they think about fleeing!?" She bared her fangs as she yelled. "How can they do that knowing what would happen to the slaves that Idol's holding!? How could you go along with that!?" She angrily asked. Looking out the window again in frustration in the direction of Idol's estate.

* * *

"_AHHHHHHHH!" Little Raphtalia woke with a scream. "Mommy, daddy-"_

"_Shhhh, *cough cough*, it's okay." A sick Rifana hugged the crying girl close on their shared cot of hay. "It's going to be okay."_

_"No… they're gone… they're both gone…" Raphtalia whimpered._

_Her nightmares. They were getting worse ever since she'd entered this place. She saw her parents' deaths over and over again. Every night like clockwork. They kept on telling her to be strong... they kept on telling her to smile..._

_"We… We still have each other, Raphtalia. We still have each other." Rifana tried to comfort her best friend. Although she was crying herself._

_Raphtalia continued to cry into her best friend's embrace. "Mo-Mommy… I miss you so much."_

_They told her to be strong. But she missed them so much. Everything hurt so much._

"_Just keep smiling for me please." Rifana cried. "Please don't *cough cough* lose that smile Raphtalia," Rifana said, rubbing Raphtalia between her ears. "That's all we have left down here…"_

_It was getting so hard to smile._

_What did this bad man want from them that he'd go to such lengths just to take her smile away?_

* * *

Raphtalia was clenching up. That feral look entering her face again. "Hey. Look at me," Naofumi said calmly.

Raphtalia put her hands to her head. "I can't leave them! Not after what that vile monster did to me and my best friend! I can't leave without trying to-" Raphtalia was saying.

"LOOK AT ME!" Naofumi grabbed Raphtalia by the shoulders and surprised her by making her face him. "I don't want to flee either, damn it!" He yelled much to her shock. "This… this bastard was the one that tortured you, correct?" He asked. He also looked angry, very much so.

Raphtalia, though slightly surprised, nodded. Her memories of that place still playing in her mind.

* * *

_**Crack!**_

_"AHHHHHHH!"_

_"That's right! Scream for me! Scream with what little worth you have left rodent!"_

_Raphtalia watched in shock as her best friend in the entire world was whipped in front of her again and again. The vile man no longer whipped her as often, even though she wished he would so someone else wouldn't have to suffer. He'd learned Rifana was Raphtalia's best friend. And was using that to his advantage to break the demi-girl._

_"AHHH!" Rifana screamed in anguish._

_"Hahahaha! That's more like it! Scream, scream, and regret your cursed existence you useless filth!" Idol yelled manically. _

_Rifana screamed again as the whip cracked against her back again._

"_Why do you have dreams of a better life?!" The man cracked his whip against Rifana again. "You're just a couple of worthless demis!"_

_"R-Rifana," Raphtalia sniffed. But she couldn't cry now. Otherwise, she'd never be able to bring herself to smile again._

* * *

Naofumi stared at her. Miniature storms brewing in his eyes.

"What did he do to torture you?"

Raphtalia stared at him. "He... he..."

...

"He broke me... he broke me, and then tortured me even after I was broken."

* * *

_Raphtalia held the weak hand of her unconscious best friend. An empty bowl of soup laid to the side. The only meal they'd get for the day. She'd already fed it to her friend. Hoping it'd give her another day of life._

_Hope was so hard to come by down here..._

"_Hey, demi! You're always muttering about some village, aren't you?! About going back and rebuilding it!"_

_Raphtalia shakily looked up. The bad man stood behind the bars, smirking in satisfaction. "Turns out, the whole village was destroyed! Here's proof!"_

_He held out a crystal ball. A beam of light traveled out from it, projecting an image onto the wall._

_It was her village. She could recognize the landscape from anywhere. But it was destroyed. The buildings had all collapsed. The bones of the dead littered the ground. The flag she and Rifana had promised to raise one day laid on some rubble. It was tattered and burnt. Surrounded by the bones of those who'd tried vainly to protect it._

"_It looks like all your hard work is over. Everyone left the entire region to rot!" The man flashed an ugly smile. He'd gotten Raphtalia to scream in pain. But he'd never gotten her to cry._

"_No… ug…" Raphtalia tried to hold it in. She tried to smile. She tried to…_

"_Wahhhhh!" Raphtalia collapsed to her knees. Bawling at the site of her village, her home being utterly destroyed. Part of her had held out hope that somebody had survived and stayed behind. Like Sadeena, or Keel… or someone…_

_But no one was left. The village her parents had entrusted to her was gone._

"Hahaha! Yes! _Cry! Cry harder!" The man yelled. Laughing all the while at her misery. He pulled her out of her cell, strung her to the chain, and whipped her even more fiercely than he had before as she cried._

_Something had snapped in the poor girl. This pain she felt now, it was so intense she thought she would go crazy. Her heart was so empty. Weeks of sadness that had pent up inside her cascaded out like a waterfall as she was beaten, whipped, and psychologically tortured. The projection of her destroyed village still on the wall._

_"I'm sorry. I'm so, sorry." She cried to herself. Fat tears ran down her small cheeks and dribbled onto the floor below._

_What felt like hours later, the horrible man stopped. "My work here is finished." He turned off the projection. Dropped Raphtalia to the ground. Turned around, and walked out of sight. Still laughing in pleasure at what he'd witnessed._

…

_"Rifana… I can't… I can't do it anymore…"_

_The horrible man had finally done it._

_The smile she'd protected ever since the Wave struck her village was gone._

_She had been broken._

* * *

Raphtalia couldn't stay silent any longer. She laid herself bare before Naofumi about what had happened in that place. What she'd experienced in Idol's cellar. She felt tears fall from her eyes as she described what had happened. This felt so much worse than when she'd told him about her village. But she couldn't relive it alone in her mind any longer.

She needed someone she trusted to know what had happened, and why she wanted to go back. And she couldn't keep it from Naofumi. Not when his angry, caring eyes begged to help her out.

When she'd finished, Naofumi scowled. "That's it. We're not going to flee." He said. "Not until we rescue those slaves. And punish that noble for what he's done."

Raphtalia looked surprised. Naofumi was taking her side so easily. But then again, this wasn't just some noble torturing people. This noble had tortured Raphtalia. And he'd done it to pleasure his sick, sadistic self. Naofumi didn't just want to rescue those other slaves now. He wanted to make the fat bastard PAY!

"But, but it doesn't sound like the others would agree to it-" Raphtalia was saying.

"Then I'll make them agree," Naofumi said determinedly. "I'll twist their arms and make them help." He remembered Malty threatening to have Raphtalia killed by this sick person. He growled in anger. "I won't leave. I won't stop. Not until that bastard pays with his life for what he did to you-"

"Naofumi."

Raphtalia didn't look angry anymore. She gently cut him off. "I… I appreciate that you care about me… but they're right. If we do this wrong, we risk Idol killing those slaves… and we risk getting many other innocent people hurt." She looked sad again.

…

Naofumi sighed and hugged the Tanuki girl close. Even now, she still worked on keeping him in check. Even if she wanted to punish the fat bastard too. "I'm sorry. I'm not sure what we should do then." He said, rubbing a hand through her hair.

Raphtalia rested her head on his shoulder. Snuggling into his embrace. "I don't know what to do either." She said. Tears appearing in her eyes again. "I just..."

* * *

_"Ra… Raphtalia?"_

_Raphtalia looked at Rifana. She was staring weakly up at the ceiling._

_"What… is it?" Raphtalia coughed after speaking. She had recently caught whatever it was her best friend had._

_Maybe that was for the best. There wasn't anything left for her to live for anymore. If the beatings didn't kill her, surely this would._

_"Do you… do you wish the Cardinal Heroes would come… come rescue us?" Rifana tiredly asked._

_Raphtalia sat at the base if Rifana's cot. "Would the Cardinal Heroes even care about us?" Raphtalia said sadly._

_Would they really care about two little slave girls on the verge of dying?_

_..._

_"*cough cough* I… I want… I want to go back to our village." She held a small stick, like a toothpick in one hand. Attached was a small piece of cloth. Like a small flag. "I want to go back to raise our flag… and I, I still want to meet the Shield Hero." Rifana said tiredly. "Like we talked about... on the log... before the Waves came."_

_Raphtalia stared at her friend. How could she still have dreams and hopes? How could she still remember life in the village?_

_Raphtalia sniffled and coughed once more. "Save your energy, Rifana," Raphtalia whispered. "I don't... I don't want you to die..."_

_Rifana was all she had left anymore..._

* * *

Raphtalia sniffed again. "I miss her... I miss Rifana so much." If there was even a chance that she was alive, no matter how small, she wanted to save her.

She wanted to save her most of all.

…

...

"... I miss your armor." Raphtalia sadly said in Naofumi's embrace.

"... What?" Naofumi asked.

"It was uncomfortable to hug you when you wore it, but it was really cool… and I miss you wearing it." She said sadly.

She missed it when things had started out. When it'd been a little more peaceful. When they had been on the run from place to place by themselves. Living off of what they hunted and the mercies of nature itself.

"I… I do too," Naofumi admitted. He wished his armor hadn't been damaged to the point that he couldn't wear it until Van's blacksmith repaired it. He wished that they didn't have to be embroidered in such a major conflict when they were still recovering from escaping the Capital.

He wished life could be a little more peaceful for once...

But he was a Hero. If they didn't do something, all the demi-humans here risked being wiped out. But if they did do something, they risked Idol either torturing or killing his slaves… if he hadn't done so already that is.

'_Damn it… there has to be some way to get through this… but what is it?'_ He didn't want Raphtalia put into battle so soon after recovering. He didn't want Filo to have to fight in such a large conflict. He also didn't want Melty or Eclair to get hurt since they were level 19 and 25. Hell, he'd hoped that they'd be able to grind somewhere nearby so they could become stronger by the time the next wave hit, but it didn't sound like they'd have time for that... _'Oh yeah, Raphtalia was covered in bruises earlier.'_

"Is it alright if I ask why you were covered in bruises?" Naofumi asked.

Raphtalia chuckled. "I asked Eclair to help me train, and she tested my abilities with a practice duel. She was much better than I was." She admitted.

'_Oh… at least it wasn't from a monster or Shadow ambush.'_ He thought gratefully. Though hearing Eclair had managed to beat his Companion made him somewhat fear the Rose haired knight a little more than before. '_Maybe I should also ask her to take it easy on Raphtalia. I don't want her to-'_ He was thinking.

"You better not be thinking about stopping me from improving," Raphtalia said. "If it helps me to better protect you as your sword, I won't stop."

'_Damn, still as good as ever.'_ He thought when she read his mind. "Alright, I won't." She loved him, but she was stubborn and wasn't afraid to speak her mind. He loved that about her. Even though she loved him, she still followed her own wishes and desires. He knew better than to fight against her desire to get stronger. Though that didn't mean he couldn't worry…

Naofumi rested his head against Raphtalia's. "What do you think we should do?" He asked.

"... I don't know." She couldn't see either course of action working… and if she admitted that part of her wanted to sneak in alone to deal with Idol, she knew that Naofumi would never agree to it. And as much as she wanted to sneak in herself… she knew Naofumi would come charging in after her if she did so. Which would put him, Filo, Melty, Eclair, and possibly the other heroes in danger. "I just… don't want to flee if there's a chance… a chance that she's there, and that she's still alive. Waiting for me to come rescue her."

* * *

_The door to the cell opened._

_Raphtalia weakly looked up, seeing a strange noble lady standing there. Her hair was black. She was dressed in a long dark dress. And she held a fan in front of her face. The fat man was next to her._

_"Yes. I daresay, this is the one." The lady said. Dropping a sack full of coins into the man's grubby hands._

_"Hohoho, I know it's supposed to be a rental. But…" He counted the silver coins in the bag. "I'm sure this will more than make up the fine for selling it to someone else."_

_Raphtalia was too tired and hurt to think about what was happening. Rifana was dying. And she'd soon be in the same boat._

_She didn't want to live anymore. She'd lost the will to ever since she'd seen the complete destruction of her village._

_The bad fat man looked at the noble lady curiously. "Who are you buying it for again?" He asked curiously._

_"My employer is none of your concern, I daresay. I can handle 'it' from here." She said dryly, walking into the cell._

_"Yes yes. My knights will be waiting to help escort you out." The man bowed happily, before running off to count his new small fortune._

_Raphtalia stared listlessly at the lady as she approached. She took out a key Idol had given her, and unchained Raphtalia's ankle. Her other hand still holding the fan in front of her face._

_"Wh… why…" Raphtalia murmured. She was useless. She had no purpose left. Why would someone want to buy her?_

_"I daresay, you will not understand if I told you, dear child." The Shadow in disguise said. She then took out a bottle from behind her fan. "Drink this, it will help with your sickness."_

_"Wh… what?" Raphtalia looked broken and confused._

_"There isn't much time, I daresay. I will be taking you to the Capital soon. But first, you must take this. Otherwise, I fear for your survival."_

_Raphtalia stared at the vial she was given. She still looked sad and broken._

_*Cough Cough*_

_Coughing sounded behind her. Raphtalia turned her head and looked._

_Rifana laid asleep in her cot. It was hard for her to sleep because of Raphtalia's nightmares. Which had gotten worse ever since Idol had shown her the destroyed village. Now, instead of cheering her up, her parents were disappointed in her. They told her she was a horrible excuse for a daughter. That it would have been better if she'd died instead of them._

_It'd gotten to the point where she believed it._

_Yet the sickness was so close to taking her friend…_

_She looked at the vial, and then at the noble lady again. She sniffed. Tears she didn't know she had anymore entered her eyes. "Please… give it to my friend… take her away instead of me…" She quietly begged. Tears coming from her eyes._

_She didn't have anything left to live for. She was broken beyond repair. Her parents berated her in her dreams repeatedly… her waking hours were like a nightmare on repeat. Hopelessness and despair had been pounded into her soul. But if there was a chance she could save her best friend, she'd rather do that then take the medicine for herself._

_At least she'd have done something good before leaving this cruel world behind..._

_The noble lady stared at her from behind the fan for a long moment. Raphtalia was broken, but she looked determined that she'd rather save her friend first before she saved herself. The disguised shadow nodded. "You are the one I am looking for, I daresay."_

_She grabbed the vial and walked past the confused, broken Raphtalia. Then, looking around to make sure no one else was looking, she gently lifted her sick friend's head with care. And let the contents of the vial fall down her throat._

_It took a moment, but the lady set Rifana's dirty body with the utmost of care back against the cot. Whatever she'd given her was already working. Color returned to Rifana's skin. And she looked much more at peace as she stepped back. "If you are willing to put your friend's life in front of your own in this place. I daresay, you will do wonders where you're going, dear child."_

_Raphtalia still looked confused. But just like Rifana's skin regaining its color, a little ember of hope burned in her chest again._

_It had been so long since she'd seen someone else perform such an act of kindness..._

_"Now, come. There is no time to waste."_

_Raphtalia stared, unresisting as the lady pulled her along. Unsure of what would happen now, and what this lady's intentions were. Soon, she stepped out of the cellar into a dark night. The mountains she'd seen before entering the first time came into view. The stars were prettier than she'd ever remembered._

_The lady had whispered one last thing to her. Something she couldn't recall.__ And then she passed out._

_When she woke up the next time. She found herself, broken, sitting in a cell in a slave tent. But she hadn't had much time to think about that. As she'd woken up just minutes before someone walked in, and changed her life forever._

* * *

Raphtalia looked sad. She hadn't thought about it for so long… _'Why… why did that lady save me…'_ She had given the medicine to Rifana as she'd asked. But why? For what purpose?

On the other side, Naofumi was still straining his mind. Trying to come up with an idea that would work. '_Come on… there has to be something… there has to be!'_ He didn't want to give up on these slaves.

…

He sighed, still not thinking of anything. _'Damn it. I can't do it. No matter how I think about it… there's too many people that hate us in the way... This is pointless-'_

…

…

**...!**

Naofumi looked like he wanted to facepalm.

There were people that **hated** him in their way! **HIM!**

"Idol Rabier worships the Three Heroes Church, correct?" He asked for clarification. Snapping Raphtalia out of her thoughts.

"Yes." Raphtalia looked at Naofumi confusedly. Sensing he was growing excited.

"Meaning he hates my guts. And he'd want to go after my guts. Along with possibly every other damn knight, mage, and shadow in that entire army." Naofumi really looked like he was getting excited. "I think… I might have an idea that'll work!"

Raphtalia looked him in the eyes. Likely using her mind tricks to figure out what his plan was. "You're not… planning on using yourself as bait, are you?!" She asked quizzically and in fright.

"No, of course not," Naofumi said. "At least, I'm not planning on using **myself** as bait." He said happily.

"... I'm so confused." Raphtalia said.

Naofumi pecked her on the forehead. "Don't worry. I'm still piecing it together. But it should be ready by the time we meet up with the others."

Raphtalia blushed, and her tail started wagging fiercely behind her. Maybe it hadn't been all bad that she'd been saved that day instead of Rifana. She'd been broken by that horrible man. But Naofumi had caringly pieced her back together. He'd protected that ember of hope the noble lady had given her and nurtured it with his care and protection until it grew into a blazing bonfire. Giving her a new purpose to live for in life, and a reason to smile.

She still missed her parents. But she no longer had nightmares about them dying. Or about them calling her a disappointment. Her life had changed all because of Naofumi.

She wanted him to kiss her on the lips so badly. But… it was so embarrassing!

"Oh… did you happen to…" Naofumi trailed off, unsure if he wanted to finish that sentence or not, seeing how Raphtalia was reacting to the forehead peck.

"I'm fine!" Raphtalia quickly said. Trying to calm the blush in her cheeks. "I'm fine! I just, I get embarrassed when you do that to me out of nowhere!" She admitted.

Oh no, she was the one that was supposed to ambush him out of nowhere! Not admit that it flustered her when he did it to her!

Naofumi smirked. Assuming Raphtalia had gotten the talk after all. "Well, as long as someone gave The Talk to you. You'll know that isn't how you get pregnant." He ran out the door of the room.

"Wait, Naofumi, what's the Talk-" Raphtalia trailed off since Naofumi had already run out. '_Ohhhhhh, I guess I can just bring it up another time.'_ She ran out after Naofumi. Following him to the meeting room, and listening to the details he described for his plan as they came to mind.

Raphtalia and Naofumi eventually met back up with the other Heroes and Van, half an hour after they had taken a break. "So, have we decided on what course of action we should take?" Van asked.

"Actually, I'd like to propose an idea," Naofumi said. "If that's alright?"

"Go ahead, Sir Shield Hero." Van agreed.

"Do you know if Idol Rabier hates the Shield Hero?" Naofumi asked Van again for confirmation.

"With a passion," Van said affirmatively. "I haven't met a noble that hates you more than he does."

Naofumi smirked. "Great. Give your people the order to flee. Ren, Itsuki, how would you feel about the three of us working together to rescue those slaves?" Naofumi asked.

Itsuki went wide-eyed. "But how? They're going to have a freaking army in the way!" He said incredulously.

"No, they're not," Naofumi said with a grin. "Not when the army, Idol, and the Shadows think they're chasing after the Shield Hero." He outlined the plan he'd come up with while going over it with Raphtalia in the hallway.

Itsuki still looked confused, but Ren started to grin widely. "Naofumi, that's genius."

"Illusion magic…" Van looked impressed.

Naofumi nodded. "Raphtalia told me once illusion magic wasn't just for making objects or hiding. If the illusion is realistic enough-"

Itsuki finally caught on and looked at Naofumi in shock. "You want to use an illusion of yourself to bait them away?" He asked.

"And go through the back to rescue the slaves while they blindly chase the illusion through the forest," Naofumi said. He'd seen it plenty of times. Their zealousness was so all intoxicating that it blinded them to everything logical. He wanted to use that against them so they could accomplish some good for once.

"And if Idol and his commanders stayed back to direct the army in capturing the illusion, Itsuki could sneak into wherever their place of command is and assassinate him and the other commanders. Putting the army in a state of confusion when they finally realize they were chasing after an illusion." Ren said.

"Giving my people all the time they need to get out of my lands." Van nodded affirmatively. "This, this could work."

"... I like it. Don't get me wrong. I want to stop that noble for everything he's done... But do you really think they're going to be that stupid?" Itsuki asked. He'd spent all this time preparing to eventually face down Idol in his fortress. Would a simple trick actually work on him?

"Yes," Naofumi said seriously. "Since these are people from the Three Heroes Church. They might be even more stupid than I'm predicting."

"And besides, once Naofumi and I are done evacuating the Slaves. You can use your Portal Skill to escape with your party." Ren said. He wasn't all that comfortable with killing people. But Itsuki had plenty of experience in that regard. Even if he knew it was real, he was the best one for that job since he had a strong desire to enact justice on those that were evil.

Itsuki seriously thought it over some more. "Alright… I'll trust you on this. But I'd want most of your party with me including Wyndia. Just in case they try using ritual magic or something else to block my Portal skill." He also wanted Ren's higher-leveled party members on hand in case Naofumi's illusion trick ended early and they got ambushed.

Ren grimaced but nodded. "Alright. I don't see another option." He said. "Anything else?"

"I just want to say... I'm agreeing to this because Raphtalia's right. I haven't given up rescuing slaves before. I won't give up now if this has a shot of working." Itsuki said seriously.

Naofumi felt proud of the blonde-haired boy. He'd come a long way since the day he was summoned over two months ago.

Van stood up. "I'll send out the order to begin evacuating immediately then." He also took out five vials from his jacket and handed them to Ren. "Make sure to pour these over the crests of the slaves when you get there. You have no idea how hard it was to acquire a blood sample from Idol Rabier without him realizing it." He said. "That should hopefully be enough if you pour it sparingly on everyone's slave crests."

"Hope is what we'll need if we want this to work. Let's get our parties ready," Ren said, pocketing the vials. "We'll need to make sure we're ready for anything."

"Right!" With that, the First Meeting of the Three Heroes finally dispersed.

Raphtalia looked happier than before. _'Rifana. Don't worry. I'm going to rescue you soon. I promise!'_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Wow, this chapter was a lot of fun. For a lot of those flashbacks of Raphtalia's time in Idol's cellar, I had to pull from an extra chapter in the 1st LN for inspiration. Since it shares her POV of what went down in there. I have to say anime already made me hate the fat bastard. The LN made me hate him a lot more.**

**Well, it's the end of the chapter. Tune in next week when the Heroes launch a surprise attempt to rescue all the demi-humans Idol is holding.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**They Are That Stupid**

* * *

"They can't be that stupid."

"Just watch." Naofumi grabbed his Shield, changing it to the **Mask Shield**. He put it over his face. And then walked onto the road, approaching the gates.

"Ah, good evening Doctor. Been having a good day today?" One of the knights greeted happily.

Naofumi nodded. Walking past the guards into the city. "We hope you enjoy your time here in Rabier." The other knight greeted happily. Rabier was the city name.

Itsuki and Ren looked at each other in surprise. Were they so stupid as to not recognize Naofumi because he was wearing a mask?!

"Ah, young miss. What brings you and your daughters here today?"

A hooded cloaked Raphtalia with a happy Filo and a hooded Melty had just approached the gates. Raphtalia's sword hung at her side in plain view. She smiled happily. "I'm bringing the kids to see their Father." She said happily.

"Yay! I can't wait to see daddy again!" Filo cheered happily.

"M-Me too!" Melty said, trying to sound excited.

The guards shrugged. "Hope you find your Father then." The group of three happily strolled in. The guards didn't even mind that Raphtalia looked suspicious with the covering and being so obviously armed.

"They… really are that stupid." Ren said in shock.

"Ah, what brings such fine young misses to our fair city?"

It was Rishia, Maya, and Wyndia's turn. Rishia was in the lead, and looked very frightened. Wyndia and Maya both wore long suspicious thick cloaks with hoods to hide their demi-human features. "Fueh… we're, um… uh…"

The knight laughed. "No need to look so nervous pretty lady! You three aren't anywhere close to the demis we're looking for."

"That's right. We aren't. Now come on Rishia." Maya said, helping to push the frightened Rishia forward.

"FUEH!"

Wyndia glared at the Church Knights as they walked in. Her tail briefly poked out from behind. But she just grumbled and said something about the stupid sword not staying put while walking in.

THE KNIGHTS BELIEVED IT!

...

"I guess… this might work?" Itsuki looked to Ren. Who wore a pair of glasses. He was still dressed in the same armor and everything. His Legendary Sword was sheathed on his back in plain view! Itsuki also wore a pair of glasses. His Bow in plain sight on his back on top of his normal attire.

Literally, the only thing different about them was the glasses. "Let's hope so."

They finally walked out. Praying that the guard's stupidity would hold out.

They were about to pass under the gate. "Halt…" They stopped. "Do I… recognize you from somewhere?"

Itsuki gulped. "Nope. Just passing through." He said nervously.

"Hmmm…" Just when they thought they were screwed, the guard shrugged. "Sorry, the glasses made me think you were my long lost cousin for some reason. Enjoy your stay!"

Ren and Itsuki walked into Rabier city. Stunned beyond belief.

"They, really are that stupid."

Ren pulled off the glasses Naofumi had crafted for him. Staring at them in awe. "They didn't recognize me… because I was wearing glasses… just like Naofumi said."

The Church Knights would forever be stupid in their minds now.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	43. 43: Sounds of Silence

**Not much to say here. Now that we're number one, let's continue along!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _39 more Favorites, 36 more Followers (Total: 1412 Favorites, 1619 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _May 18th, 2020 12:45 P.M._

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Three:** _Sounds of Silence_

* * *

_Several Hours Later_

It was evening. Yet Van's estate and the nearby town were abuzz with activity.

Demi-human Guards who had been patrolling the land before now stood on large crates. Helping to direct the people out the town gate and towards the South. The bear therianthropes Itsuki had saved from slavery patrolled along the forest. Their noses sniffing out for any sign of danger. Servants carried food and other things out of Van's manor and put them into his people's wagons.

Despite the evacuation, despite leaving their crops and homes behind, the people were calm. Many already had wagons loaded with supplies, family heirlooms, and other essentials. Van supplied food to those who didn't have enough to get by on their own. And former slaves who were still recovering from the effects of slavery rode in other's wagons. Van's people would not leave a single person behind. Human, or demi-human.

Itsuki and Ren stood in front of Van's Estate. Together, they were going over the details of what they'd be doing once they got to Idol's city with their party members. This was going to require even more cooperation than the Capital. And they couldn't just bull crap a plan like last time. They had to make sure they and the slaves got out alive.

Van had offered magic support. But they'd decided the smaller the group, the better their chances. So it would be only the Three Heroes and their parties carrying this out. If things went south, Ren and Itsuki would be capable of teleporting their parties, along with Naofumi's out.

Hopefully.

Naofumi sat at a desk inside his party's room. Compounding Magic Healing Potions, Soul Healing Potions, HP Potions, and everything else they'd possibly need for tonight. '_To think I had all these ingredients in a hidden monster drop inventory.'_ He muttered a silent thank you to Itsuki and Ren for the information they'd provided earlier. He was multi-tasking in compounding the potions, reading the help guide for all the new information he'd acquired, and-

His shield popped out medicine onto the desk. Naofumi stopped compounding, moved the medicine out of the way, and got back to it. '_It's just like Itsuki explained earlier.'_ The medicine was Normal Quality and wasn't affected by any of Naofumi's shields that boosted the quality of medicines. But his shield automatically made it for him. Using his HUD, he assigned more materials into it to make more before continuing his other tasks.

Naofumi felt good. Really good. The familiar activity of compounding was helping him mentally. Along with the knowledge that he wasn't just helping out a group of people. He was helping Raphtalia to come to terms with her past with Idol. He was going to support her no matter what she chose to do when the time arrived.

Speaking of her, he saw Raphtalia through the window. She was a good distance away from the other two parties. She wore her armor, which had been repaired by Van's blacksmith. She wielded her magic silver sword and followed Eclair's movements as she taught her sword basics and had her practice again and again. Eclair helped with correcting her form and stance. She had a long way to go. But she didn't mind the corrections. She was willing to swallow her pride if it meant getting better.

Welt also practiced alongside Raphtalia. Filo and Melty were nearby. Practicing magic together. Besides Ren, everyone else was going to be assisting Itsuki. So they had the chance to practice now while they still had time.

His whole party was preparing for this. Even though he'd only met two of them over the last two or so days. They all wanted to help.

That was good.

Naofumi finished compounding one last Soul Healing Potion. Then he proceeded to inventory all the potions and medicines he'd created. '_Alright. I just need to do a couple more things.'_

With his Shield still working, he got up and got dressed in some black chainmail he had laid out on his bed. It was an item drop from a monster. The chainmail reminded him of the black and grey chainmail he'd first worn as a beginner. This chainmail gave a good defense boost, but not as great as his Barbarian Armor 1.5. It's only other benefit was **Water Resistance (Small)**.

He wished Van's blacksmith could fix the Barbarian Armor, even if it did make him look like a bandit chief. It's better stats would have been appreciated...

'_I've been running for so long… ever since I was summoned to this world I've been running.'_ As he examined himself in a mirror, he came to realize how things were really changing. He had stood up and fought Bitch before. Now he was going to fight today, and if he survived, he'd be on his way to the Capital. To fight the people who had been ruining his life in this world.

'_I'm fighting back for my right to fight for their world…'_ It was such an odd thought. He almost wanted to chuckle. '_Maybe if this all works out… I'll take Raphtalia and Filo somewhere for a vacation. They could use a break after everything they've done for me.'_

He checked his inventory to make sure everything he prepared was at the top where he'd easily be able to select it and pull it out. Then he walked over to the window again and looked outside. The sun hadn't set yet, so it wasn't time to go. Ren and Itsuki had finished talking to their parties. Ren was talking to that one demi-girl party member of his, he wasn't sure if it was Wyndia or Valley Girl. And Itsuki was talking with a green-haired girl. The one he'd accidentally healed the curse of.

The green-haired girl whined in fright at something. And the demi-girl just stared at Ren. Before she pulled a lock of hair from her tail and handed it to him. Rishia eventually cut off a small lock of her own hair and gave it to Itsuki. Both Heroes absorbed them into their weapons.

'_So they're seeing if they can unlock weapons to boost the stats of their parties…' _If they unlocked new weapons, Naofumi couldn't tell. But Itsuki went to Maya next and did the same thing, while Ren went to Welt.

His Shield was still making the next batch of medicine, so he opened his own Shield Menu to make sure he was ready.

He'd finished unlocking the **Dragon Fang Shield** for the +1 Attack stat (Take that Yandere Shield). He'd also carefully read the help guides for the new strengthening methods Itsuki and Ren had shared with him so he could strengthen his best shields.

**Ore Enhancement/Equip**. This allowed him to insert ore he'd mined (no monsters he'd absorbed before had dropped it) into ore slots on shields via his HUD. The ore he inserted upgraded stats tied to the Shield. For his **Chimera Viper Shield**, his physical DEF and AGI stats had increased. His Light Metal Shield saw an increase in Stamina and Magic DEF.

He'd tried inserting monster materials to see if that would work. But the ore slots rejected them. Apparently, they would only take a certain kind of ore and not materials related to the shield. Still, it hadn't hurt to try.

**Item Enchantment.** This turned unwanted items and monster corpses into energy to enchant Shields. There was supposed to be a chance of failure every time he upgraded an Item Enchantment, and the enchantment would reset if it failed.

He glared at the Cooking Efficacy bonus tied to the **Chimera Viper Shield**. It was at level 12 Cooking Efficacy (60% bonus to cooking) and it hadn't failed yet. _'Damn you, stupid Shield!'_ The level 12 enchantment had literally been a 12% chance of success, and it still succeeded!

He looked over a couple of his other shields he'd used Item Enchantment on. Including the **Shield of Hope II.** At least that gave him something useful. SP Regeneration +18% at level 4. '_At least you're trying to be useful!'_

**Rarity Up**. Ren's method was handy. It was separate from Itsuki's rarity based on materials (which passively applied to every Shield he had). And all it took was resetting past Shield's Mastery levels to obtain Mastery energy, and then using the energy to upgrade a weapon's rarity. His **Chimera Viper Shield** now had an **SR** (Super Rare) rating instead of a **C** (Common).

It didn't increase the power of the skills or counters, but it gave all of the Shield's overall stats a significant increase. He'd upgrade it more, but the chance of failure and resetting increased just like with Item Enchantment. And this was something he did not want to have reset on him since he didn't have many more shields to reset to obtain more mastery energy. They acquired a little mastery level while being equipped. But they got a lot more when they were equipped while fighting, using skills, casting magic, etc.

Seeing how some of these methods worked, Naofumi wished he'd done a lot more fighting with Raphtalia and Filo whenever they went monster grinding before all this. He would have had more shields to reset so he could obtain energy to awaken and upgrade the rarity of his other strongest shields. He would have had more monster drops. And he would have had more monster corpses to use as fodder for enchanting shields.

Oh well. Hindsight is 20/20.

He had the 20% defense buff affecting him. But because of all the active and passive strengthening methods Ren and Itsuki had shared with him; having the much stronger **Awakened Chimera Viper Shield** equipped made his defense stat much higher than before.

'_Heh. I wonder if Raphtalia would be capable of hurting me now…'_

...

He chuckled. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to test that theory anytime soon. Plus, he preferred staying on her good side.

"Naofumi, are you ready?"

Naofumi turned around in surprise. He'd been so engrossed with his Shield, he hadn't noticed Ren standing outside his door. "Is it time to go already?"

"It's past sunset," Ren said. "That's when we decided we'd leave earlier."

Naofumi looked outside. Ren was right. The sun had set while he checked his Shields. The village was finished evacuating. It looked like a ghost town outside. Van hadn't been kidding around when he said everyone would evacuate without leaving a trace behind.

His shield finished making the last batch of medicine, and he inventoried it.

"Let's go then."

No more running.

It was finally time to confront Idol Rabier.

* * *

_Rabier City_

"You have your orders. Now make sure they can't flee."

The Shadows bowed. Then, one by one, they ran out of the large manor. Heading through the streets and jumping onto the tops of buildings to make their way towards the outer wall.

"Mr. Rabier." Idol turned. He had a revolting appearance. He was overweight and middle-aged, with an unkempt mop of frilled, strawberry-blonde hair on his head as well as a small mustache above his lips. He was dressed in elegant clothing of black, golden, and purple hues, with some white frills to match his noble status. He also wore a purple cape, olive-yellow pants, and black riding boots. Right now, he had a cynical smile on his plump, ugly, bastardly face.

A messenger approached him and bowed. "The local militia is almost done integrating with the reinforcements Pope Balamus sent us. They should be ready to march on Van's Estate within the hour."

"Splendid!" Idol started to rub his grubby fat fingers together in anticipation. "To think, all this time, the slaves that were being 'liberated' by the imposter Bow Hero were hiding on my doorstep!" He started to chuckle darkly. "Oh, he wasn't just an imposter. He was a fool putting them so close to me. Not that I mind since it gives me the chance to prove myself a loyal follower of the True Gods!" He gripped a black whip tightly in his grasp.

"Mr. Rabier. The Church officers are also wondering if you'd like to take the lead on this victory?" The messenger asked.

Idol Rabier thought it over. "I do… but there is something I must attend to first. Give them the word that I will be down soon."

The messenger bowed again. "As you wish." He ran off to deliver the news.

Idol walked across his courtyard. Knights stopped and saluted him as he walked past. Heading towards a set of stairs descending into the ground. He took a deep, long sniff as he entered. It smelled of death, blood, fear, and despair.

Just the way he liked it.

A knight opened a black iron gate for him, and he walked past cell after cell. At first, the cells were empty. Then, after a little while, he came across the cells holding fresh slaves. He passed by all sorts of slaves of different species and ages. Hakuko. Raccoon. Dog. Neko. Kitsune. Etc. Slaves sent either by other nobles wanting to 'protect' their merchandise until the 'Bow vigilante' was killed, or those that had been given to him by Balamus's reinforcements when they arrived.

It hurt to prick his finger for the blood needed to apply slave crests to so many. But it was more than worth it. Seeing them all writhe on the ground in pain as the crest took effect. And that didn't even amount to what he'd do to them later when he had more time. A few looked ready to be broken. Some were already broken, but their bodies didn't have enough scars on them yet. He'd have so much fun making sure they'd wish to never live again for existing in his world.

After a while of walking, the cells became empty on either side. This slave he was visiting had been separated from all the others. She was… different. In a frustrating sort of way.

He stopped in front of her cell. "Oh, demi... Are you ready to play?" He asked in a sing-song creepy voice. Pulling out a whip from his side pocket.

The little weasel girl lying in the cot didn't stir.

...

"Hmmm…" Idol frowned. His records showed this girl had been a rental a couple of months back. She'd gotten sick, but somehow, she survived long enough to be returned to the Slave Trader he rented her from. He hadn't thought about her after that till two weeks ago when she was brought back by a noble wanting to protect his 'assets'.

She had been broken and sick when she left. But when he'd seen her then, she'd been strong. Healthy. Alive. The light of hope had shined brightly in her eyes.

Her first words when she saw him was this: The Cardinal Heroes will save me. And they will take you down.

He hadn't taken that very kindly.

Every day, he visited her cell to whip her. He didn't bother with bandaging her wounds. Sometimes, he even left her hanging on the chain until he'd come the next day for the next session. But somehow, she held onto that look. It got to the point where he had to move her here in case she infected the other slaves with whatever strange hope she had.

She was a light he had to break. No matter the cost. It was an offense if any demi-human he broke regained hope. He had to break her! This was no fun if the demi-human refused to break!

Idol cracked his whip. "Don't ignore me! Are you ready for more punishment, you little ****?" He asked. Glowering angrily at the girl ignoring him.

"ANSWER ME!" He walked into the cell and pushed her over.

He stared for a long moment... and then he started to chuckle. "Oh, I see now… I guess I went a little too hard on you in the last session." The girl was still alive. But barely. Her eyes were unfocused. Her breathes were slow and barely noticeable. "I doubt you even have the energy to scream."

Idol whipped the girl, but besides a slight flinch, she didn't move. Idol laughed creepily to himself. "I still don't understand how you survived the first time you little demi. But you won't be surviving now. You and every other damn demi-human in this world are about to meet the devils that created you!"

He pushed the girl off the cot onto the floor. He whipped the girl where she laid. But she didn't stir. "Where's your Cardinal Heroes now?! Did you really think they'd care about you!?" He whipped her on the floor again, but she didn't react.

"That's right. I knew-" He cut off.

The girl's eyes had focused. And they were now glaring defiantly at him. "You…" Her voice was raspy. "Will never… break me… again…"

Idol got pissed off. "YOU DAMN DEMI!" He whipped the girl again and again. He activated her slave crest in an effort to force her to scream. The girl grimaced on the ground as the purple seal glowed brightly. Yet, she didn't scream. The defiance didn't disappear.

"DAMN YOU!" Idol cracked the whip against her one last time and then backed out of the cell. Growling impatiently. "I'll be back with more torture soon! Just you wait you stupid demi!" He yelled angrily.

"Run… coward… run while you still can." The girl said, just loud enough to be heard. Glaring at him.

The noble growled. This feeling, traveling up his spine… was he really scared of this little girl? Or…

He shook his head. And left the cell to find someone else to torture.

He had no more time to waste on a stupid demi that wouldn't scream.

…

The girl pushed to get herself back in her cot. Grimacing in pain from the latest marks on her scarred body. Her hand gripped a torn flag. Something Idol had failed to notice before.

_'Raphtalia…'_ She missed her best friend so much. Ever since she'd woken up that one morning to find out she'd been bought by someone else. Yet her example and her surviving Idol's torture had given her new resolve. She wasn't going to be broken by anyone ever again…

She'd gone from master to master. Doing her best to stay alive, and to listen for news about the Cardinal Heroes. About the Shield Hero, and the demi-human he was on the run with. It was almost cruel that she'd ended up back here. Back into the hands of the man who'd first broken her and her best friend.

She tried, but she collapsed back to the floor. She felt so weak. Idol had been punishing her so much for surviving. For knowing the Cardinal Heroes were out and about. For hoping that she'd be rescued just like everyone else… and for refusing to be broken by him anymore.

…

…

The girl stared at the ceiling above her. '_I'm sorry… I wish I could have seen you and the Cardinal Heroes myself… but I guess that was never my part for me to play...'_

…

She breathed in. And then slowly breathed out. Her eyes still refracting the hope she'd had of surviving the deadly place.

'_Please… stay well for me… Raphtalia-... … ...'_

* * *

Raphtalia tensed up where she sat on Filo's back. Something felt… horribly wrong. But she couldn't tell what it was.

"Raphtalia, do you see the Shadows yet?" Naofumi asked.

…

"Raphtalia?"

Raphtalia shook her head. Clearing it of the feeling of dread she felt. They were sitting on Filo. Waiting for the Shadows that came with the army to leave. The night sky was full of stars up above. And Idol's city was lit like a beacon by all the light sources inside the walls. "No. Not yet." Raphtalia answered.

"Was mommy distracted with something?" Filo asked curiously.

"Yes. Something like that." Raphtalia said. Smiling as she pet the large bird's wing.

"It's no fair! Why can't I ride her while we wait!" Melty said with a pout.

Ren stood nearby. Staring at the wall calmly. Besides Welt, Eclair, and Melty, there was nobody else in the group.

"Because Filo's my daughter. Not yours, Second Princess." Naofumi blandly replied.

"Hmmph!" Melty crossed her arms and faced away.

"Wow. For a princess, she gets really childish around Filo." Naofumi commented to Raphtalia.

"I am not childish!" Melty complained.

"Don't worry Mel! You can ride Filo later!" Filo said happily.

Naofumi did his best not to think about there being a double meaning to that statement.

"Really!?" Melty turned childishly with a wide smile on her face. But at seeing Naofumi's smirk, she blushed a bright red and faced away again. "Hmmph!"

'_Wow, I'm starting to think she's a Tsundere with that attitude.'_ He thought, chuckling to himself.

He could already picture the second Princess as an adult.

'_I freaking hate myself and everyone else, but I want to save everyone else even though they suck. Oh, and I hate all of you. Except for Filo. She's cool. But the rest of you suck. I mentioned that I hated everyone except Filo, right? Like it matters since I'll end up saving all of you anyway. Suckers.'_

Man, he was glad he wasn't a Tsundere like the bratty little Second Princess. He could see himself ending up being a real ******* to everyone he met.

"Are you thinking something rude Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked.

"If I am, it's not about you," Naofumi answered.

"Hey, stop thinking rude thoughts about Mel!" Filo whined.

Damn, Raphtalia was teaching their daughter to read his mind a little too well at times. That could get him into trouble.

"What?!" Melty's expected indignant cry sounded.

Such a Tsundere.

"Are you ready, Ren?" Naofumi asked. Completely ignoring the fuming Second Princess.

Ren gave his best sword a look over. It was long, sleek, and black. The **Dragon Claw Sword**. "Yes. I think I am." He looked to Naofumi. "You ready, Welt?"

Welt nodded. Ren turned to Naofumi. "Is it normal for me to feel lighter, Sir Ren?" The light-orange haired swordsman asked.

"I know I already asked earlier, but are you sure you don't have any other strengthening methods Naofumi?" Ren asked Naofumi. Poor Welt was left hanging on his innocent question.

"Yeah." He said. "Why do you keep asking?"

"Because it lists mine and Itsuki's methods in my Help Guide... But I still don't see the methods you described listed anywhere."

…

Naofumi checked and found what Ren was pointing out was right. "How long have you known about your methods Ren?" Naofumi asked.

"Since… I started playing Brave Star Online. Before I was isekaied here." He admitted. "But the methods detailed in my Help Guide were a little different than I remembered."

Naofumi frowned. "I didn't find anything like that in my Help Guide after being summoned. And I've looked through it all at least five times."

"You didn't know you needed to sign up for the waves. You didn't know about the class up ceremony or Weapon Copy system. You didn't know about monster drops and automatic crafting. And now this?" Ren asked.

"... Didn't you have parts of your Help Guide you couldn't see until you discovered it existed?" Naofumi asked.

"No. As far as I know, neither me or Itsuki have that problem. Besides learning we each had different strengthening methods we could both use, my Help Guide has had all that information since I was summoned." Ren answered.

"... So... I'm just the odd man out since I didn't play a game similar to this before coming here?" He asked.

Ren shrugged. "Not sure. As I said, there are some differences from how my game worked and what I read from my Weapon's Help Guide. But not enough to justify removing a lot of information."

Naofumi frowned. But before he could say anymore, Filo perked her head. "Over there."

Dark cloaked figures jumped over the wall into the forest. They moved past the encamped army and in the direction of Van's Estate.

They watched as the Shadows disappeared into the night.

"Alright. The Shadows are out. Get ready to climb us up, Filo." Naofumi said.

"Yes daddy," Filo said happily.

"Also. Did I ever tell you how strange it is that your Filolial calls you two her mom and dad?" Ren asked.

"About as strange as taking in the daughter of a talking dragon," Naofumi replied.

…

Ren couldn't argue that. So there was silence after that while Filo waited for the noises to occur. And while Naofumi prepared for Rachel to cast her spell.

* * *

Two knights were on sentry duty, patrolling the outer edge of the outside encampment of the army. Watching the road and the forest for signs of danger. Behind them, the camp was alive with activity. Soldiers were putting out fires from dinner. Mages were practicing magic. Army engineers were assembling catapults and ballistae that would rain fire down on the village from a distance. Everyone was getting ready for the massacre that'd be occurring that night or the following day.

"I can't wait to dig my sword into demi-human flesh." One of the two sentries muttered.

"Same here." The other said. "They've been tolerated for too long. Did you hear how they corrupted the Bow Hero into freeing them?"

"That's evil at its core. Corrupting one of the Holy Heroes to make him serve them." The first said in disgust.

"As my paps said. The best demi-human is a... dead one…" He trailed off. "Hey, am I seeing things?" He pointed.

There was something moving down the road. The two stopped and strained their eyes, trying to tell what it was.

Was it… a large bird? Odd, neither had seen anything like it before. It looked too far away to tell what it was. And was that a person riding on its back? Why would someone ride on-

The image cleared, and their eyes widened. The large bird was the same one from yesterday. And the figure riding on its back was the Shield Hero!

"What-" They both started to say.

"Hey! Can you help me?! I heard there were bastard devil worshippers nearby, and I'm trying to avoid them!" Naofumi's voice yelled, louder than normal. It was loud enough that his voice carried over to the edge of the camp. The soldiers there stopped what they were doing and looked.

'Filo' stopped just a hundred yards down the road away from the encampment. "Hey, you morons! Can you direct me to my people so I can avoid the devils chasing me?!" 'Naofumi' yelled again.

"I… I don't believe it." One of the sentries muttered in fear.

"Hey, we have a situation here!" The other sentry yelled back.

Talk was already starting to spread through the camp. Like an angry hornet's nest being kicked. The Shield Demon was outside their camp. The SHIELD DEMON was OUTSIDE their CAMP!

"Hurry it up! There's supposed to be a bunch of idiots around here trying to hunt me down! I need to get returned to the true worshippers before they find me and sacrifice me to their fallen devils! The Spear, the Sword, and the Bow!"

Audible gasps came as the Shield Devil called the other Holy Gods devils.

Itsuki grimaced where he hid in the bushes nearby. "Do you have to call me a devil Maya?" He whispered.

"I'm not the one projecting his voice Sir Itsuki. That's all Rachel there." She said happily. Keeping the illusion going with her supply of MP. Wyndia stood beside her, supporting her illusion magic with a support spell. Farrie used wind magic to make it look like Filo's wings were pushing air away from her, while Tersia used earth magic to make Filo's steps leave footprints.

And Rachel wasn't making Naofumi's voice. She was using a Shadow Spell to project his voice from where he was at all the way here to the illusion.

It was his favorite part of the whole plan.

"Great," Itsuki muttered.

"Come now! Quickly!" 'Naofumi' yelled again. "I don't have much time before they find me! The Spear, Sword, and Bow Devil worshippers could be right behind me for all I know!"

Those knights and mages already there were starting to look either very fearful or very pissed off. 'Naofumi' smirked on 'Filo.' "Wait, don't tell me. Are you idiots the devil worshippers tasked with hunting me down. Whoops." He said it like a joke. I didn't realize you were the devil worshippers I'm supposed to avoid. Damn it. Silly me for wandering so close to your unclean hands."

The fear was now gone. At realizing the blasphemy being told to their faces, every Church Knight and Mage was turning red-faced from anger. The whispers traveled angrily throughout the camp. Swords were unsheathed. Bows were pulled out. Magic sparked on mages hands. And every face was red with unrestrained anger.

"Guess I should probably get going then. Sorry for wasting your time devil worshippers. But I'm glad to hear about two of your devils being redeemed for helping the true worshippers. Maybe the Spear will redeem himself and help the true worshippers of this world. I doubt it because of his stupidity, but it could happen. Maybe one day he'll wake up to the glory of demi-humans tails and ears-"

"GET THE SHIELD DEMON!"

"KILL THE SHIELD DEMON!"

Like a dam breaking, the army of thousands began to overflow out of the camp en masse. Itsuki's eyes widened at just how many there were. Rushing for 'Naofumi' and 'Filo' with weapons bared and fanatic zealotry written on their faces. For such blasphemy, the Shield Demon deserved death!

"EEP! RUN FILO! RUN FROM THE DEVIL WORSHIPPERS!" 'Naofumi' turned 'Filo' to the side and ran into the forest. Right as a volley of arrows from archers covered the ground where 'they' had been standing. The area was also hit by an array of different projectile spells.

Smoke obscured Maya's view from a fire spell. And she paled when it looked like her illusion went right through a tree. But the Knights either didn't notice or didn't care. Not even the mages stopped to check and see if it was an illusion spell or not.

"DON'T LET THE SHIELD DEMON ESCAPE!"

"GET THE SHIELD DEMON!"

"KILL THE SHIELD DEMON!"

With a roar, the army charged en masse into the left forest opposite Itsuki and his group. Running in pursuit of the infamous Devil of the Shield. Maya jumped up into the trees, as well as Wyndia and Rachel. Tersia and Farrie stayed behind, and the three ran across thick branches to keep up with the illusion they'd made.

* * *

Over by the cliff face, Naofumi heard the roar of the army shouting to get the Shield Demon. He also felt the Shadow spell cut off. And he nodded his head. "Now, Filo!"

"Okay!" Naofumi and Raphtalia clutched on for dear life. And Filo jumped high into the air. Scaling the cliffside on this section of the wall. One jump after another.

As expected, the knights patrolling up above didn't see them. They were running down the downward sloping wall to the bottom of the city. Where the shouting army was encamped.

As they cleared the wall, Raphtalia finally spoke. "How did you know they'd yell so loudly?"

"Because they've yelled every time they've come near me to get me or kill me," Naofumi said flatly. "And there are thousands of those idiots in one place."

If they hadn't been predictable like before, Naofumi would have been very disappointed in them.

"..." Raphtalia was impressed with Naofumi. And she stayed silent as she gripped to him until Filo set them on the ground.

* * *

"RAHHHHHHH! KILL THE SHIELD DEMON! KILL HIM!" The forest floor down below was filled with Knights. Flattening bushes and doing everything possible to chase the Shield Demon getting away on Filo.

After a while of following, Maya cut off the illusion deep in the forest. Right as the illusion went over the side of a hill. She backtracked to where Wyndia and Rachel hid, and they rushed back towards the road. Staying as quiet as possible while the Knights charged below them.

Not that it would have mattered how loud they were. The Church forces were dead focused on the area the Shield Demon had run off to. And were yelling so loudly, the only way they would have been noticed was if they fell right on top of them.

A minute or so later, they jumped over the road and landed amongst the hidden group. The rest of the army was still pouring out of the camp and running into the forest. Weapons raised and battle cries of "Kill the Shield Demon!" coming from every last one of them. Their zealotry carried them to rid the Earth of the elusive blasphemous devil.

And Maya, Wyndia, Bakta, Aksel, and everyone else just sat and watched from the bushes as it happened.

"... Wow…" Itsuki shook his head in disbelief when the last few mages finally ran into the forest. Almost everyone from the camp had gone into the forest to hunt the Shield Demon. Even the army engineers who had been assembling the siege weapons.

"That worked even better than I thought." Rachel said with a smirk.

"I'm so glad I decided to leave their ranks," Aksel said.

"With how stupid you are, you would have fit right in commoner," Bakta said with a smirk.

"Be careful there, noble _pain_," Aksel responded. "I could see a _pain_ like you fitting in with _pains_ like them."

Bakta glared but didn't dare to comment. Tersia and Farrie were right behind him. The last thing he needed was for Aksel to reveal his last name right now!

"Sir Naofumi was right. Their zealotry made them incredibly stupid and blind." Wyndia said calmly.

"Then let's take advantage of it!" Itsuki ordered.

"Right." The rest of the group followed Itsuki through the right side of the forest. Heading towards the now mostly deserted encampment to find and assassinate the army leadership before the army returned.

If they even thought of returning that is. Since their minds were currently set on ridding the world of the blasphemous Shield Demon.

* * *

Filo landed her last passengers, Ren and Welt. They got off her back. Ren looked slightly dizzy as he tried to recover his bearings while Welt looked fine. "I don't want to do that again," Ren said.

"That was the easy part," Naofumi said. "It's going to be tougher from here on out."

Filo transformed in a poof of feathers. Turning into her little girl form. "Remember. Find us the largest wagon you can. Then wait near Idol's manor for us to open the main gate before you charge in."

"Got it!" Filo turned and ran down a different street.

"Aren't you worried about Filo running off by herself?" Melty asked worriedly.

Damn, the Second Princess worried about his daughter more than he did! Who did she think she was, Filo's lover?!

...

On second thought, Naofumi didn't want the answer to that question. He shouldn't have to be worrying about the Second Princess trying to steal his one-month-old daughter for herself.

Even though the only thing she seemed to care about was Filo.

"Nope." Naofumi dryly said.

Had it been any other little girl, Naofumi would have worried about their safety. But he was more worried about any knight who made the mistake of attacking her. He almost rubbed his groin in sympathy. '_I still have to teach her not to only aim for there… and I owe her an all you can eat buffet too. Damn. Things really need to settle down soon so I have time to get some important crap done.'_ He thought.

Things like teaching Filo to not aim for the groin with every kick. Or taking Raphtalia out on a romantic date.

You know, the important things in life.

After Filo left, the group ran into the streets of the city. Sticking close to the shadows as they went uphill towards Idol's Manor. It rested near the top of the city inside another layer of fortifications. The civilians were staying in their homes. All the way up here, they'd heard the shouts of the army of spotting the Shield Demon.

What a bunch of suckers.

A couple of times, they stopped and hid because of knights that charged down a street towards the gates below. Word was spreading fast of the Shield Demon being around. And they also wanted a chance to take him down. When they disappeared, they moved on.

"Raphtalia. Do you remember if Idol kept any guards over his slaves? Or if he was the only one they were bound to with slave crests?" Eclair asked.

"I think so. There were a couple guards at the entrance, but I never saw any in the hallways besides Idol." Raphtalia answered.

"And you're sure the entrance is in the courtyard?" Welt asked.

"... I could never forget where it's at," Raphtalia said bitterly.

The swordsman was luckily smart enough not to press about it.

They were getting close to the manor when another knight appeared. Unfortunately, Naofumi hadn't had time to hide. And the knight, recognizing him immediately, charged for him. "Ahhhhhhhh!"

**Crack!**

The knight's pike broke against Naofumi's Shield. The whole group stopped. The knight looked at the broken weapon in shock. "What…"

Naofumi stood there, looking surprised. '_Did his weapon… just break?'_

This world still amazed him at times like this. He'd seen monster balloons wear their fangs out trying to gnaw on his arms. And monster claws normally broke whenever they struck his shield. But he couldn't remember if there'd actually been a time before where a weapon broke striking him.

It was like the knight had charged a brick wall instead of a person.

Was this the power of the strengthening methods? He was supposed to have a 20% debuff and this still happened!

"Naofumi-" Ren turned to strike down the knight.

"Wait, let me try something." Naofumi spread his arms out wide in invitation. Smirking in challenge at the knight. "Come on. You still have one more weapon." The knight looked at Naofumi again. "Give it your best shot you bastard."

The knight growled and threw away his broken pike. He drew out his sword. And he swung at Naofumi with all his might. Curious, Naofumi didn't try to block the strike. Even though his higher AGI stat could have allowed him to do so _easily_.

"Naofumi-" Raphtalia started to say in worry.

The blade hit Naofumi's neck. And it shattered into pieces like it'd struck bedrock.

The rest of the group stared in shock.

'_Ha! That's amazing!'_ Naofumi thought in glee. The pieces of the sword falling to the ground around him. His defense was so high that weapons broke against him! Or maybe it was because the knight was only level 30. Either way, Naofumi laughed at how funny and ridiculous this was. '_This so isn't like my world at all! YES!'_

The knight paled when Naofumi laughed. Both his weapons had broke… and the Shield Demon was laughing…

His eyes rolled into the back of his head. And he fainted on the spot.

…

Eclair sighed and pulled the Knight down an alleyway out of sight. It had not looked like an honorable way to defeat the knight.

Ren stared at Naofumi. He had to admit to himself inside his mind what he'd just witnessed was pretty epic. _'I wish I could have Naofumi as my party tank. I wouldn't have to worry about him being overwhelmed in a fight at all.'_

Bakta sneezed down below, almost giving away their position to a pair of messengers trying to give orders to the Church forces. He got the feeling that someone was insulting him again.

"Naofumi." Raphtalia glared at Naofumi.

"Come on. I had to test out my defense stat there." Naofumi said as Eclair came back out and they started running again.

"Did you have to test it out like that though?" She argued. "What if the blade hadn't stopped when it hit your neck?! What if you'd gotten killed?!"

"With how high my defense is now. I doubt a knight could manage that." Naofumi said with a chuckle.

"But that still wasn't a smart thing to do," Raphtalia said. "Are you going to do this every time someone attacks you in the future?"

"Geez, it's not like I plan on making it a habit."

"That doesn't excuse you from doing something stupid like that."

"It wasn't stupid."

"Was too."

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

The others in the group stared at the two of them. "Do you know how often they get like this?" Welt asked Eclair.

She shrugged. "I only joined the party yesterday."

"Same. The only one who could answer that is Filo." Melty said with a sigh.

She knew her parents better than anyone. Everyone else still needed more time around Naofumi and Raphtalia to know what exactly was normal for their relationship... If there was such a level as normal for it.

"Shut it, Second Princess!" Naofumi snapped back at her, before continuing the childish argument with Raphtalia.

"My name isn't Second Princess!" Melty snapped back. However, her complaint fell on deaf ears. Much to her annoyance.

The group continued on. Naofumi eventually promised Raphtalia that he wouldn't pull something like that again. She rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek that surprised him and left him blushing.

They eventually reached the outer wall around Idol's manor. Without encountering any more knights.

"As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature. Hide us all from sight. **All Hide Mirage**." Raphtalia used illusion magic to conceal everyone against the wall.

They pressed themselves against the wall. Naofumi snuck forward and looked around a corner to see where the gate was. Both the main gate and the side gates were closed. Naofumi frowned at that and informed the group.

"Should I open it?" Ren asked, holding out his sword.

"… let's wait a sec and see if more knights come charging out." It'd be better to wait instead of barging in.

And so, they waited.

* * *

Itsuki and his party were sneaking their way through the camp. Going through the alleyways between tents. Silencing lone knights acting as messengers for the commanders before they got the chance to reach the army.

Itsuki's scouting skill worked really well here. By using SP, he could see for a brief time the area around him from above like he was operating an invisible aerial drone with a GoPro attachment. He couldn't see inside the army tents or wagons. But he was able to mostly see when knights were in their way or what route would be the best to go down.

Bakta's sneeze almost gave them away. But fortunately, the messengers were too busy focusing on delivering their orders to notice. Tersia and Farrie still gave the large knight a slap in the back of the head after the messengers disappeared to silently voice their disappointment in him.

Bakta reconsidered his life choices.

It was almost creepy how deserted the camp was. Everyone besides a few stragglers, officers, and messengers had left just to go after the Shield Demon.

'_Why do they hate Naofumi so much… it makes no sense.'_ Itsuki also wondered how much time they had left before the Knights searching the forest realized they had been chasing after an illusion.

If their reactions were anything, they'd probably search until dawn for the elusive Shield Demon out in the forest.

He couldn't have them run too far though. Otherwise, they might accidentally chase the Devil of the Shield all the way to Van's lands. Where they'd discover them empty. Or, probably more likely, the Shadows would come back to report the lands empty themselves. Alerting the knights and what little brain cells they had of a possible ploy.

Which meant he had to alert them to their complete and utter stupidity that much sooner in order to sow more chaos amongst their ranks.

Near the center of the large camp, the command tent finally came into view. Itsuki and everyone with him stopped to observe from about one hundred feet away behind a set of wagons. A flock of armored Filolials napped nearby. Resting after their journey.

A few knights stood guard in front of the tent. As they watched, another messenger ran out of the entrance in the direction of the forest.

"So, how do we plan on fighting them?" Aksel asked.

Itsuki pulled out his bow. "Who said anything about fighting them?"

"Aren't we supposed to silently dispatch them, Sir Itsuki?" Wyndia calmly asked. Wasn't that what assassinations were supposed to be?

Itsuki shrugged. "They won't be disorganized and chaotic unless they know for sure that their commanders are dead." Plus, he'd honestly never been the silent assassin. If his past experiences with nobles had shown anything. He wanted people to _know_ that their evil overlord nobles were dead.

Ren's dragon materials had given him a new bow with a new skill. And with the new strengthening methods helping him out, he wanted to test just how powerful it'd be now. On people who were more monsters than they were humans.

A red circle of energy appeared in front of Itsuki's bow as the skill charged up. The knights jumped in surprise at his appearance. Then, they started charging forward to try and stop Itsuki. But it was already too late.

"**Explosion Shot!**"

Itsuki released the skill. An arrow in the shape of a dragon's head came out. It hit the ground right at the entrance of the command tent behind the knights.

**Boom!**

The resounding explosion engulfed the knights and the entire tent.

* * *

Naofumi and Ren's eyes widened when they saw an explosion down below outside the walls in the center of the Church's encampment. It was like staring at a bright red bonfire. They almost swore the roar of a dragon traveled up the streets to their ears.

"That legend about us heroes being capable of destroying mountains?" Naofumi mentioned.

"I'm one step closer to believing it," Ren admitted.

Screams of terror came from the civilians, who charged out of their houses en masse all over the city.

* * *

Itsuki's group stared at the area in shock. The entire command tent had gone up in the explosion. The Filolials that had been resting were now running around in terror. The explosion had woken them up. They were causing even more messes wherever they ran through.

Itsuki felt a pang in his chest when he saw the charred corpses of people lying on the ground. "Sir Itsuki, are you alright?" Rachel asked worriedly.

"Let's… let's get out of here before the knights arrive." Itsuki mumbled. He'd killed people before. But despite thinking of them as monsters, it still hurt to do it. Even if it was in the name of Justice.

The group ran away from the destroyed area. In the forest, there were already yells of surprise and shock. And knights were charging back to figure out what the hell had happened to their camp. But by the time any would arrive at the center of the camp, the Bow Hero and his party would have already disappeared. And, like the riled Filolials, the army would also freak out at the death of their command structure.

* * *

A side gate around the corner burst open. "Hurry! Somebody's attacking the camp!" The remaining knights that had been guarding the gate charged down the street in the direction of the city gates a couple of miles away. Leaving the side gate wide open.

Still hiding under Raphtalia's illusion spell, they ran through the empty gate into the wide-open courtyard.

"What is this?! What's happening?!"

They hid behind a green bush when they realized the courtyard still wasn't empty yet.

"An, an explosion just happened down in the Church's encampment." A messenger said nervously. "The mages communicated to me that the Shield Hero was spotted. And they were chasing them when they heard the explosion. We're getting no word from the commanders down there. The army's in complete disarray."

Idol Rabier growled in anger. "I just finished torturing demis so I'd be ready to slaughter Van and his demis! That damn Shield Demon!" He clutched his fist. "Come! I must get dressed for battle immediately!"

"Ah, yes! Yes my Lord!" The messenger quickly followed Idol back in the direction of his manor.

Raphtalia growled lowly in the back of her throat. They'd hoped Idol would already be down there when the leadership was assassinated. But he'd been up here, torturing his slaves! She pulled her sword slightly out of her sheath. Wanting to run the noble down right now.

...

"What do you want to do?" Naofumi asked.

Raphtalia still looked mad, but she didn't unsheathe her sword. She wanted to save Rifana and the other slaves first. That way, when she attacked Idol, he wouldn't have any leverage to hold over her.

Idol and his messenger servant disappeared into the front doors of the manor.

Raphtalia led the others out of hiding. The courtyard, despite the evil of its owner, was rather pretty. Trimmed bushes and trees grew along the sides of the courtyard close to the walls. Lanterns hung from trees, giving the place a nice calming atmosphere. An obelisk rose from the center of the courtyard. Ren stared at it uncomfortably as Raphtalia led them past everything.

They got past the pretty scenery to cobblestone ground. A knight or two still patrolled around here. But they went unnoticed to a set of stone stairs that led down underground. After they'd gone down a few steps. The doors were slightly ajar, and no knights were around.

Raphtalia released the illusion spell. Almost at the same time, the stench of the place hit everyone's noses.

"What is that?" Ren held up a hand to plug his nose.

"That smell, it's so terrible." Eclair was doing the same. Naofumi and the others covered their noses from the stench.

"Is this where he really keeps his slaves?" Melty asked in a horrified voice.

Raphtalia nodded. Steeling herself for what she might see down below. "Idol doesn't just keep his slaves here."

They arrived at the bottom, and Raphtalia pushed the door the rest of the way open. "It's where he tortures them."

The hallway was dark. Hiding the horrors contained within. She paused in the doorway.

It had been a long time since she'd last been here. She never saw herself stepping foot in this place again... She shook, imagining dried patches of blood and tears on the ground. And smelling the familiar stench of death, hopelessness, and despair in the air.

'_Ri… Rifana…'_ Was she even here anymore? If she was... was she… still alive?...

…

"You don't have to go in if you don't want to," Naofumi whispered worriedly to her.

…

Raphtalia shook her head. "It's okay. I'm going to be alright." She took the first few steps into the hallway. The first few steps back into the past. "I have to see for myself."

The group followed behind her. She stared, stone-faced, ahead at a black iron gate. The last barrier that separated this place from prying eyes. She could almost see herself as a child, standing next to Rifana as knights opened the gates. Leading her into a place she'd come to see as a dark and twisted hell. She'd smiled optimistically to Rifana back then, thinking everything would be okay. Having no idea of what truly laid in front of her.

Those knights from before were gone. No one stopped her as she opened the gate. "**First Light.**" She summoned a ball of light over her head. Driving away the darkness and bleakness from before. Yet the light also revealed the evils hidden in the Shadows. Their faces fell at what they saw.

Empty cells lined both sides of the cobblestone hall. With only small grates high up in the walls allowing the light of the starry sky to come in. Chains hung from the ceilings. Bloodstains, bones, and old piles of feces lied on the floors of these empty cells.

As they walked, it was like the bones called out to Raphtalia. The souls of past demis who had met their fates in this place. Asking for help that was too late to be given. Raphtalia gulped, selfishly hoping they weren't the bones of her best friend.

The rest of the group looked around, their faces a complex set of emotions. They had as of yet to see a slave.

'_Raphtalia was trapped here…'_ Raphtalia had already told him what it was like being Idol's slave. But seeing it all for himself… '_Just thinking about it makes me sick.'_ Naofumi thought angrily, clenching a fist at his side.

He wanted to make that fat bastard pay now more than ever.

"This…" Melty stared around in horror. To think such a place even existed in her mother's kingdom. She was horrified that this could happen in her home country. She huddled close to Eclair, who raised a protective arm over the Second Princess.

"I've… never seen anything like this, Sir Ren." Welt said in stunned disbelief.

Ren remained silent. Itsuki had told him all the details about what he'd seen in the cellars of noble's manors… but it hadn't prepared him to see it with his own eyes.

...

Raphtalia stopped in front of an empty cell. The others stopped as well.

"Raphtalia?" Melty asked.

"Can… can you all go on without me?" Raphtalia quietly asked.

Naofumi looked to the others and nodded to them. The rest of the group walked on, and Naofumi stood next to Raphtalia. "Is this the cell you and Rifana were held in?" Naofumi asked.

She nodded. Her hand reaching out and gripping the steel. Unlike some of the other cells, this one had nothing in it. No bones, no feces, nothing. All that was inside were torture instruments. And old bloodstains on the floor.

She could picture the memory in her mind. Seeing herself or Rifana being held up by the chains. The whip striking their backs. The tears hitting the floor alongside their blood...

Naofumi put a comforting arm over her shoulders. And she leaned into his embrace. They were both silent… '_Please… I hope Rifana is okay.'_ He could feel Raphtalia slightly trembling. If Rifana wasn't here, or… well, if something bad had happened to her. He didn't know if he'd be able to help Raphtalia through that...

Ren reappeared from around the corner. "We found them."

The two wordlessly followed Ren.

* * *

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the cells holding the slaves. The others stood there, waiting for the three of them.

Raphtalia looked to the sides in surprise. '_There's… so many of them…'_ Idol had never held so many all at once. Many were covered in whip marks. Most of the marks were scabbed over, but two of them here had marks that were fresh and still bleeding. Both were kids.

At the sound of more footsteps, they backed away from the bars. Fearing more punishment. When Raphtalia and her bright ball of light came close, they covered their eyes because of the brightness of light in this dark, cursed place.

"They… they look so scared." Melty said sadly.

Just what had Idol Rabier done to them? Had he only beat them with a whip? Or had he done even worse things to them?

"How do we help them if they're like this?" Welt asked.

Eclair took the lead. "It's okay," Eclair said. She approached a cell, and took off her helmet, revealing her strawberry blonde hair. "None of us are here to hurt you."

At the voice, one of the demi-kids peeked through her hands. "Miss… Miss Seaetto?"

"Yes, it's me." Eclair brought Melty forward as well.

"Please. We came here to help." Melty said. "Please don't be afraid of us.

One by one, the half dozen demi-humans in the cells around them lowered their hands in awe. Two recognized the daughter of Lord Seaetto. Others recognized the daughter of the Queen.

"Is… is it really you, Miss Seaetto?" The demi-girl asked. Raphtalia didn't know her. But Eclair recognized her from a demi-family that had lived close to her Father's manor.

"Yes." Eclair got down on one knee. "I've brought the Cardinal Heroes with me. We're here to rescue you. All of you." Eclair looked to Ren and Naofumi. As if understanding what she wanted, they both held out their Cardinal Weapons so everyone would see.

Idol had been breaking these slaves. What they needed now was a bit of Hope to lift them out of their depressed, fearful state.

The older demi-humans had been in the dregs of slavery. Some for their entire lives. Yet even they recognized the Holy Sword and, more importantly, the Holy Shield from the legends their parents, friends, or fellow slaves had taught in the dark of night.

Murmurs of wonder started to sound. The two oldest looked ready to pray on the spot.

"Please, keep it down," Ren said. "Your captor doesn't know we're here yet. We want to keep it that way for as long as possible to give you the best chance of escape."

The demi-humans looked at him. Then at the Shield Hero. "You heard him," Naofumi said dryly. Realizing they might be more inclined to listen to him. "Keep it quiet."

They nodded, and silently whispered the news of the appearance of the Cardinal Heroes, the Second Princess, and Seaetto's daughter down the line of cells of the hallways. Soon, other slaves were coming to the edges of their cells, some bound to chains. Staring at them in confusion or wonder, silently waiting to be freed.

Eclair, Ren, and Welt got to work. Slicing old rusty locks off with their swords. Then they opened the cells, allowing the demi-humans out. Those that were chained up were freed by their swords slicing through the chains.

Naofumi and Melty used magic to heal those that were seriously injured. Naofumi used **Fast Heal** and Melty used **First Water Heal**. Naofumi also pulled out medicine and HP Potions from his Shield and had the slaves take it. Some were coughing like Raphtalia had been when she was sick. But as they took the medicine, his shield increased the effectiveness. Helping them with their various sicknesses. The HP Potions also helped to give them strength.

It was a miracle to these poor souls.

The slaves silently followed behind the group as they continued down. Those slaves who had enough strength helped the ones that were too weak to walk on their own. Ren and Naofumi waited on removing the slave crests. Since Idol was still alive and not down with the army like they'd thought, he'd be alerted via his Status Magic when they started removing them. They had to wait until they had everyone gathered before they started removing the slave crests.

Raphtalia remained silent. Looking for anyone she'd possibly recognize.

The group of demi-humans grew to two dozen, and they were close to the end of the 3rd Hallway of the cellar when Raphtalia rushed up to a cell in surprise. She recognized the demi-kid holding to the bars. A chain wrapped around one of his wrists. "K-Keel?"

The dog demi-human had been looking at the group rescuing them. But at her words, he focused on her in surprise. He was dressed in rags similar to what Raphtalia had worn as a kid. And he looked to be around 10 years old. "Huh?"

"Keel, I can't believe you're here!" Raphtalia said happily. She ran past several different cells and stopped in front of his.

"... Who, who are you? How do you know my name?" He asked.

"Keel, it's me. Raphtalia. Don't you recognize me?" Raphtalia said in a happy voice. It wasn't Rifana, but it was still one of her friends!

"Raphtalia… no, you can't be her. That's impossible. The Raphtalia I know is a little girl. Not a grown woman!" Keel said in disbelief. He looked like he'd been tortured recently. He had fresh whip marks and cuts on his arms and his lower back. But he didn't look weak and tired. He looked like he'd only recently arrived here.

Raphtalia cut off the lock. Then, after sliding the door open, she sliced the chain off of Keel's wrist. "It is me," Raphtalia said, her smile wavering a little bit. "I'm so glad you're alive Keel."

Keel backed away. Looking unsure.

"Don't you remember that time we went diving and you nearly drowned?" Raphtalia asked. "And we had to find Sadeena so she could come rescue you?"

Keel looked stunned at that. Raphtalia and Sadeena had promised not to tell his Father or any of the other villagers about that experience. "What?"

Raphtalia smiled brightly. The smile, that was familiar. His eyes widened in realization. "There was also the time you ate that poisonous mushroom and ended up with an upset stomach. You begged me not to tell anyone-"

"Ah, okay! It is you." Keel said, looking down in embarrassment. Raphtalia embraced him happily.

"I've missed you so much Keel." Raphtalia had happy tears rolling down her face. Her smile caused some of the other slaves to smile for the first time in a long while.

Raphtalia and Keel got caught up with each other while Naofumi and the others helped free the last couple of slaves. Keel was amazed at how big Raphtalia was now. And Raphtalia briefly explained how she traveled as Naofumi's sword and grew up.

After a moment, he walked out of the cell with Raphtalia. He had a slight limp, but otherwise, he was okay. Had he been here a couple of weeks longer, he would have been a lot worse off.

"Is this one of your friends, Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked.

"Yes, this is Keel," Raphtalia said happily. "Keel, this is Naofumi." Keel noticed how her smile became a little brighter looking at this… Naofumi fellow.

Naofumi nodded in response and put a hand over Keel's ankle. "**Fast Heal.**" A green glow came from Naofumi, and Keel's limp disappeared. He tested his weight on the healed leg again and smiled at the fact that it didn't hurt to stand now.

"Raphtalia, is he really the Shield Hero?" Keel asked. The others had whispered that the Cardinal Heroes were there to rescue them. But it was still so hard to believe.

"Yes, Keel," Raphtalia said. Smiling happily towards Naofumi. "And I've been helping him ever since the day he bought me."

"Wait. You mean you're his slave?" Keel asked incredulously.

Naofumi grimaced. But Raphtalia answered. "No... I have a slave crest, but he doesn't use it on me. He trusts me, and I trust him. I wouldn't trade our trust for anything in the world." She said happily. "And my slave crest symbolizes my trust in him."

"In my defense, I let her keep it since I have Shields that makes slaves registered to me stronger," Naofumi said dryly. He wouldn't admit he hadn't known that fact till after he absorbed the slave ink while Raphtalia's slave crest was reapplied.

"Oh... well as long as you're not hurting my friend and forcing her to do uncomfortable things." Keel said. Lightly glaring at Naofumi to let him know he still didn't completely like it.

If Naofumi was honest, he didn't like it either. He'd rather that Raphtalia didn't have the slave crest. Then again, she wouldn't be so strong for a level 40 if it wasn't for that. They likely would have had a much harder time without it.

Naofumi's grimace disappeared. Keel wasn't coughing, but he had him drink some medicine too. Just in case.

Raphtalia continued to smile. And seeing Raphtalia smiling brought a smile to Keel's face. It reminded him of better days back in the village… maybe this Shield Guy wasn't so bad after all if Raphtalia was so happy around him.

Naofumi finished up. Ren looked around the corner. "I don't see any slaves in the other cells." He said.

Raphtalia's smile disappeared. She'd found Keel, but… "Keel, I need to know. Is Rifana here?" She asked seriously.

Keel's smile disappeared. He looked unsure of what to say.

…

"Keel?" Raphtalia asked, looking worried. "Is Rifana here?"

"She's… a few hallways down..." Keel said sadly. "I..."

"Keel?" Raphtalia asked.

Keel looked to the side. Unable to finish his sentence. But Raphtalia saw the single tear that escaped.

'_No.'_ Raphtalia took off down the hallway.

"Wait, Raphtalia-" Naofumi tried to reach out, but she was already gone. He ran after her.

The hallways seemed to stretch out forever. Raphtalia breathed in and out frantically as she ran by many different cells. All of which were empty.

"Rifana! Rifana, are you here!?" Raphtalia yelled frantically as she ran.

"Rifana!" She was met with silence. She passed by cells, holding the bones of other demi-humans that had long since passed.

'_No, Rifana can't be.'_

* * *

_"*cough cough* I… I want… I want to go back to our village." She held a small stick, like a toothpick in one hand. Attached was a small piece of cloth. Like a small flag. "I want to go back to raise our flag… and I, I want to meet the Shield Hero." Rifana said tiredly. "Like we talked about... on the log..."_

_Raphtalia sniffled and coughed once more. "Save your energy, Rifana," Raphtalia whispered. "I don't... I don't want you to die..."_

* * *

Raphtalia ran down another hallway of the dark cellar. Her ball of light still following her overhead.

* * *

"_Rifana…"_

"_Raphtalia… I want to meet the Shield Hero…"_

* * *

Raphtalia stopped in front of a cell.

* * *

...

"_And when he saves us… I want to be his wife," Rifana said with a smile on her face._

* * *

…

…

Raphtalia's grief-stricken yell echoed down the corridor.

Keel paused near the back of the group, looking ashamedly down at the ground. He'd realized there had to be a reason why Idol came to torture him so soon after going to torture Rifana… but he'd hoped it hadn't been because Rifana died… more tears leaked from his eyes at his fears being confirmed.

Raphtalia was on her knees. Crying at the sight of her best friend's body laid out before her. Rifana's face looked so peaceful, and the flag Raphtalia had made for her long ago was still held in it. She'd kept it. Even after all this time.

"Rifana, no!" Raphtalia felt her friend's arm. Crying harder as she felt a trace of warmth still in it. Warmth that was slowly giving way to cold. "Gods please, don't take her away! Please give her back!"

Naofumi appeared in the back of the cell. He stopped, looking down at Raphtalia and her dead best friend. Eclair and Ren had followed right behind him. Melty and Welt were helping the other slaves.

"Rifana… Rifana…" Raphtalia whispered tearfully. Her hands pulling the body of her best friend to herself. She hugged the dead girl, crying into her hair. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry."

Naofumi was silent. Looking sadly down at the dead demi-girl. He was silent, unsure of what to say. Unsure if anything he said could help.

Eclair and Ren were silent. Melty and the other slaves appeared. And she gasped at what she saw.

"Wh… why did this happen?" Melty asked. "How was all this allowed to happen?" She voiced out loud at last.

"I don't know…" Ren murmured. "I know Itsuki has been dealing with things like this all over Melromarc… but I've never seen it myself until now."

"All… all over Melromarc?" Melty looked appalled. To think this wasn't the only place this was happening.

"I'm afraid so, Princess Melty," Eclair said. She looked back at the group of about thirty or so demi-humans. Some of them carried kids that looked far smaller than they should have. Some of the demi-kids must have been five years old at least. A tiny little Neko girl mewled in sorrow. Even she had lash marks that needed time to heal. They were almost toddlers, yet they hadn't been spared by Idol's cruelty.

"This has been what your Mother has been fighting against ever since she became Queen," Eclair said, her voice like ice. "She hates slavery and the nobles that support it. This is why she pushes so hard against it."

Melty's fist clenched. To think this had been happening under her Mother's nose. She would never allow such a thing to happen when she became Queen. Ever!

Raphtalia didn't hear any of it. Naofumi set a hand on her shoulder. But she barely felt the comforting touch.

All she heard was the sounds of her own tears hitting the floor. And the sounds of silence coming from her dead best friend…

_'Rifana… I'm sorry…'_ She was too late. She didn't manage to save her...

…

…

Anger lit up her eyes.

"He's dead."

Before Naofumi could realize Raphtalia's mental mood shift, she let go of her friend and jumped up. "YOU'RE DEAD! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THIS, YOU BASTARD! YOU HEAR ME?! YOU'RE **DEAD!**"

She ran out of the cell. Pushing everyone to the sides out of her way. "Wait, Raphtalia-" Naofumi ran out, but she was already rounding the corner. Disappearing along with their light source!

"Damn it, Ren! Start getting rid of the slave crests now!" Naofumi said quickly to Ren, before chasing after his pissed off Sword Companion in the darkness.

Ren nodded. Pulling out the vials Van had given him earlier. "Reveal your slave crests." He ordered. "Welt, check further down. Make sure there's no other slaves. And you two." Ren gave Eclair and Melty each a vial. "Help me remove these crests."

The two both nodded. "Got it."

The adult demis brought the twenty or so kids upfront. And helped move the rags to reveal the slave crests on their chests.

Ren quickly got to work.

* * *

Raphtalia ran up the stairs out onto the courtyard. Not even bothering to hide as she charged a knight.

"What the-" Raphtalia knocked his weapon out of his hand by breaking his wrist with one hand, while her other elbow slammed into his gut. Knocking him to the ground.

"Where's Idol! Where's that fat bastard hiding!" Raphtalia growled in anger.

The knight stared up, his face becoming more and more fearful.

Raphtalia looked unhinged.

The fangs in her mouth were fully bared. Her tea-red eyes were dark and menacing. She was beyond pissed off. She had the look that said, if he didn't answer within the next few seconds, he was going to die.

"I, I don't know!" He said, fearing for his life.

"Where is he!? TELL ME, NOW-"

"What is this?!"

Fortunately, for the knight, Idol himself ran out of the entrance to his manor. He was donned in armor, which didn't completely cover him because of his bulk. He had a whip on one side, and a sword sheathed on the other. He glared at the demi-human standing over the knight. "How did it get this far into my city!?"

…

Raphtalia smirked. It looked creepy combined with the fact that she was beyond angry right now.

"Good." She got up and kicked the knight away with such force that he rolled over and over across the ground into the obelisk. Where he collapsed unconscious.

Idol's eyes widened in shock. What… what the hell are you?"

Raphtalia unsheathed her sword. "What am I?" A growl escaped her throat. "I'm the one that's finally going to put an end to your bastardly existence!"

With a guttural yell of fury, she charged the noble.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**You all knew it had to come to this. For those who've read the LN's, I'm pretty sure you know why Rifana had to die. And Idol, I hope you're ready to meet your Maker next chapter.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**Unbreaking Wall**

* * *

"Ahhhhh!"

A sword broke against Naofumi's arm. He lifted it and yawned in boredom. The knight who'd struck at Naofumi backed away in fear. "You're, you're a monster!"

"Do you have anything stronger?" Naofumi boredly asked.

_"faint"_

"C'mon steve, don't be such a lightweight!" Another knight approached Naofumi. There was a long line of knights behind him.

"Yeah! You just gotta hit him in between the armor gaps!" Another knight in the line yelled encouragingly.

The knight stabbed below Naofumi's armpit, where the armor was weak. "This is how you-" The sword broke.

Naofumi: ...

Knight: ...

"So... you want to try again?" Naofumi asked.

_"faint"_

"Not you too Larry." The next knight said in disappointment.

"Come on now. I don't have all night." Naofumi once again said in boredom.

As the next knight broke his weapon against Naofumi, he wondered if it would have been better to just do this instead of using an illusion to sneak in.

The knights backed away, and a boulder from a catapult fell on top of him. But the catapult had been manned by a level 40 knight, which translated his stats onto the catapult weapon.

Which meant the boulder's attack stat was nowhere near high enough, and it burst into dust that settled around Naofumi. Causing zero damage. Naofumi yawned into his hand again.

Most of the knights fainted at the sight.

"Guess you all are still as useless as ever," Naofumi said with a shrug.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	44. 44: The Furious Blade

**I think I replied to all the questions from reviews since last Monday.**

**Again, this chapter shows what was different between LN and Anime with Idol Rabier. I've already shown how much more cruel Idol actually was. Let's actually show what he's like strength and tactic wise.**

**Idol, prepare to meet your Maker.**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _35 more Favorites, 40 more Followers (Total: 1447 Favorites, 1659 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _May 25th, 2020 12:00 P.M. (EST)_

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Four:** _The Furious Blade_

* * *

_Night (8 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

The cloaked Itsuki observed the camp from the top of the city wall. Down below, the Church's army was in a state of chaos.

With the army commanders dead, all the knights and mages who had returned were in a state of panic. Was it a ploy by the Devil of the Shield? Had he employed other devils to work with him? Was he going to target them when they least expected it?

Their fanaticism hadn't prepared them for this!

It was honestly really stupid for Itsuki to have to watch both sides of the wall. It wasn't just outside the city. But inside, there were civilians out in the streets. Running, screaming, and pointing at the smoke rising from behind the walls while fleeing around in a state of panic. Causing even more confusion for the few knights inside trying to maintain order.

They weren't even getting anywhere. No one had the bright idea of going to the SIDE gates of the city to escape. They were running around like chickens with their heads cut off in a mass panic. As if that wasn't stupid enough, before getting up here, he'd overheard a lot of the rumors already spreading. It ranged from the Shield Demon leading a demi-human army against their city. To the Shield Demon burning down everyone outside the walls with hellfire by himself while evilly laughing.

That one really made Itsuki want to facepalm. '_... Naofumi… If you've had to deal with this stupidity since the day you were summoned, I'm so sorry.'_

The amount of stupidity had gone way past what Itsuki had imagined. But he had to keep watch in case their stupidity caused problems.

Naofumi was supposed to alert them when the slaves were all freed by having Filo yell into a strange Shield Naofumi had shown them. Then, after he made sure Naofumi's escape route was okay, he'd portal himself and the rest of the party via **Transport Bow** to a spot outside of Van's lands. Where Van had a wagon and several Filolials waiting for them. That was the rest of their plan for this little excursion.

...

The mess of knights down below continued moving around. Searching the command tent and the area around it for survivors (Itsuki grimaced, knowing there weren't any survivors from that blast). Others ran into the forest. Trying to locate the Shield Devil once more. Others simply stood and stared around in disbelief. Fearing for their lives. Their sense of safety had been taken and blown up along with the lives of their leaders.

They honestly didn't look like they'd be any trouble. Why the hell had Naofumi wanted him to keep watch after the assassination of Idol and the army leadership? This was ridiculous!

Itsuki looked to Idol's manor farther up inside the city with a frown. "Come on. Just hurry up already so I don't have to watch this bull crap anymore." Itsuki muttered.

There was only so much stupidity the blonde boy could handle.

...

Was it just him, or was it taking them longer than Naofumi had said they'd need to go in and free the slaves? Were the slaves alright? Was there a problem Itsuki didn't know about? He really wished there was a weapon that allowed for communication between the Cardinal Heroes. Then they'd be able to let him know if he was needed up there or not… damn it! What was taking them so long!?

'_Maybe I should send Maya or someone else to check things out up there. I don't want-'_

The knights down below began to gradually quiet down. Itsuki turned around to see what sort of stupidity they were up to now.

The knights around the destroyed Command Tent were settling down. All of them were staring at a pair of figures amidst the ruins. They were donned in robes, speaking in calm voices.

_'... ****!' _Itsuki paled.

Now he realized why it'd been a smart idea to keep watch.

The Church Shadows were already back.

* * *

Raphtalia almost managed to run Idol through with her sword. _Almost._

Idol quickly reacted. Pulling his sword from his sheath and knocked the first thrust to the side. Raphtalia stumbled back. There had been a lot of force behind Idol's parry.

Idol was a former commander of the Siltvelt-Melromarc War. He was also a noble. He'd had the opportunity to level up ever since he was a kid. His level and strength weren't that of the measly knights that served him. He was grossly fat, but he was still a grave threat to face one on one.

"I don't know who you think you are! But I am not going to fall to some damn demi!" Idol yelled. Holding his sword at the ready.

Raphtalia bared her fangs. She followed up with a flurry of quick slashes and strikes. She was no swordmaster, but Eclair's basics had helped her to immensely improve on the skills she already had.

Despite that, Idol was surprisingly expert, even with his massive armored bulk. He managed to avoid getting hurt by any of her attacks as he defended himself. He even got a couple of light cuts on her arms. Which only seemed to piss Raphtalia off further.

"You killed her! YOU KILLED HER!" Raphtalia yelled in fury.

Idol deftly moved to the side as she sliced downwards. He tried to swipe at Raphtalia's side while she was exposed. But her wrists twisted, deflecting the attack with her blade. She growled again as she turned while he was off balance and delivered a spinning kick right into Idol's chest.

"Oof!" Idol flew a dozen feet back but landed on his feet. His chest plate was slightly dented from where the demi had kicked him. But besides that, he looked fine. He was heavier than he looked, and it wasn't just because of his weight. His higher level made it harder to move him.

"Hmmm, not bad demi. Now, who exactly did I kill?" Idol smirked as he pulled out the whip from its holder on his side. "I remember killing a lot of you weak and pathetic demis. It's hard to think of just one." He taunted her.

"AHHHHHH!" He cracked the whip, but Raphtalia ran forward and ducked it. She tried jumping and slashing at Idol's face, but he blocked the strike with his sword. Raphtalia growled in frustration and jumped back. As she flew back, he cracked the whip at her again.

She twisted in the air, barely missing being hit by the whip. He whipped at her again, catching her on the arm after she landed. She growled from the pain, but she caught Idol's next whip strike with the edge of her blade. The end wrapped around the magic silver, and with a strong yank, she pulled the whip right out of Idol's grip.

Idol looked down at his empty hand in shock. Raphtalia rushed in and sliced at Idol while he was distracted. He quickly deflected the attack with the sword in one hand, but the edge of Raphtalia's sword caught his cheek on the deflection. Leaving a lightly bleeding cut.

"What the hell!? You damn demi!" Idol put a hand to the wound.

Raphtalia jumped back, readying her blade again. "You're dead." Her voice was cold with fury, her eyes gleamed with the determination to kill him. She didn't care how many times he tried to insult her.

"I'll kill you!" Idol yelled furiously.

"Go ahead and try. It will make it easier for me to end your pitiful existence." Raphtalia said. Readying for another charge in. Her sword glowed with magic.

_'Raphtalia...'_

Idol sweated profusely, and then he turned tail and ran into his manor. He didn't want to admit it. He wanted to say he wanted to lure this demi-human into a trap. He wanted to say he wanted to get home turf advantage.

But in reality, he was **fearing** for his life!

"You can't run from me!" Raphtalia screeched. Running after Idol. "I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do!"

Naofumi finally came charging up the stairs. The whole fight had barely lasted a minute. Without Raphtalia's light source, it had been hard to get out of there quickly.

"Raphtalia! Wait! Don't face him alone!-" Raphtalia ignored Naofumi as she ran into the manor after Idol.

Naofumi clenched a fist. "DAMN IT!" He was probably being idiotic. He was definitely letting his emotions get in the way. But damn him, he couldn't stand by and not try to help her!

Naofumi ran in to try and assist Raphtalia.

* * *

The chaotic movements of the thousands of knights gradually stopped. Itsuki saw it was because more and more Church Shadows were popping up amongst different parts of the camp. Standing on a thick branch at the edge of the forest. The backs of wagons. On top of barrels. And one even stood on a catapult. Their placement was timely and measured out. So that only a few helped to calm thousands of knights.

After only a minute of watching, unable to hear what the Shadows were saying, the army began moving again. But this time, cohesively. Not blindly and chaotic like before. The Church Shadows continued giving out orders. Some of the knights went to search the forest. Others moved around camp, restoring order to it.

A large group began to split off from the army. Heading towards the gates to Rabier's city.

_'****! ****! ****! ****! __******!**__' _This was bad. Really bad. Itsuki stood up, and-

"Gh!-" He heard a gurgle behind him. He turned, and, to his surprise, he saw another Church Shadow. The shadow dropped his blade, because of a dagger that had stabbed through his chest.

Maya reappeared from her illusion magic to the side of the Shadow. "The others were wondering what we should do now." She said. "Good thing they were too. I wouldn't have gotten this guy otherwise."

The Shadow dropped to the ground. "Heh… heh" He was smirking underneath his hood.

"What's so funny?" Itsuki asked angrily.

"The trap… is… you all… die…" The Shadow coughed up blood, and then he stilled.

…

Maya and Itsuki looked from the body to each other. They both climbed down from the wall. And landed in the shadow of a building the party was hiding behind.

"What is it, Sir Itsuki?" Aksel asked.

"The Church Shadows are rallying the Church Knights." Itsuki quickly explained.

"I also killed a Shadow. He said something about some sort of trap." Maya said. "Never got what it was though."

The others looked unsure. "How can we know the Shadow wasn't bluffing?" Wyndia asked.

"The guy was on his deathbed. He could be lying to make it easier to dispose of us." Rachel said.

"Either way. We have an army of Knights and mages being led by Shadows that are going to come through that gate, and we haven't gotten word from Sir Ren or Sir Naofumi. We need to figure out what to do." Tersia said.

Itsuki and Ren's party members all got to thinking. But they didn't have the chance to think for very long. They could already hear the main gates opening for the army.

"How about we sow chaos across the city," Maya suggested.

"We what?" Bakta asked.

"We split up, and we cause distractions all over the city. Blow something up. Kill a knight or two. Something to grab attention. But we immediately flee afterward." Maya said.

Itsuki frowned. "You're saying we should hit and run."

"Where would we be running too?" Aksel asked.

"Deeper into the city? I don't know." Maya said with a shrug. "I'm not stupid enough to face an army head-on."

Itsuki wished they had more time. He wished they could think up a better idea that wasn't so risky. But he could hear the knights marching into the city. And he didn't want to use **Transport Bow** until he was sure Naofumi and Ren were out with the slaves.

"Alright. Do whatever you can. But don't bite off more than you can chew." Itsuki started climbing the wall again. At the very least, he could provide a distraction so the others could separate into the panicking crowds outside into the city. "Karn. Go check and see if Naofumi and Ren need help. The rest of you, make sure you don't get yourselves killed!"

"You got it Sir Itsuki!" Karn said with a proud salute.

"You mind if I stick with you Axe?" Bakta asked.

"Two tanks are better than one." Aksel agreed.

"No fair. I wanted to be with Aksel." Maya said with a pout.

"Who says you can't?" Wyndia asked dryly. "It's not like we're limited to pairs."

"Ooh! Can I pair with you then?!" Maya asked.

"Absolutely not."

Maya pouted again. The others were already pairing off. And then, they heard Itsuki shout something. One of his spread skills started raining down on the army outside.

Shortly after, in retaliation, part of the wall was blown up.

"Alright, let's move it!" Rachel ordered.

The group fractured and ran out. Separating to run down the various streets of the city. Filled with the panicking civilians and soon, the Church's army.

Maya secretly followed behind Aksel and Bakta.

More explosions sounded as the battle kicked into high gear.

* * *

"Ah!"

Raphtalia kicked a knight to the side. Sending him through a wall into a dining room. She then turned, knocked the sword of the other knight away, and headbutted the bastard into the ground.

Raphtalia breathed in and out heavily. She bared her fangs again as she looked around. "Where are you, you bastard!?" Raphtalia called out furiously.

She got no response. She had chased Idol through several different hallways. Then, in this one, a small group of knights had ambushed her. She'd finished dealing with the knights. But Idol was nowhere to be seen.

She continued to growl loudly as she glared around herself. Her sword out and at the ready. _'Raphtalia… what are you doing?'_ She put a hand to her head. That voice...

"Ahh!" Raphtalia turned, and blocked the sword strike from the fat noble who'd tried to ambush her from behind.

"You think you can just run into my home and do whatever you please you damn demi?!" Idol struck at Raphtalia again and again.

The demi-girl backed up, blocking or dodging Idol's strikes. One of the strikes that missed went right through a statue. Cutting it in two.

Raphtalia ducked another strike and then thrust forward. Idol jumped back, but the blade still left a small gash on the armor over his gut. He grimaced, and he pulled out another whip. "I have had it dealing with you!"

Raphtalia growled and charged forward. Idol whipped at the demi-girl, but she caught this one on her arm without even flinching. She slashed the whip off at the hilt. And it was only because of Idol lifting his sword to block the next strike that he wasn't beheaded.

'_Raphtalia. You're too angry. Calm down.'_

Raphtalia backed away, putting a hand to her head. Damn it! It almost felt like-

"Guards! Deal with her!" Idol ran off again. Running through the hole Raphtalia made in the wall a minute ago to escape.

Raphtalia growled, shaking her head to clear it. More knights came charging from different rooms at Idol's orders. She had no time for this! Rifana was _dead!_ They needed to **PAY!**

She screamed in anger and grief as she charged to attack all of them.

* * *

Itsuki jumped from one building to the next.

**Boom! Boom! Boom!**

Large AoE fire spells being cast by the Church mages exploded on the roofs behind him. He jumped onto another roof, pulling his string back as he aimed at the army exploding onto this section of the street.

"**Meteor Arrow!**"

The large blue arrow flew exactly where he wanted it to, and it exploded against the side of an empty building. Debris rained down over the army, stopping many knights in their tracks. Part of the building collapsed onto some knights.

Panicking citizens ran down other streets in terror. They were finally wising up and running away from the action. As soon as they cleared, a line of Church Mages moved where they'd been. "As source of thy power we order thee. Decipher the laws of nature. Destroy our target in a blaze brighter than the sun. Burn him and his comrades until ashes remain." They raised their hands up. Magic pentagrams appearing above their hands. "**Zweite Fire Blast!**"

Itsuki jumped to the next rooftop. The building behind him exploded from the force of the fire spells that hit into it. Shrapnel rained down onto another street of terrified civilians. He dodged behind a clocktower, and it exploded too.

_'Damn it! They're even hurting their own people to get at me!'_ Itsuki thought as he ran off. He slid down a slanted rooftop onto a lower rooftop out of sight.

Safe for the moment, he released his scout skill again, giving him an aerial view of the area around him. He quickly chose another location to ambush from and checked what the party members nearby were doing.

Rachel and Wyndia were causing distractions using Shadow and Fire Magic. Rachel would cast a wave of darkness over an area to blind their opponents. Then Wyndia would use a fire spell to light some barrels before rolling them down the street at the knights. They'd then retreat before Rachel's Shadow magic was counteracted to cause more distractions somewhere else.

Tersia and Farrie were working together. Blowing large objects like debris or wagons down streets with wind magic into groups of knights or mages.

No one else was close by at this time. At least as far as he could tell. The panicked civilians were all running away. But for some dumb reason, they were running in the same direction as he and the party members were retreating in! As well as that, the army was separating and filling each street. His party members had to keep retreating back if they didn't want to risk being surrounded.

Itsuki jumped to the next rooftop. He really hoped Karn would get to Naofumi and Ren soon.

**Boom!**

One of the ballistae the Church Army had set up on the wall released an explosive bolt that exploded where he'd been hidden before.

He really hoped Karn got to Naofumi and Ren.

* * *

Naofumi ran through a different hallway of the manor. Looking around desperately for his Sword and Companion. "Raphtalia!" He yelled.

He could hear fighting echoing in the manor. Along with Raphtalia's fury filled screams. Each one sent a chill down Naofumi's spine. But he couldn't find where the darn Tanuki had gone! Why did medieval manors have to be so huge!

Naofumi rounded another corner and was forced to stop. A whole group of about eight knights was standing there. Swords out and at the ready.

Naofumi already knew one sword wouldn't hurt him. But eight knights working together could be a different story. Especially when he noted from his HUD that these knights were a higher level than the Church Knights he was used to facing.

He chuckled nervously. "You, um, wouldn't have happened to see where a fat ugly bastard went, would you?" Naofumi asked lightly.

The group of knights yelled and charged the Shield Hero.

"Yeah, I figured." Naofumi raised a fist in front of him. "**Air Strike Shield!**"

The skill slammed into the front two knights guts, knocking them breathless to the ground. The other six charged around to strike at Naofumi.

"**Dog Bite!**" Naofumi switched to the **Two-Headed Dog Shield**, activating its counter. The next pair of knights that struck at him were lifted screaming into the air. They were then thrown into two of the other knights.

The last two tried to tackle Naofumi, but it was like tackling a wall. He grabbed them with his high STR stat and threw them both behind him into a real wall.

'_Wow, this is easier than I remember.'_ He thought happily. He'd already taken down the eight knights!

However, his victory was short-lived. The knights were all getting back up all around.

'_Oh yeah… I don't have an attack stat.'_ Naofumi thought with a grimace. And now, he was surrounded by the knights instead of being charged by them in a single group.

Before he could think of a plan, the knights all around tackled into him. Two, it had been just fine. But eight knights of various higher levels all working together managed to bring Naofumi down to the ground in a grapple effect.

"Quickly! Restrain him before he uses more of his devil magic!" One of the eight knights ordered.

Naofumi grimaced. "How would you idiots feel if someone called you a devil?" He asked. "You've done way more messed up things than me."

Seriously, what about him was demonic when they lived off of torturing people with fluffy ears and cute tails? Had they been in Japan, they would have been executed by every otaku for such a sin! No mercy at all!... Well, besides the ones that were into extreme BDSM. But he'd rather not go into that.

One of the knights, in anger, struck at Naofumi with his sword in one hand. Naofumi smirked as he changed Shields right before the impact using the Shield Menu. The **Chimera Viper Shield**.

"AH!" The knight screamed in pain as the venomous snake bit his arm. The others tried to stop him, but he let go of Naofumi because of the pain of the stronger poison from his awakened shield.

Eight was enough to grapple him. But apparently, seven was not. Naofumi immediately received the notification that he was no longer locked in a grapple effect.

"HA!" Naofumi stood back up and threw the rest of the group off him. His STR stat was better than he remembered. The knights all took no damage from slamming into a wall together, but it stunned them long enough for them not to move out of the way of Naofumi's next skill.

"**Shield Prison!**" All seven knights were encased in the shield of plates and chains. "**Change Shield! Bee Needle Paralysis Shield!**"

A moment later, the Shield Prison dispersed. The knights all fell to the ground, unable to move.

Naofumi approached the last knight, who was still holding his arm where he'd been bitten. Seeing he was all alone, the knight cowered in fear.

Naofumi dropped a vial by the knight as he walked by. "Take that if you don't want to die from the poison." He dryly said.

He was no demon. And he wasn't going to leave a man to die slowly by poison.

The knight grabbed the vial and ran off. Naofumi continued on. Hoping he wouldn't have to deal with anything worse than a group of eight knights.

* * *

"Two tanks are better than one."

**Boom!**

"Remind me never to listen to you again you bastard!" Bakta screamed at Aksel.

They were running for their lives from a group of Church Mages. Aksel ducked, avoiding a blast of earth. "So we weren't able to take down the knights and the mages in that group at the same time. Sue me."

"I'll blame you! You had one job! One!" Bakta yelled.

"Aren't you a pain, trying to get me to ambush the mages when you have the enchanted armor," Aksel said sarcastically. "If it wasn't for me, there'd be knights chasing after us too!"

"I'd rather deal with magicless knights than fireball throwing demons!" Bakta jumped, avoiding another fireball that hit the ground beneath him.

They both turned a corner to continue running when they got grabbed and pulled through a wall. The Church Mages turned the corner soon after and continued running off.

Maya dropped the illusion after a second and looked at the two disheveled knights. "Where would you be without my help Axe?" She teased him.

Aksel glowered at the demi-girl. "What's that? Do I hear a thank you for saving my life, the great and awesome Maya?" Maya teased.

"Let's just go already," Aksel grumbled. Retreating up the alleyway further up into the city.

Maya winked at Bakta and then ran off after Aksel.

_'You know… I'm glad she's not in Ren's party.'_ He could imagine her causing all sorts of trouble. And not the good kind.

He ran off after them.

* * *

Idol ran around another corner. Looking scared out of his mind. He had a few more cuts on him. And parts of his armor was missing.

'_That damn demi!'_ He'd lost track of how many of his guards the girl had taken out. He knew he must be running low on them!

'_Why, why is this happening to me?!'_ It was supposed to be the eve of his achievement! His greatest triumph in the name of the Gods! Yet here he was, a victim in his own home! With a demi hellbent on murdering him and-

'_Wait!'_ He finally pulled up his HUD. That demi was acting as if her friend had just died. Someone he'd killed. But the only demis that he killed coming to mind were-

His eyes widened. All his slaves under him! Most of them were gone. '_SHE'S DISTRACTING ME SO THEY CAN FREE THEM!'_ He was an idiot! He was a fool! He was-

He heard a noise in front of him, and he barely reacted in time. He blocked something, and then Raphtalia reappeared. Snarling angrily at him as the illusion spell hiding her wore off. He had barely managed to keep the thrust from hitting him directly. It had only damaged his gut armor.

"YOU DAMN DEMI!" Idol jumped back. "You're just distracting me so the rest of your kind can be freed!" He yelled.

Raphtalia made a move to run forward, but he raised a hand in front of him. Hovering it over an option on his HUD. **Terminate Slave.** He grinned maliciously. "One more move, and I'll kill them all!"

Raphtalia paused, growling incoherently. Her face was filled with Rage. '_Raphtalia… please… I don't want this.'_ She shook her head again. What was up with her? She dropped her sword.

Idol pressed the option for two of the slaves.

* * *

Down below, Ren was finishing removing another crest when two of the adults suddenly keeled over. Their slave crests glowing a dark malicious purple.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" They both screamed in absolute agony.

Ren snapped into action. "Quick! Get those crests off! Now!" Eclair and Melty ran to one while Ren went to the other. Trying to remove the slave crests before they terminated the two demi-humans.

* * *

Raphtalia's ears twitched on her head. She could hear them. The screams of those dying down below.

Idol pulled out another whip. Laughing crazily to himself. "You damn demis are so predictable! I'll deal with you, and then I'll deal with your little friends-"

He snapped the whip forward, but Raphtalia caught it in her hands. Idol didn't have time to look surprised as Raphtalia tugged.

"Ahhhhh!-"

"RAH!" **POW!**

Raphtalia screeched as she punched Idol so hard, his helmet went flying off. He flew back through the air. He hit the ground rolling on his fat. He rolled down the stairs. He crashed through a 2nd story window. And then he slammed into the ground. Still rolling because of how fat he was until he stopped near the obelisk.

Raphtalia landed on the ground of the courtyard a moment later. Her sword again in her hands. She growled like a rabid animal as she approached the noble, whose nose was bleeding from her punch.

"You damn demi!" Idol cracked the whip at her again. It hit her arm, but she didn't flinch. Idol tried to get back up, but Raphtalia was on him in a heartbeat. Kicking him back down to the ground. She also knocked the whip out of his hands and started punching him again and again and again. Idol tried to resist. To try and call for help. But he was overwhelmed by the ferocity of Raphtalia's attack.

She finally ripped his chest plate off in a feral fashion. And stomped down on Idol's chest. He screamed as several of his ribs broke.

Raphtalia stood over Idol. Her sword held high above her head. Idol was wrong. She wasn't scary. The look of murderous intent she was giving him right now was downright terrifying! Her tail bristled behind her, looking like a porcupine's tail instead of a Tanuki's tail.

"Why, why are you doing this?!" Idol yelled in fear. His face bloody and pained.

"Don't you recognize me?! Don't you know WHO I AM?!" Raphtalia finally yelled.

Idol finally gave the demi-girl a more thorough look. But it wasn't until he looked her in the eyes that he finally recognized the demi-girl from before. The one he'd broken in his cellar so long ago. "It's you…" Raphtalia growled, and he sniveled in fear. "Please, have mercy!" He begged like a coward. Pleading for his life.

"You showed no mercy to countless demi-humans! You showed no mercy to women and children that begged for their lives! You showed no mercy to me! Why should I show mercy to YOU!?" Raphtalia yelled in anger.

Idol tried to grab for his whip, but she hit his hand with the flat of her blade. Breaking several of his bones.

He screamed in pain once more.

"Raphtalia?"

Naofumi found the broken window. He'd, fortunately, hadn't had to deal with any other knights after the first group. He found one of Raphtalia's fight scenes and followed it to the window. He looked outside. And he stopped at what he saw.

"Please! Spare me! I'll give you anything! ANYTHING!" Idol pled.

Raphtalia held her sword high again. She breathed in and out heavily. Images flashed across her vision as she looked down at this fat noble who begged for his life. She saw the same noble, whipping her best friend in front of her since she herself refused to scream. She saw him laughing and sneering as she helped Rifana after her latest whipping. She saw the noble, laughing, as he whipped her while forcing her to stare at an image of her destroyed village.

She growled. Her eyes glaring daggers at the fat man below her. The sick, twisted, horrid excuse for a man.

He had hurt Rifana. He had sold Rifana. Then he'd gotten her back and he'd killed Rifana!

"You're filth! You're dung! You're lower than dung!" Raphtalia yelled furiously. "YOU KILLED MY BEST FRIEND! THE ONLY THING I'LL ACCEPT IS YOUR HEAD AND THE HEADS OF EVERYONE ELSE IN THIS CITY ON A SILVER PLATTER!"

He had to pay for it! He had to pay! This entire city needed to pay for supporting this horrible excuse for a man! Her hands gripped the sword. Preparing to swing down. She had to bring justice to her dead friend!

Idol covered his head in fear. She swung down, and...

'No. _Stop this, now.'_ The voice, now firm, said in her mind.

Raphtalia gasped. Her eyesight clearing. She had stopped mid-swing. Her sword a mere inch over the cowering noble's neck. She strained herself. "NO! NOT NOW! NOT WHEN I HAVE TO… WHEN I HAVE TO KILL EVERYONE HERE!" She screamed in agony.

'_Raphtalia. Please, stop this.'_ The voice said again.

...

Raphtalia stared down in confusion at the cowering noble. Finally recognizing the voice. '_Ri… Rifana?'_

'_I know it hurts, I know it hurts a lot,'_ She couldn't tell if she was imagining it. But Rifana's voice sounded so clear in her mind. Like she was whispering into her ear. '_You have every right to kill this man for what he did to me. But I will not let you kill this entire city in my name. I refuse to let you sink so low.'_

The noble, realizing he was still alive, looked around in surprise.

"Why… why Rifana?" Raphtalia whispered.

_'... Because I don't want you to go down the same path the Shield Hero almost stepped onto because I died.'_ Rifana said. _'I will not let my death turn you into something you hate.'_

Raphtalia stared at Naofumi, and then down at Idol. She tried to glare. She tried to will her arms to move. But instead of down, they raised back up. Bringing the sword to her side. '_No… I have to kill him… I HAVE TO!'_ She thought angrily, trying to block out her grief for Rifana. Tears were streaming from her eyes.

'_Raphtalia. You already prevented the Shield Hero from turning into a monster. Please, don't do this if you'll turn into a monster yourself.'_ Rifana said to her sadly. Her spirit self placed a hand on Raphtalia's shoulder. It had no weight to it, but it felt so real.

Raphtalia looked at Naofumi. Just one look and she could tell that Naofumi would support her, no matter what she chose to do. She then looked at the cowering Idol again...

She started to shake uncontrollably. More tears leaked from her eyes. Her hands clenched. She tried to will herself to swing down again. To want to only swing it down on Idol…

She backed away from the noble who had traumatized her so much. Her sword dropped to the side. Her fury drained away. "I… I can't…"

Naofumi appeared at her side, holding her close. She cried into his shoulder.

The anger and rage disappeared. Being replaced with the grief of losing her best friend. _'It's okay. You'll be okay Raphtalia.'_

It was too much. She couldn't do it. No matter how horrible the man was, she couldn't bring herself to kill him. Even though he'd tortured her and Rifana. Even though he'd killed Rifana and so many other demi-humans down in his cellar… She couldn't do it. She couldn't bring herself to kill the bastard since she wouldn't have been satisfied with only killing him. She wanted to kill and kill until the whole city had paid for Rifana's death. The grief mixed with shame. Hadn't she stopped Naofumi from killing before for that very reason?

She couldn't be the one to kill Idol. She couldn't get revenge for Rifana. She was too weak to do it.

She'd turn into a monster if she did it.

"It's okay… you're going to be okay…" Naofumi whispered comfortingly into her hair.

'_Rifana… RIFANA!'_ Raphtalia cried in her mind.

She wished she'd saved her best friend in time.

…

"You damn demi!"

Suddenly, Naofumi moved his shield, blocking a sword strike from Idol Rabier, who was holding Raphtalia's sword. He used the second it bought to move Raphtalia behind him where she'd be safe. "You stay out of this!" Naofumi yelled at the noble, before pushing him back with his shield. The sword was knocked out of his grasp. "She won't kill you, but I have no qualms with doing it myself!" His shield glowed, preparing to unleash a skill on the noble.

He had no attack stat. But he'd kill the bastard for Raphtalia. So that no one else would ever have to suffer at his hands. Even if it meant using the **Shield of Rage** or the **Shield of Hope** to do it.

Idol Rabier growled and pulled another whip from out of his belt. This one looked different. "Let's see how you like this trick then, Devil of the Shield!" He said as he pulled back.

Naofumi braced his shield, expecting a blunt attack like what he'd done to Raphtalia. Only, when Idol flicked it forward, instead of cracking against his shield, the tip wrapped around his left bicep.

Naofumi only had a second to be confused before the evil smiling Idol Rabier pressed the button on the end of his whip. "Urghhhhhh!" Naofumi grimaced, completely surprised that he was feeling pain as electricity flowed through the whip into his body. '_This bastard doesn't know when to quit!'_

"No, Naofumi-" Raphtalia picked her sword up and attempted to slice through the whip. But the moment her sword connected, she got shocked by the current and crumpled to the ground in pain. It had to be more powerful than the average whip.

"No, Raphtalia-" The current coursing through the whip became stronger, and Naofumi almost fell to one knee.

Idol raised the power on this special whip to the maximum. "I haven't had the chance to use my lightning whip at such a high setting for a long time." Idol Rabier said evilly. "I only use it on those who truly deserve punishment. You should count yourself lucky, Devil of the Shield. You are taking it at a far higher setting than even those demi-humans who tried to revolt against me over the years." His evil smile grew bigger. "Now scream for me! Scream as you're purged from this world like the devil you are!"

Naofumi grit his teeth. It did feel like he was being shocked by lightning over and over again. He was surprised he was taking damage! Still, it wasn't all-consuming. And he refused to let someone as disgusting as Idol bring him down with such a dirty backhanded move!

Naofumi stood back up, surprising the noble. This, this was the power of the strengthening methods. "What?! You shouldn't be able to stand! You should be writhing on the ground in pain and agony!" He yelled angrily.

Naofumi's eyes glowered with anger. "You hurt Raphtalia, you tortured one of her friends, and you killed her best friend." He muttered dryly. Idol breathed in sharply at the look on Naofumi's face. This noble had done some pretty unforgivable things. The worst part was that the noble had done them to one of the few people he truly cared about in this world.

"I don't care who you think you are. To me, you're nothing but a piece of rotten ****."

Naofumi grabbed the whip with both hands and tugged hard. Idol yelped as he was sent flying through the air towards the Shield Demon! Then, Naofumi bashed the fat noble in the face with the **Chimera Viper Shield**. Activating its counter effect, **Snake Venom Fang (large)**.

His Shield must have wanted to help him out for once. Because both snakes activated instead of just one, and they bit down on both of Idol's fat greasy cheeks! "AHHHH!" Idol screamed from the poison. And because Naofumi was being shocked by the whip, Idol also got shocked by his own whip.

"**Air Strike Shield!**" Naofumi summoned the Shield skill right between them both. The whip was flung off Naofumi's bicep by the skill Shield's appearance and the length of the whip wrapped around Idol without Naofumi touching it.

The universe also wanted to punish this man.

"Ah! AHHHHHH!" Idol screamed in agony. His hands lost their grip on the whip, but it didn't stop electrocuting him.

"Huah!" With a massive yell, Naofumi grabbed the noble by his lapel, endured the brief spat of being shocked, and threw him back into the obelisk. He screamed in pain as his broken ribs shifted.

Naofumi stood and watched. Glaring daggers at the fat noble as he was cooked on the ground by his own weapon. "NO! AH! I still have more demihumans to torture! Ah! I can't die here! I CAN'T!" He yelled in fear.

Naofumi didn't try to help. He just watched as the noble writhed on the ground. Screaming bloody murder. The whip still going and going… until finally, the noble's screams ceased.

The whip ran out of power. Smoke rose from Idol's cooked body.

It was fitting, really. One of the very whips Idol had used to torture so many demi-humans had been the thing that killed him in the end.

_'See you in hell. You fat bastard.'_ This was one man Naofumi did not wish to ever have rest in peace.

* * *

Ren came running up the steps out of the cellar. "Naofumi!" He sprinted across the courtyard towards them.

"Ren-" Before Naofumi could say more, Raphtalia sat up, groaning as she clutched at her head. Naofumi instantly got down and hugged her close. He felt very thankful that she hadn't gotten herself killed.

"N... Naofumi..." She looked drained.

"What happened?" Ren asked after he'd ran up to them both.

"I-" Raphtalia looked disconcerted for another second. But her eyes focused, and she gasped when she saw Idol Rabier lying facedown on the ground. Naofumi set her head against his shoulder while he rubbed her hair.

"He's dead," Naofumi said flatly. "He died by his own weapon."

"So... karma got him in the end." Ren looked at the smoking mass of stinking fat on the ground. It was kind of gross to look at. Raphtalia didn't say anything more. She stared at the fat carcass that belonged to her former tormentor as Naofumi embraced her.

"Are you sure he's dead?" Ren asked.

"Pretty sure." Neither of them wanted to check. And who could blame them? They did not want to get their hands' filthy handling that man's vile body to check for a pulse.

Hell, Naofumi wanted to wash off his shield where the man's greasy face had slammed into it. Who knew how long it'd been since those rolls of fat had been properly washed.

Then again, maybe he should keep the grease on his Shield for a while. You know, as punishment for NOT GIVING HIM AN ATTACK STAT TO MAKE HIS DAMN LIFE EASIER! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE THAT YOU STUPID YANDERE SHIELD?!

Seeing both of them were okay, Ren ran over to the gates and activated the lever that opened the main gate. He then ran back to the cellar and began helping Eclair and Melty with getting all the slaves up. A minute later, Filo came charging in, pulling the largest wagon Naofumi had ever seen behind her. Itsuki's party member held onto it.

"Oh, good. It looks like you dealt with his noble fatness." Karn said happily. Seeing Idol's unmoving body by the obelisk.

"Filo!" Melty charged the large bird happily. She'd really missed the large bird.

_'She was only gone for like, twenty minutes, tops. How is this princess already more attached to Filo then me and Raphtalia?'_ He wondered.

"Daddy! Mommy! Mel!" She looked relieved as she pulled the wagon up next to Naofumi and Raphtalia. Naofumi stood up, but Raphtalia stayed kneeling on the ground. "The city looks terrible!"

"I know," Naofumi grumbled. He'd seen enough despicableness to last a lifetime. He did not want to stick around any longer for it.

"No, Filo means the city looks terrible! There's a lot of fighting going on!" Filo pointed a wing out of the entrance.

"What the-" Naofumi ran up to the entrance and looked down at the city.

"Oh no..." Melty looked worried.

He saw explosions happening in the lower parts of the city. Knights manning defense ballistae on the wall were firing at random buildings.

"Oh yeah. I was sent to figure out what was taking so long." Karn mentioned. "Should I tell Sir Itsuki we're good to go? I don't know how much more time they can buy with all this going on."

Naofumi gritted his teeth. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire again." He looked to Ren. "Are you able to use your portal skill?" Naofumi asked.

Ren checked and nodded. "There's no interference. But I don't have enough room in the skill to move us and all these slaves out of here."

"Damn it." Naofumi hated that reminder. He hoped when and if he got his **Portal Shield** (he'd have to survive long enough to get to level 50 first) that he wouldn't have a limit like Ren and Itsuki. Knowing his luck though, it was likely he'd have the worst limit of all the Heroes. "Alright. Let's see if we can fit everyone into the wagon. We'll just have to hope Filo can make it to the side gate of the city before they do and risk being pursued when we flee." Naofumi helped Filo and the others with getting into the back. It was going to be packed, but it looked like everyone would fit.

Naofumi looked to Raphtalia, who was silent now. Staring at the ground. Then he sighed. "Raphtalia, help me get everyone in here. You too Filo!" He ordered.

"Okay!" Filo in her large bird form picked up several demi-children with her wings. Raphtalia was silent. Naofumi helped an adult get a small child slave into the back when he noticed Raphtalia still hadn't moved. "Hey, Raphtalia?"

Raphtalia shook her head and stood up, but she still didn't say anything. She started helping, but she looked oddly subdued. It was like she was there… but at the same time, she wasn't.

Eventually, everyone was in, and then Eclair lifted up two wrapped bodies he hadn't noticed earlier. The first one was the adult she and Melty hadn't freed from the slave crest in time.

The other was Rifana.

Raphtalia sat near the front seat. Wordlessly, the knight gave the wrapped body to her. Raphtalia held Rifana in her lap. Not even looking to Eclair to thank her for taking her best friend out of there. She rubbed Rifana's forehead, like she was a mother grieving for her lost child.

"We'll have to return another time to make sure the bodies of the rest who died here are ensured proper burials," Eclair muttered, sitting by Welt and Melty.

They both wordlessly nodded their heads. There were things in there they wished they could unsee.

Naofumi took Filo's reins, and Ren stood beside him, sword in hand. Both of them looked down at the city in chaos. It took one glance, and Naofumi knew they wouldn't make it to the side gates before the Church's Army got there en masse.

"How are we going to get everyone out of this?" Naofumi wondered out loud.

Ren gripped his sword tightly. He wasn't sure...

"Huh? Sir Heroes, Idol is doing something!" Melty yelled.

The two turned their heads. Naofumi had been positive the noble was dead! But the noble was lying down at the base of the obelisk. The obelisk which was now beginning to glow as the noble muttered something.

"What the hell is he doing?" Naofumi jumped up, readying his shield in case it was some type of attack.

However, Ren paled. He reacted faster than Naofumi, jumping off and kneeling on the ground. "**One Hundred Swords!**" The translucent blue swords appeared from the ground around him, flying towards the dying noble.

Many of the swords impaled his back and the ground around him, and the noble cried out in pain. But he was grinning victoriously. "You're too late! Your deaths have already been assured!"

"No!-"

A blinding light came from the obelisk. "The seal is broken! Your doom is at hand! Aha! AHAHAHAHA Ack- Ack-!" The noble's final laugh ended as he shuddered on the ground in a fat, bloody, smoking mess. His broken ribs had punctured his heart and lungs from the force of his laughter.

Ren jumped back into the driver's seat next to Naofumi! "Drive! Drive!" He yelled frantically.

"Wait! I still have to have Filo yell into the Megaphone-" Naofumi tried to say.

"Screw that! DRIVE!"

"Daddy! Something's coming out of the ground there!" Filo said worriedly.

Naofumi looked. The obelisk was gone. A portal had formed over the ground in its place. And although it was bright, Naofumi saw a bright red eye stare at him from it. Its pupil was the size of his head.

Naofumi's fear immediately kicked his plan to the curb. "GET US OUT OF HERE FILO!"

Filo didn't need to be told twice. She grabbed the heavy full wagon and ran full speed out the wide-open gates.

Almost fifteen seconds later, the roar of the Tyrant Dragon Rex shook the city.

Turns out, Filo didn't need to screech into Naofumi's **Voice Gengar Shield**.

Despite the various states of fear and panic, everyone in the city knew crap was about to go down when the 20 meter tall unsealed Tyrant Dragon Rex took its first step into Idol's courtyard. Squashing the ugly fat bastard underneath its massive foot.

Rot in a big bloody mess, you fat bastard.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**This chapter wasn't as long as I thought it'd be. But I'm glad it's somewhat shorter than what I normally post. Idol is actually supposed to be a strong enemy. But he's a coward and an idiot at heart. He could have shortened that fight using the Lightning Whip up front, but he prefers having others fight his hard battles for him. He doesn't think very well when he gets scared. And after being bested by the Shield Demon, he'd still have his fanaticism push him to unseal a monster that could possibly (I stress that word) beat the Heroes.**

**Think Naofumi, Ren, and Itsuki will actually have a chance beating this thing with their strengthening methods? Because I doubt Fitoria will interfere when an army of humans is also in the vicinity. And... (Cackles evilly) Ren has something this monster wants.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**Idol is Fat**

* * *

"I'm not fat! I'm big-boned!"

The three Heroes stared confusedly at the grossly fat noble.

"But... your chin rolls have chin rolls." Itsuki pointed out. Idol's chins could have been hiding a six-pack behind all the fat.

"And I can't tell if those are your sides... or your hips," Ren said.

Idol looked appalled. "How dare you! These are totally my hips!" He rocked the fat rolls on his hips. They jiggled in a way that almost made the three heroes want to vomit.

"Ugh…" Itsuki turned away and did vomit.

This guy could probably give the world's fattest man in their respective worlds a run for his money.

"Now, prepare to fight false heroes!" Idol screeched, pulling out a sword from his sheathe. His whole body jiggled with the action, and the sword almost slipped from his grubby, greasy fingers repeatedly.

"I… I can't do this." Ren turned away. He wouldn't dare let his sword go anywhere near that man in fear of it getting ruined.

"I'll kill you all! How dare you insult me-" He tried to step forward, but the buttons holding his trousers up popped off. It went into Itsuki's mouth right as he'd turned around from vomiting. He coughed, then, when Idol's pants fell, revealing legs so thick and droopy and covered in grease that he turned green and vomited again.

You couldn't even tell if he was wearing underwear because his fat gut (thankfully) blocked the view. How was this man still standing?! Idol eeped, and tried to pull up his pants. But his fat rolls kept him from bending over far enough to grab them.

"Alright, I have to say it." Naofumi finally said. "Godzilla is big-boned. You, are, fat!"

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	45. 45: Flight and Fight

**So some of you asked why they didn't check the body or have Ren double-tap it. There's an explanation in the reading. But if I'm being honest, I was so disgusted having to write Idol that I thought the other Heroes would rather leave his body to rot instead of checking his pulse or something like that.**

**Yeah… I wouldn't want to go near a fat, smoking, smelling bastardly body. I also don't know how I'd feel about cutting someone's head off to make sure they're dead. That sounds overkill, even for a game.**

**Lastly, I want to give a physical description of the wagon Filo is pulling here. Think of something trailer sized, without a covering on top. The walls of it have benches built-in. And it can fit approximately thirty slaves or more. If you're wondering about it's original purpose, think of it like public transportation or something used in large caravans. Or maybe a cruel way of transporting slaves if you want to think of Rabier City as sadistic and evil.**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _34 more Favorites, 28 more Followers (Total: 1481 Favorites, 1687 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _June 1st, 2020 1:30 P.M._

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Five:** _Flight and Fight_

* * *

Filo banked sharply on a curve. Avoiding a street full of terrified civilians.

"Whaaaaaa!" All the kid slaves inside the wagon yelled in terror. Gripping to the wood boards, the adults, or to each other as the large wagon rode on two wheels through the curve. Before sharply crashing down.

Filo was lucky to have grabbed such a large wagon. She only wished there was a covering over it like her last wagon. Then she wouldn't have had to worry about sending its occupants flying out. Fortunately, they were hanging on for now.

Naofumi cracked the reins again. Encouraging Filo to go even faster. Eclair and Melty held on to each other tightly. Welt held to the wall. Only Raphtalia didn't look panicked. She was huddled over on the bench behind Naofumi, being silent, and protectively holding Rifana's body to herself.

"Damn it! I can't believe that noble unsealed that monster!" Ren yelled angrily. "I should have double-tapped him instead of opening the gates!"

Behind them, the Tyrant Dragon Rex shattered part of the wall around Idol's manor. It was 20 meters tall and looked like a giant modified T. Rex with dragon characteristics. Its underbody was a reddish-orange color, and the rest of its scales were a blackish-purple in the light of the moon. Large spikes traveling up its tail to a crown of spikes on its head. It let out another earth-shattering roar, showing off its mouth of sharp teeth.

"Ren, do you know what the hell that thing is?!" Naofumi yelled.

"In my game, it's called the Tyrant Dragon Rex. It was one of the major bosses you could face in that town with your guild." Ren said.

"Any background story for why it's here?!"

"Not that I remember. All I remember is that it required a special item to unseal it. But I didn't see that idiot using any item!"

"Because everything isn't the same from your game!"

"I know that!"

The Tyrant Rex roared again. More stuff came crashing down. Ren looked back, and his face paled. Its eyes, large red glowing pupils surrounded by pools of black, were looking straight at their wagon. It lumbered in their direction. Knocking down buildings with its immense bulk.

There hadn't been many monsters from his game that he feared to face without a guild.

But this one was definitely on that list.

"Forget it, let's just get out of here before it thinks we're its meal!" Ren said seriously.

Filo looked back at the raging monster. She started to slow down. "Wait, a Dragon! Filo wants to fight the dragon-" She started to say fiercely.

"No!" Naofumi vehemently refused.

"But I-"

Naofumi cracked the reins again. "I said no! Now run!"

"But I want to fight it!" Filo complained.

"You can fight it another time Filo." Melty weakly offered. Scared out of her mind. "Let's worry about getting out of here first."

"But Filo wants to fight it nowwwwww…" Filo's whining turned to a worried tone, seeing the fear her best friend was feeling. It was enough that it kept her from trying to fight the big dragon.

Filo continued pulling the wagon. Having to change streets to avoid crowds of panicking civilians and other things in the road. There were several times that small groups of knights tried to impede them, but Filo plowed right through them like they were bowling pins. There was the sound of more buildings being destroyed. But Naofumi didn't try to concern himself with it.

They had to get out of the city.

A larger contingent of Church knights blocked the road ahead. But Naofumi was sure Filo could take them. Up until Ren started screaming in a panic.

"Veer left! Veer left!"

A shadow loomed overhead. And Naofumi yanked Filo's reins. She veered sideways onto another street, again putting the wagon and its screaming occupants on two wheels, right as the Tyrant Dragon Rex burst out of a building in front of them. It stumbled to regain its footing, roaring as the group fled down a different street.

The Church knights screamed at the beast's appearance. And either turned to flee or rushed to attack it. But the large monster didn't notice, other than it's large tail slamming into most of them as it turned to follow the two Cardinal Heroes.

"Veer right!" Ren yelled.

"Why-"

"Just stop questioning me damn it!" Ren was not very good when he lost his cool and aloof manner. He looked very afraid.

Filo curved harshly right onto another street. She had to use wind magic just to keep the wagon from tipping over. The demi-kids inside, instead of screaming, looked like they were going to get sick from all the jarring and moving.

It was almost like looking at a group of small Raphtalia's all over again.

Behind them, the Tyrant Dragon Rex crashed into a corner building of the street. It got back up, roared, and started after their wagon again.

"I knew it! It's following us!" Ren yelled. "Of course it has to be following us! Maybe it thinks we are its meal!"

Naofumi got worried. If Ren was freaking out this much over a monster's appearance. It had to be bad news.

"Why is it following us?!" Naofumi asked.

"How should I know?! Normally if you run this far, it'd leave you alone or go back into the obelisk it was sealed in!" Ren said. "My game knowledge is useless here!"

"Then do something useful?! Like using that portal sword of yours!" Naofumi yelled at him.

"I already tried! It stopped working the moment that thing was unsealed!"

"Filo can fight it, daddy! Filo can take it-" Filo was saying again.

"No!" Naofumi and Ren yelled at her.

"But I want to fight the dragon!" Filo complained.

What was up with Filo? She was pulling a super heavy wagon! Naofumi thought she loved doing that! She's always wanted to pull something like this! So why was she suddenly being brave and wanting to fight the big scary monster?! Did she have something against dragons or something?!

The Tyrant Dragon Rex was still chasing after them. They changed to an empty street in the direction of the side gate just to try and lose the monster. But then Itsuki and all the various party members appeared running onto the street in front of them. "Let us on! Let us on!" They yelled. Shouts were coming from the street they'd run off from.

"**Air Strike Shield!**"

Naofumi formed the shield sideways like a platform a couple of feet off the ground to the side. Filo slowed down just enough for the party to jump in using the shield platform. And then she took off running again. Behind them, more explosions sounded. But the knights and mages who charged out onto the street to chase after them got stomped on by the Tyrant Dragon Rex. Who stomped onto the street after them.

"I don't want to visit this city ever again!" Itsuki yelled, dusting himself off as he moved up to the front near the other two heroes. All of Ren and Itsuki's party members scrunched up in different spots in the back of the wagon. Making it more packed than before.

After they'd heard the roar, they'd all been wise enough to group up again. Find Itsuki. And to run like bats out of hell for the side gate. Fortunately, they'd gotten here before Naofumi and Ren passed them by.

Aksel panted, looking dead tired. "Move somewhere else," Aksel complained.

"But there isn't anywhere else Axe." Maya teased on Aksel's lap. He groaned, wishing he had room to collapse on his face spread eagle.

The fact that Filo was pulling over forty people in the wagon was amazing. Granted, Naofumi and Ren had also used Support Spells on Filo to help boost her strength. Still, this was incredible.

"Let me guess!" Ren said. "Your portal skill isn't working either!"

Itsuki sat on the other side of Naofumi in the wide driver's seat. "Yeah, why isn't it working?! And what the hell is that thing?!" Itsuki pointed back at the large monster chasing after them. He didn't remember it being in his game.

"Idol wasn't down in the army camp," Naofumi answered. "We had to face him in his manor. And the fat bastard unsealed this monster before he died. It's been chasing us the last while."

Filo shifted to the other side of the street. Right after, a piece of debris launched by the monster struck the pavement. The Tyrant Dragon Rex roared once more.

"**Arrow Squall!**" The arrow skill traveled overhead and separated into a rain of explosive arrows on the monster. It briefly covered it in smoke, but it came running out. Shaking its head in agitation, and still chasing after them without any visible wounds on it.

Itsuki paled, seeing his skill barely affect it. "Let's get out of the city! Maybe it'll lose interest if we leave the area!" He suggested.

"That's what we were thinking!"

The wagon continued on. Itsuki used more arrow skills to take down groups of knights that tried to attack them or as attempts to slow the monster chasing them down. The citizens, fortunately, thinned out. But then, a minute later, the largest Church Army contingent yet blocked the square in front of the side gates. Hundreds upon hundreds of knights and mages filled the square. Several shadows in the area issued orders, and the ballistae on the walls fired large bolts down into the street around them. And the mages prepared spells.

"**Air Strike Shield!**" Naofumi summoned the Shield Skill above in front of Filo. Several different ballistae bolts exploded against it, but the Shield didn't crack.

Itsuki fired an arrow, intercepting another ballistae bolt midair. It exploded a dozen feet above the wagon. But didn't harm anyone below it.

"Right, Filo! Go right!" Naofumi ordered.

Filo veered right down a different street as the army's mages released their spells. The street they left behind exploded in a myriad of different elemental spells. The street they were on now ran towards a dead-end wall. There were buildings on both sides, but two more ballistae were in view up top, reloading for another volley.

"Sir Naofumi!?" Eclair and Melty yelled in surprise. The others in the back gasped when they saw the large looming wall.

"Wyndia!" Ren yelled.

"I'm on it!"

Wyndia came upfront. Ren and Itsuki got up on either side of Naofumi. They prepared their weapons to launch skills while Wyndia chanted. "I call upon the power of the Earth to come to me and take form. **Dragon Vein**, hear my petition! Earth Vein, lend me your strength! Give me the power needed to break the obstacle before us! Give me the power to turn our defeat into a victory!" Wyndia chanted, focusing her hands in front of her.

"**Meteor Arrow!**"

"**Meteor Slash!**"

The two skills exploded against the wall. Bricks and large chunks of rock exploded outward. It made a hole, but the wall was thick. There was still plenty in the way.

Dark flames coalesced in front of Wyndia's hands, and she thrust them forward. "**Black Fire Explosion!**"

A concentrated burst shot out. Impacting with the remainder of the wall in their way. The resulting explosion almost knocked the running Filo off her feet, and caused Naofumi to summon another Air Strike Shield to make sure none of the blast or debris hit any of the slaves in the back of the wagon. The knights manning the ballistae up top dove out of the way. As the heat of the explosion raced up past them.

Filo ran into the cloud of dust, gripping the wagon tightly with her wings as it rocked over the debris. She also braced herself in case she ran into anything. The demi-humans inside burrowed together, ears against their heads, and tails spiked in fear.

…

Filo came charging out of the dust cloud. She veered sharply to get onto the road leading through the forest. The hole in the wall the hero's skills and Wyndia's magic had made had been just big enough for the whole wagon to make it through. Everyone inside was unharmed.

"We did it!" Itsuki cheered. His party members and Ren's also cheered behind him.

Wyndia collapsed onto the floor of the wagon in front of Raphtalia. Who didn't react to the celebrating. Ren rubbed Wyndia's head between her ears. "Thanks. Your magic saved the day again." He said. Smiling happily for her.

Wyndia grumbled tiredly. But she didn't have the energy to try and slap Ren.

In fact, she was starting to think he should thank her more often like this. Though she'd refuse to admit it even under torture or threat of death.

They'd managed to save the slaves. Escape from the Church Army. And the monster was trapped in the city behind them.

"Finally! Let's leave this city behind and-" Naofumi was yelling.

The entire height of the wall exploded outwards. This time, from the force of the 20-meter monster slamming through it. Everyone in the wagon looked back at it. All of them very much surprised and shocked.

The Tyrant Dragon Rex stumbled to the ground as stone and the remains of ballistae fell around it. It got back up and roared once more. Its eyes focused on the wagon, and it charged past the opening gates, almost squashing another segment of the Church Army being sent to pursue them. Chasing after them.

"Why the hell is that thing still chasing us?!" Naofumi yelled.

"I don't know!" Itsuki said frantically.

Everyone except one person in the back of the wagon looked in fear at it.

Idol's cellar was starting to look way more inviting than this monstrosity chasing them down.

"Come on! Faster Filo!" Naofumi said. "Faster!"

Filo was already exerting herself. This wagon was far bigger and filled way more than any previous wagon she'd pulled before. But at Naofumi's command, she pushed herself harder. The road was wide open in front of her, and nobody was on it. Giving her plenty of room to run as fast as she could.

There were bumps and jostles, but nothing too major. They started to pull away from the monster. But it merely roared in agitation and didn't stop trying to pursue them. The city grew distant, but it still didn't stop.

"What did we do to piss it off!?" Naofumi asked angrily.

"Is it possible that it's attracted to us because of our weapons?!" Itsuki asked.

"Why would it be attracted to our weapons?!"

"I'm just trying to throw suggestions out there! There's obviously some reason it's trying to chase us down! And I doubt it's because it wants piano lessons!" Itsuki yelled angrily.

Ren got into the back of the wagon and looked at the charging monster closely.

"It's ignoring everything and going after us! Why the hell is it doing that?!" Welt yelled, looking scared out of his mind.

"I don't know. I'm not familiar with this monster!" Rachel was saying. The various party members, along with Itsuki and Naofumi were freaking out.

Ren noticed a purple glow in its chest. _'Wait… that glow…'_ It was familiar…

He looked closely at his sword and found a light purple glow that was barely noticeable coming from his gemstone. He quickly checked his inventory with his HUD and found the item he wanted to return to Wyndia. It glowed purple in his HUD, similar to the monster's chest.

The others were still freaking out. But the dots were connecting in Ren's mind.

"It's not chasing after us... It's chasing after me." He said in realization.

…

The wagon was silent. Almost everyone looked at him. It'd been just loud enough that everyone heard him. "Sir Ren?" Tersia asked confusedly.

"I have an item in my sword. Something I got from absorbing the dragon Gaelion... I think it's chasing me because I have it." Ren said.

"What are you talking about Ren?" Naofumi asked confusedly.

Ren stood up. Looking back at the beast. It wasn't staring at the wagon. It was staring at HIM.

Filo was keeping ahead for now since they weren't weaving through streets and dodging people. But she was starting to sweat from exertion. Even she had her limits. If she had to keep up this pace, then that monster would catch up to them, and...

"Sir Ren, what are you doing?!" Wyndia said. She laid tiredly against the side of the wagon now, but her eyes looked frantically at Ren. Realizing what was going through his mind.

Ren gripped the side of the wagon. To him, it was his fault this monster was chasing them. He knew he should have checked Idol to make sure he was dead. He knew he should have double-tapped the bastard. But he'd been more worried about freeing the slaves so his party wouldn't have to be out in the city risking their lives. He'd been more worried about his party instead of himself… and now, this horrible monster was after them. And he'd failed to stop it's summoning in time.

The least he could do was lead it away, so the others would have a chance to escape. "Keep them safe." He said, looking back at the other Heroes.

"No-" Wyndia tried reaching out to stop him, as well as Ren's other party members, but Ren jumped from the wagon. He hit the ground rolling, and then got up and ran towards the forest.

The monster let out a roar and veered into the forest after Ren.

"No, Rennnnnnn!" Wyndia yelled.

Ren ignored her. And he disappeared into the foliage. The monster down the road disappeared into the large trees after Ren.

"Did Ren just seriously jump off by himself?!" Naofumi yelled angrily. Filo breathed in and out heavily, finally slowing down somewhat without the threat of the monster chasing after them for dinner.

"That idiot! What does he think he's doing?!" Itsuki said angrily. "He can't fight that thing by himself!"

"... You're right Itsuki! Second Princess! Get up here!" Naofumi ordered.

Melty stood up indignantly. "How many times do I have to say to stop calling me that-"

"Just take the reins bluette! Make sure everyone gets away safely or I swear I'll never trust you again!" Naofumi adjusted the Shield on his arm.

"Sir Naofumi, what are you doing?" Eclair asked.

Naofumi grumbled. "I'm making sure that idiot doesn't get himself killed."

Itsuki looked surprised, and then he nodded and got himself ready. Quickly downing a Soul-Healing Potion.

Melty also looked surprised. And she wordlessly took the reins from Naofumi. He and Itsuki both got to the edge of the wagon to jump off.

"But what about the rest of us, Sir Naofumi?" Eclair asked. "What do you want us to do?"

"Stay with the slaves. Meet up with Van. Once we take this thing down, Itsuki or Ren will portal the three of us out. And we'll meet you in the region of Seaetto." Naofumi said seriously. Looking over them all.

The former slaves, of course, were looking at them in admiration. But the party members themselves looked conflicted. Unsure if this was the right thing to do or not. Wyndia was being cradled by one of Ren's mages. Bakta and Ren's other party members looked pleadingly at him and Itsuki. Raphtalia still wasn't looking up. A single tear fell from her face, landing on the wrapping covering Rifana.

"Daddy. Filo can fight. Please let Filo fight the dragon." Filo pleaded tiredly.

"Filo." Naofumi leaned forward and pet the running bird on one of her wings gripping the wagon. "They need your help. Mommy needs your help. Please, make sure they all get to safety." He said pleadingly. "I promise I'll be right back."

Filo turned her head to look at Naofumi... She wordlessly nodded. Realizing at an innate level that Naofumi was trying to protect them all. And that included Ren and Itsuki.

Naofumi almost hesitated. Not wanting to leave them behind. Not wanting to leave Raphtalia behind when she was in such a state. But then he and Itsuki jumped off the wagon, Naofumi formed an Air Strike Shield platform that they hit running, and they jumped off it onto the edge of the road. Together, they ran into the forest after Ren and the Tyrant Dragon Rex.

"It's okay. Sir Ren will make it out okay." Tersia said softly. Cradling the tired Wyndia to her.

"That idiot… that moron… that stupid… stupid…" Wyndia had tears trailing down her face. Tears she was hiding from everyone else.

She really wished that she hadn't expended almost all her energy using that Dragon Vein spell. So she could at least help the idiot fight something that was far stronger than them all.

Filo pulled the wagon of slaves and party members away from the city. Away from the Church Army. Away from the danger of the Tyrant Dragon Rex. And away from the Three Heroes rushing to face it.

* * *

"... So, you managed to find a candidate to take over as the next queen, huh?"

A little girl with angel wings on her back petted a blue feathered Filolial on the head. The Filolial chirped happily in response to the petting and rubbed her head into the little angel girl's hand.

"Oh… You say she's not far from here?" The Filolial nodded but chirped some more.

"Hmmm… she's not far… but she's running away? From what?"

The Filolial chirped again. The little girl thought it over.

...

"I see… I will see her soon. Go, and assist the Three Heroes. If they need help, call for me."

The Filolial nodded, and two more walked up beside it. The girl breathed in calmly and rested her hand on the lead Filolial.

"_Transport, Carriage."_

The three Filolials shimmered and then disappeared entirely.

The little angel girl looked at the forest around her worriedly.

She'd meet this Filolial Queen Candidate eventually. But for now, it sounded like three of the Cardinal Heroes were in danger. But if they were working together, this would be the perfect time to watch.

After all, the Holy Heroes had to come first. And they'd need to work together if they wanted to save the world.

* * *

Ren slid under a log blocking his way, then he got up and continued running.

A moment later, a large foot smashed the log and the surrounding trees to pieces. The Tyrant Dragon Rex roared, continuing to chase after Ren.

"Come on. I know it's near here. Where is it?" Ren muttered. Trying to remember the area from his game. Even if there were differences, the map was still mostly the same.

The Tyrant Dragon Rex lowered its head during its charge to snap Ren up. But Ren quickly jumped to the side, avoiding the teeth. "**Air Strike Bash!**" He used the skill to propel himself away from the large monster and continued running.

About fifteen seconds later, he finally ran out into a wide-open meadow. A small crystal-like lake rested a few hundred feet in front of him. He ran towards the lake and stopped about a hundred feet away from it. Turning to face the forest, breathing in and out heavily.

The forest wouldn't be a good place to fight a creature of that size. He wouldn't have only had to worry about its attacks, but also the falling trees and other debris. Here, he had plenty of room to fight.

Was he being stupid wanting to fight this thing by himself? Definitely. Was he scared? Terrified. Flight and Fight were leaning heavily towards Flight. But did he want his party and everyone else to be safe and to not pay for his mistakes?

Absolutely.

...

A few seconds later, the large monster broke through the rest of the trees. Running out onto the field of grass. Ren breathed in calmly, hoping he hadn't made a mistake deciding to fight this guild level boss monster by himself.

The monster roared as it charged. His sword glowed, and he kneeled to the ground. It was time to begin.

"**One Hundred Swords!**"

Glowing blue swords appeared out of the ground around him by the dozens. Flying through the air and impacting against the Tyrant Dragon Rex. Because of its sheer size, most of them hit, but they didn't do much damage or stop the monster from swiping its tail at Ren.

Ren jumped and brought his sword down as the tail went underneath him. "**Crimson Blade!**"

The fiery blade cut into the tail as it swiped past, and the flames stuck to it. Ren ran forward. The creature beat its tail against the ground. Putting out the fire.

"**Thunderbolt Slash!**" He slashed into the thick leg of the monster with the skill. Electricity shot out from the point of impact, but the blade didn't sink very far into the flesh. "**Eagle Blade!**" He slashed again, using a wind-based skill. But it also barely left a dent in the thick scales.

The monster stomped down, and Ren jumped back, grimacing to himself. He'd gotten four good skills on it. But they hardly did any damage.

Just how high was the defense stat on this creature!?

The creature brought it's foot up again, and Ren jumped back. Avoiding where it stomped down on the ground. "**Meteor Slash!**"

The skill exploded against the upper portion of the monster's leg. This time, the monster roared as if it had hurt. A tiny gash had been made in the scales, which leaked blood slowly.

Ren prepared to use another skill, but his eyes saw the tail too late.

**Pow!**

The tail knocked Ren away, sending him rolling across the grass up to the edge of the lake. He groaned, trying to get on his knees. His nose was bloody, and his whole body felt like it'd been bruised. Getting hurt, hurt way more than it did in his VR games. His HUD pinged warnings at him, and he checked his status.

The single tail swipe alone had almost completely drained his HP! And he was a decent level with more strengthening methods than before!

'_JUST HOW POWERFUL IS THIS THING?!'_ Ren thought in genuine fear. '_****! No! I have to buy the others more time to escape! I have to help them escape!'_ His portal skill still wasn't working. He stood back up.

"**Flashing Sword!**" His blade released a burst of light at the charging creature. Its eyes closed at the bright flash of light. Ren charged up another skill instead of trying to run away. He had to take this monster down.

It was his fault. It was all his fault. Not just today. But so many other things were his fault. He'd made some bad mistakes. He hadn't done enough to help make up for it… He had to make up for it, he had to get rid of this awful feeling of guilt inside his chest, before-

A blue arrow exploded against the side of its head. "Gruhhhhh!" The Dragon Tyrant Rex roared in pain, falling sideways to the ground with a loud rumble. A single puncture wound slowly leaked blood from under its left eye.

"Ren!"

Itsuki and Naofumi came charging out of the forest. They ran past the stunned monster up to Ren.

"What are you two doing? I have everything handled." Ren said, grimacing at their appearance.

"Everything handled my ***!" Naofumi said. "**Fast Heal!**" He quickly used the healing spell on Ren, healing some of his damage. He also tossed him an HP potion, which Ren gladly took.

The monster started getting back up. Ren looked much better after the HP Potion. "Look, it's my fault that monster was chasing after us," Ren said. "I should be the one to face it so you can escape-"

"Yeah, and have you die on us. I don't think so." Itsuki said.

"I was doing fine-"

"Your HP was almost gone, Ren!" Itsuki cut him off. "If this really isn't a game, then I don't want to risk my friend dying!" Ren was silenced at Itsuki's words.

"You helped me before Ren. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you and Itsuki." Naofumi said. If Ren and Itsuki hadn't spoken up at the Sacred Duel, he would have been rotting away in some dungeon. As well as Raphtalia. If Ren hadn't told him about the Weapon Copy System, he wouldn't have had the Royal Shield when he faced Bitch. If Ren hadn't come to the Capital to rescue him, he'd be good as dead. And if Ren hadn't shared his strengthening methods, Idol's whip would have taken him down in his courtyard.

Ren was speechless as Naofumi glowered. "Stop trying to be a loner and just let us help you for once, damn it!" Naofumi's shield glowed, and he changed to the **Shield of Hope II**.

Light surrounded Naofumi and his shield. The robe that had appeared before wrapped around Naofumi's left side, taking the place of his armor. His eyes turned blue. He felt positive emotions begin coursing through him, but he grimaced at other emotions that lurked in the background. Worry for Raphtalia and Filo. Fear for their survival. And other such things. But for now, the positive emotions in him held sway.

Itsuki shook his head. "Show off much?" He said sarcastically.

The comment almost got Ren to chuckle, and he readied his sword. Naofumi's words inspiring him. "Alright. Let's face it. Together."

The monster roared and charged the group of three.

* * *

Naofumi took point. Raising his shield up high.

**Boom!**

The monster's large head slammed into the large glassy Shield. Naofumi grimaced, his knees slightly bending. "As source of thy power I order I order thee, decipher the laws of nature, and strengthen my target. **Zweite Strength!**" Ren cast the support spell on Naofumi. It wasn't a very big percentage increase since he learned the spell from a crystal ball, but it was just enough that Naofumi stopped the monster, and then pushed back, causing the large monster to stumble back.

One hit had almost killed Ren. Itsuki's defense stat wasn't as high as Ren's, and neither was his level. He had to keep both safe while they inflicted damage.

Good thing he was a Shielder.

"**Lightning Arrow!**"

"**Thunderbolt Slash!**"

The arrow and slash both slammed into the same leg. The monster roared, turned, and swiped its tail. Naofumi ran to their side. "**Air Strike Shield!" **The tail slammed into the green shield. The skill almost instantly shattered, but it bought Naofumi enough time to get in position to block with his shield again.

The hit damaged him slightly. Naofumi grimaced at that, but he still ran after Ren who charged the roaring beast again. At least it only damaged him slightly despite the debuff. Thank the gods for the strengthening methods.

"**Explosion, shot!**" The disc of red appeared in front of Itsuki again, and the explosive arrow exploded against the side of the monster's head.

"**Dragon, Buster!**" Ren jumped and impaled his dragon flame covered sword over the knee into its leg.

The monster roared from both hits. Both of which pierced the scales and left small wounds. It tried to stomp on Ren after he jumped back. But Naofumi was there, holding his shield up to protect Ren. The foot slammed down into it, but Naofumi held.

He did better than hold his own. He grabbed the foot with his impressive STR stat and pushed it so it stumbled backward, almost falling over from being off-balance.

"**Saint Arrow's Rain!**" Itsuki unleashed the spread skill over the creature. Covering it in a blanket of fiery red arrows.

The dance of death continued for a short while. Ren and Itsuki unleashed skill after skill. Both of them chugging Soul Healing Potions in between. And Naofumi blocked, ran around, blocked some more. Protecting mainly Ren, who was the focus of the Tyrant Dragon Rex's attacks. And chugging a Soul-Healing Potion when his SP ran low.

"**Eagle Piercing Shot!**" Itsuki released another arrow. This one took the form of an eagle. It screeched and then penetrated right into the gut of the beast. While most of the other skills caused surface damage, the defense piercing skill went right through the skin. A spout of blood burst from the creature.

"**ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAA!**" The monster roared loudly in pain and anger.

Ren and Naofumi jumped away. "Yeah! That's how it's done, Itsuki!" Ren said excitedly. Preparing another skill.

The 20-meter tall monster stepped back. A magic pentagram appeared in front of its mouth. Naofumi's eyes widened. "Get behind me!"

Ren and Itsuki's eyes also widened at the magic pentagram, and they raced behind Naofumi. "**Air Strike Shield!** **Royal Shield!** **Shield Prison!**" The cluster of different shields appeared in front of Naofumi. The Shield Prison encased himself, Ren, and Itsuki. Despite all the protection, he got in a brace position, his Shield held protectively with both hands in front of him.

The pentagram glowed, and then the Tyrant Dragon Rex unleashed a breath of magic fire over the area. The Royal Shield shattered almost immediately. The Air Strike Shield shattered next. Finally, the Shield Prison shattered. Naofumi stayed at point though, his Shield glowing blue like a barrier while it blocked the remainder of the magic fire.

When the attack was finished, The area around them had been burned away by the attack. Leaving nothing but the charred ground. Had they not taken cover behind Naofumi's shields… it wouldn't have been pretty.

"How the hell is this thing so strong?!" Itsuki asked once more.

It was bleeding from several different minor wounds. As well as the more serious wound in its gut. But it still looked as strong and fearsome as ever.

The three of them separated, Naofumi blocked a claw attack with his Shield. Ren came slashing in with another sword skill. Itsuki released another arrow skill that released a spread of arrows over the whole creature. But they were causing barely any visible surface damage.

Naofumi jumped back and almost collapsed. He still felt positive emotions coursing into him. But it felt like his worry and fear were growing stronger and stronger. Wanting to take over his mind.

What if they couldn't defeat this monster? What if it wasn't just after Ren? What if this monster killed them, and then ran on to kill his party and everyone else they were trying to protect? What if-

"Naofumi!"

Naofumi blinked and barely reacted in time. Protecting Ren from another tail strike from the monster. However, Ren's spell had worn off, and this time he was sent flying from the force of the hit.

"Oof!"

He impacted the ground. The light from his Shield and robe were fading, much to his alarm. He cast **First Guard** on himself, got back up, and blocked another strike from the Tyrant Dragon Rex. '_Stop worrying! Just focus on the fight! Remember who you're fighting for!'_ He thought, trying to motivate himself to keep going.

Itsuki and Ren peppered the large monster with more skills. It got several more gashes it started to bleed from. But they were minor, and the creature barely showed signs of slowing down. But Naofumi, Ren, and Itsuki were becoming exhausted from the whole ordeal.

His arms felt numb from blocking so many hits. Ren's sword attacks looked slower and less powerful than before. Itsuki ran around from all sorts of angles, trying to find a chink in the monster that would allow his arrows to do more damage. But nothing was working.

Naofumi wasn't sure how long they'd been fighting for. But it felt like an eternity. An eternity that dragged on more and more the longer Naofumi kept the Shield equipped.

He tried using **Hope Asunder**, but it required the Tyrant Dragon to be trapped against **Air Strike Shield** to use it. Any attempt to do so resulted in the skill shattering before he could use it. He tried to use **Pandora's Box** even though he didn't know what it did yet, but it required for the target to be trapped inside the five-meter wide **Shield Prison**. And since the **Tyrant Dragon Rex** was way over the size limit, he couldn't use the unknown skill on it.

After a particularly brutal hit, Naofumi got the feeling that he had to switch shields now before it was too late. So he switched to the **Chimera Viper Shield**. Almost immediately, the worry and fear and other negative emotions that had felt like they were going to drag him down disappeared. '_Holy hell!'_ A wave of exhaustion also slammed into Naofumi.

Ren used **Air Strike Bash** to blow himself away from the monster's next tail swipe, seeing Naofumi bent over in exhaustion. "Naofumi!" He yelled worriedly.

Naofumi's HP was down to about half now from defending. The somewhat weaker shield wouldn't hold as well as the other one, even with magic support. "Buy us some time Itsuki!" Ren yelled, running over to Naofumi and helping him up.

"Ugh… that thing outclasses my defense by a mile." Naofumi groaned.

Ren grimaced. Not sure about how he could reply to that.

"**Meteor Arrow! Explosion Shot!**" Itsuki used two of his strongest skills. Both of which exploded against the side of the monster's head.

"I don't know if we can win," Naofumi said. Looking downtrodden and defeated. His words caused Ren to deflate.

There really wasn't a chance for them to defeat it. They just weren't strong enough. They didn't have-

"**Eagle Piercing Shot!**" Itsuki released the skill again, this time aiming below its chest. The screeching eagle hit just below the glow, and the Tyrant Dragon Rex stopped in its tracks. It backed away, roaring louder and in more pain than it had before.

"Why is it doing that now?" Naofumi asked. The first few had been effective. But not like this one.

"I-" Ren almost facepalmed. "That's it! The glowing center in its chest! That has to be its weak spot!" He yelled in realization.

The monster had stepped back almost to the edge of the forest. But it slammed its two feet into the ground and roared in anger once more. A magic pentagram began forming over its mouth again.

Itsuki charged behind Naofumi, who, at Ren's encouragement, unleashed the different shields around them again. He then downed two soul healing potions because he was running low. "Are you sure that's its weak point?" Naofumi tiredly asked. He really wanted it to be a weak point. Because trying to take down the monster with repeated attacks was proving next to impossible.

At the thought, he then remembered those he'd left behind. He remembered his party. He remembered Filo and Raphtalia... "You know what. If there's a chance we can beat it, I'm all for it." He didn't want to die here. He didn't want to leave them alone.

"There is," Ren said, thinking of a plan quickly in his mind. Itsuki's defense piercing skill would be on cooldown, but they needed something bigger... "Naofumi, can you change back to the Blessed Series again?" Ren asked.

Naofumi grimaced tiredly. "I don't know if that's safe Ren. It felt like I was falling in a pit towards the end there. If I change back now, something bad might happen."

Magic fire launched from the Tyrant Dragon Rex, slamming into the array of Shields.

"Naofumi, our attacks aren't doing much to it because of the high defense stat. We need something to lower it so our next attacks can work." Ren said seriously.

The Royal Shield and Air Strike Shield shattered. "Do you have an idea to restrain it long enough so I can use it?" Naofumi asked. "Because it didn't work earlier. I need it to be restrained so I can get the combo off to use Hope Asunder on it."

"..." Naofumi and Ren felt a dark presence behind them. They turned their heads, and their eyes widened in shock, seeing Itsuki wielding his white colorless Cursed Bow. He clutched at his head, but he was still him for now. "Tank this last attack. And I'll make sure… it's bound for you." He said, straining against a great weight inside his mind.

The Shield Prison cracked around them. Naofumi and Ren stared in shock at the blonde boy. Then, Naofumi grit his teeth, and changed back to the **Shield of Hope II**. If the young immature teen was willing to risk losing himself to his Cursed Series, he could risk equipping the Blessed Shield for just a moment longer.

Light burst from him once more, and then the Shield Prison shattered. The glowing blue barrier appeared in front of him, weaker than before. Glowing far less, but still strong enough to withstand the attack.

Even before the flames disappeared, Itsuki charged forward. The flames hurt, but his Cursed Bow's higher defense rating and rapid HP regeneration skills activated. What damage he did take rapidly healed as he charged forward.

"**Saint Arrow's Rain!**" He launched the spread skill from the Cursed Bow. The higher attack rating attack rained down on the large monster. Showering it in cursed flames. It roared and tried to move out of it to avoid it. In focusing on that though, it lost track of Itsuki.

"**Shadow Bind!**"

The monster froze. Unable to leave the flames.

"**Bind Arrow!**" Itsuki released another arrow. The already bound Tyrant Dragon Rex was brought painfully down into the ground.

Itsuki held up a fist. And then he yelled in pain. The Cursed Bow he'd briefly had equipped changed to a normal bow. Using his Cursed Execution skill on something that powerful would not have worked very well. And with how much his Cursed Bow had been calling to him to keep it equipped, he couldn't risk holding it any longer. "Now, do it Naofumi!" Itsuki yelled, collapsing forward.

"**Air Strike Shield!**" Naofumi summoned the shield up against the bound monster. "**Change Shield! Lasso!**" A thing of rope appeared around its arm. He technically wasn't restraining it. But the conditions for his shield's skill had finally been met.

"FOOLISH CREATURE! YOU STAND CONDEMNED FOR YOUR UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENTS HERE TODAY! I DISPENSE MY JUSTICE ON YOU, AND STRIP YOU OF THAT WHICH PROTECTS YOU MOST! I CAST MY WORDS TO THE HEAVENS!" The Air Strike Shield and binds glowed bright green in response to his words. His Shield also glowed a bright blue as he selected the option and the amount of SP he was using on his HUD. "NOW SUFFER! **HOPE! ASUNDERRRRRRR!**"

The monster released a roar, Itsuki's binding skills shattering under its might. But before it could shatter the Air Strike Shield, the shield shattered itself. Light blue flecks falling over its skin. The dark skin lost a lot of its luster, and its dented scales shriveled all over its body.

Naofumi switched shields again and collapsed to the ground. Tired and exhausted. His SP was in the negatives. "Now... your turn, Ren." He muttered.

Ren finally took his cue. The Dragon Tyrant Rex stood up and roared in his direction. It charged past a collapsed Itsuki. Naofumi passed out from exhaustion.

Ren kneeled once more. Everything was his fault. He could have done something more to prevent stuff from happening. The blame for what had happened today rested on him.

But now, he had the chance to make things right.

"**One Hundred Swords!**"

Dozens of swords flew from him at the large creature. But this time, unlike before, the skin didn't stop the blades. They sank to the hilt into the large monster.

"GRUHHHHHHHHH!" It roared in surprise pain at the might of so many different blades cutting into it. It's arms raised, protecting the glowing center in its chest from the many blades.

Ren charged behind the last of the blades. Jumping with a mighty heave up onto its leg. "**Dragon Buster!**" "**Eagle Blade!**" The two skills slammed into the side of the monster, sending large spurts of blood flying from it.

It roared once more. A magic pentagram appeared over its mouth.

"**ThunderBolt Slash!**" He slashed the back of the creature with the electric skill. Electricity arced up its spine through its head, stunning it temporarily.

Ren charged along its spiked back. Gripping his sword tightly.

He had to do it.

He had to make up for what he'd done.

HE HAD TO ATONE FOR ALL HIS PAST MISTAKES AND ELIMINATE THIS GUILT!

He jumped over its face, turning around to face it again. It was weird. Seeing the magic skill up close. The pentagram looked so detailed. So unique. It was hard to imagine the destructive force such a thing could unleash. And it almost hid the monster behind it. And the glowing purple chest it was trying to protect.

"**Meteor Slash!**" As Ren fell, he launched the last skill with the last of his SP and MP at the chest of the creature. The blue slash of energy went underneath the jaw, and over its arms. Ren watched, as if in slow motion, it cut into the smooth skin of its chest. And exploded underneath.

The pentagram dissipated. The monster roared in agony. A geyser of blood burst from its chest. Along with something large and glowing.

Ren hit the ground hard. He cried out in pain. His left ankle felt like liquid fire was coursing through it.

The monster heaved left and right. As if like an off-kilter top. Roaring, and roaring, and roaring… until it finally collapsed sideways to the ground. Just barely missing Ren.

A long, shuddering breath escaped the creature. And then, its eyes stopped glowing.

The Tyrant Dragon Rex was dead.

…

Ren groaned in pain. It definitely felt like the fall had sprained his ankle. But…

Beside him, a glowing purple core covered in flesh rested on the ground. The source of power for this large creature.

'_I… we did it…'_

He sat up tiredly. The Dragon Tyrant Rex laid on the ground. A pool of red forming underneath it. Itsuki and Naofumi laid nearby. Both of them passed out from exhaustion.

He wormed his way over to the glowing fragment. And absorbed it into his sword. Hopefully, it wouldn't cause anyone any more problems.

'_What the hell do I do now?'_ He thought.

…

Shouting came from the forest. Ren looked in that direction, and he groaned in his mind. '_Crap… the Church Army…'_

He could see torches of light in the forest. They were still out there. Trying to find the monster and the heroes it'd been chasing. If they found them now, they were dead.

He wormed over to Itsuki and then dragged himself and Itsuki over to Naofumi. '_Come on… I have to get us out of here…'_ He thought, trying to ignore the pain in his ankle and the exhaustion his body screamed at him. Part of him wanted to absorb the monster into his sword, but there wasn't enough time. And he didn't have the energy for such an endeavor.

He finally got the three of them together, and he switched to his Portal Sword. But he didn't have enough SP to use it. '_No! Not now!'_ He opened his inventory frantically, but he was out of Soul Healing potions.

"Itsuki, Naofumi, I need a Soul Healing Potion. Wake up." He said, shaking both of them. But they didn't wake.

"Urgh…" Ren groaned. This was bad. This was really, really bad! He collapsed to the grass. Exhausted and in pain.

Excited shouting came from the forest. They must have found the path the Tyrant Dragon Rex tore through the forest. They'd be there soon. And he didn't have the energy to protect the three of them.

'_I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…'_ He thought sadly to himself, collapsing to the ground.

Even after giving his all, even after all the effort he'd made in getting stronger, he still failed. They weren't going to get away. They weren't going to win…

He closed his eyes. Waiting for the inevitable.

...

"Huh?"

He felt something lift him up. He opened his eyes and saw as he was placed on the back of something soft. It let go of his collar and chirped at him. Ren looked up and found himself staring into the eyes of a blue feathered Filolial.

'_What…'_

He saw Itsuki and Naofumi lifted onto the backs of other Filolials. There were three in total. All of them looked at him, likely since he was the only one awake.

"Seaetto… take us, to Seaetto." Ren murmured tiredly.

The Filolials all chirped, and they took off running into the forest away from Rabier.

He could have sworn he saw mist surround the carcass of the Tyrant Dragon Rex. He could have sworn he heard confused yelling as the forest was also covered in the same mist. But that was probably his imagination. Either that or the pain was making him hallucinate.

He laid against the long feathered neck of the Filolial carrying him away and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

* * *

_The Next Day, Capital (7 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"They got away?"

The group of Church Shadows stood unsurely. The Pope sat on one of the two thrones in the throne room of the castle. Smiling like a happy old man. His voice didn't quite match his happy exterior.

"Yes, your Holiness." The lead Shadow of the group said. "We searched the forest outside Rabier… we found evidence of a fight. But we were unable to find where the Devil and the two traitorous heroes fled to. The creature they were fighting also vanished..."

The Pope raised a hand to his chin. The Shadows shuddered, thinking some great punishment was about to come upon them...

"There's no need to be afraid." The Pope finally said. "God is merciful. He will bless you for your efforts to stop the Devil of the Shield and his cohorts." He said with a comforting smile. "After all, yesterday was only a set back in the plans of our great Gods."

The Shadows bowed, hiding the relief on their hooded faces. "Thank you, your Holiness. We shall carry out God's will for us." They all said as one.

"Good… dismissed."

The Shadows turned around and left the throne room behind.

The Pope stood up from the throne. Sighing contemplatively to himself. '_So… the Shield Demon escaped the grasp of Justice once more.'_

It really was a pain. He wanted to protect his people from the wrath of such a false being along with the abominations that worshipped him. But it looked like they had eluded him once more…

He stood up, dusting off his robes with a smile. '_Oh well. It is only another setback.'_

That's all this was. Another set back in the grand scheme of the Gods.

Justice would come upon the Devil of the Shield eventually. He was nothing but a devil. And devils, never win...

A knock sounded on the large doors. It was likely the mustached Commander of the Knights. Giving him the latest report on Siltvelt's advance and the preparations for war.

He smiled widely. Maybe, if the Gods smiled upon him, he'd be the one to administer their divine retribution on the fallen Shield himself as well as his people.

He'd greatly appreciate it after all the trouble the Devil of the Shield had caused.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Sorry, this last week was a little rough. I didn't get to spend too much time writing on this chapter. I'm not sure if I'll have next week's chapter ready or not. I'll have to see what happens.**

**So… yeah. This happened.**

**Enjoy the omake.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**It's That Easy**

* * *

"Quick! Get us out of here!"

The three heroes started running for the gates of the courtyard. Behind them, the Dragon Tyrant Rex was climbing its way out of the portal in front of the obelisk.

"How strong is that thing, Ren?!" Naofumi asked in fear.

"Strong enough to beat the ever-living crap out of the top guilds from my game!" Ren yelled, fearing for his life.

"Oh **** oh **** oh **** **oh ****!**" Itsuki yelled. Banging on the closed and barred gates. "It's too late! They've locked us in!"

The three banged on the closed gates. "Let us out! LET US OUT!" Ren yelled. It looked like he was about to pee his pants in fear.

The Dragon Tyrant Rex roared, finally stepping out of its prison. It could sense something. A fragment just like the one in its chest, resting inside of the special sword.

"HELP US!"

"SOMEBODY PLEASE!"

The three humans in possession of it cowered on the ground. The Tyrant Dragon Rex took a step forward. It wanted that fragment. It wanted it more than anything else in the world. It wanted it-

It yelped in surprise, it's foot slipping on something big and slippery. It fell backward, and the obelisk stabbed through its chest. Knocking the Dragon Emperor Core out of it.

The large beast shuddered and stilled.

It took a few seconds, but eventually, the three Heroes looked up from their crossed arms. They stared in shock at the dead beast.

"Did… what happened?" Itsuki asked.

"I think it stabbed itself?" Naofumi muttered confusedly.

"What the hell…" Ren muttered in disbelief.

It took a little bit of searching. But they eventually found the reason it had slipped backward. It was the large, greasy, bloodstained tub of lard that had formerly been Idol.

The man had finally done something useful for once in his gods damned life.

...

"And you were scared to face it," Naofumi said dryly to Ren.

"I didn't think it'd be that easy," Ren said.

"You mean like how we entered the city?" Itsuki asked curiously.

Ren grumbled. Following behind Naofumi and Itsuki.

'_This world makes no sense.'_

Indeed, it did not.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	46. 46: Grief and Guilt

**Thanks to Aron1095 for the new cover for this story. You can look up his works by looking him up on Instagram under Windward_arts.**

**Other than that, I don't know what to say. Good luck with the chapter, I guess?**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** 35 more Favorites, _41 more Followers (Total: 1516 Favorites, 1728 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _June 8th, 2020 12:00 P.M._

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Six:** _Grief and Guilt_

* * *

_Afternoon (Seven Days Before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"..."

…

"... urgh…"

Naofumi groaned to himself. He wanted nothing more than to fall back into the dark abyss of his mind and continue sleeping. But the sounds of light thumping beneath him and the light rustle of his body were gradually forcing him to wake up. _'What is it now?'_

...

When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at a brown feathered back. His eyes confusedly followed the feathers up to the long ostrich neck, and then the head of the Filolial he was riding. '_Wait… what the hell?!'_

He sat up and rubbed at his eyes. '_Am I dreaming?! This can't be Filo! She doesn't have brown feathers! And she's a lot thicker in her Filolial form!'_

"Gwah!"

Naofumi looked to the side. There was another Filolial, this one was blue feathered. A passed out Ren rested on its back, drooling on its feathers. On the other side of it was another brown feathered Filolial, being ridden by a passed out Itsuki.

Naofumi groaned to himself. '_Don't tell me we escaped that one monster only to become a meal for a herd of wild Filolial.'_ Why did the world hate him so much?

At his groan, the Filolial he was riding turned its head to him. It chirped happily at seeing its rider awake, and the Filolial lowered its head to Naofumi while running, as if it was asking to be pet. He hesitantly did so, and it started gwahing happily.

Okay, maybe they weren't going to be dinner. Either that, or it was trying to get him to lower his guard. He hoped it was the former and not the latter. But it was being kind of cute with him petting it… okay, he'd believe it if it didn't think they were dinner.

The Filolial raised its head and faced forward again. With that out of the way, Naofumi realized they weren't surrounded by forest anymore. The Filolials they were riding were running on a road that weaved its way through some hilly countryside. He could see lots of grasslands all around along with the random tree. But he didn't recognize the place from his travels.

"Where are you taking us?" Naofumi asked.

"Gwah!" His new Filolial friend(?) squawked. It reminded him of Filo before she became the giant talking chicken loli she was now. And unfortunately, just like back then, he still didn't understand its language. But it rubbed its wing in his hair. Just like Filo had. It probably meant it was taking them somewhere safe.

Probably. He still kept a lookout just in case.

After a moment, he saw a set of buildings appearing over a hill. It looked like a farmhouse and a barn, but he couldn't tell.

The road the Filolials were running on, which Naofumi finally noted to be unkempt, went by the place. And it was when they were close that Naofumi's eyes widened. It was a farmhouse, but the windows were broken. The wood was covered in claw marks and poked with holes. The grasslands around it weren't grasslands, but what had formerly been farmland reclaimed by nature. The barn's roof had collapsed. And tools and other things laid on the ground, covered in rust.

'_What happened here…'_ Naofumi was silent, watching while the Filolials ignored it and ran on. Paying attention, he found more buildings in the distance. On closer examination, they were in the same shape as the first. A closer run by of another former farmhouse showed several skeletons, lying on the ground in front of the door.

Naofumi shivered.

It was like the land itself had died.

A little while later, Itsuki finally woke up on his Filolial. And he almost fell off from the surprise of waking up on the running beast. "What the hell?!"

Ren stirred at Itsuki's voice, and he sat up and groggily rubbed at his eyes. "Is everyone okay?" He groggily asked.

"Yeah. I think so." Naofumi said.

"Do you know why we're riding these things, Ren?" Itsuki asked. The Filolial he was riding looked back at him with curious eyes while running. Itsuki sweatdropped in nervousness, finding what it was doing kind of creepy.

Ren nodded. "You two passed out during the fight. I didn't have the SP to use my portal skill. The Church's Army was close to finding us and I couldn't drag you two away. Then, these three appeared." He started petting the blue Filolial's feathers. It Gwahed in satisfaction. "They managed to save us."

"Alright… last question. Is that one monster we faced dead?" Itsuki asked. "Because if that thing's alive…" Itsuki shuddered. It would likely reappear in his nightmares.

"Yeah. I killed it." Ren answered simply. "We wouldn't be here otherwise."

"Thank the Gods." Itsuki rested his body against the Filolial's neck.

"Last I checked, it wasn't chasing you," Ren said.

"It was still scary!" Itsuki complained.

"Sure it was," Ren said calmly. Though he was inwardly sweat dropping because it had honestly been the scariest thing he'd faced by far in this world. Had Naofumi not been there to tank damage or to debuff it, he would have died a hundred, no, a thousand times over.

"Oh come on! I know it scared the crap out of you too Ren! Your girlish screams were what allowed me to lead our parties towards you two in the city!" Itsuki revealed.

"What?! I wasn't screaming like a girl!" Ren yelled at Itsuki angrily.

"Were too! It sounded like, veer right! Or, ahhhhhh!" Itsuki said mockingly.

"So um… Where are these Filolials taking us too?" Naofumi asked the really important question. Interrupting a possible argument from taking place.

Ren breathed in deeply to calm himself. "Seaetto," He answered. "Well. That's what I asked. I think." Ren tried to think about what had happened last night. He then grimaced, feeling his ankle throb in pain.

"**Fast Heal**." A green glow surrounded Ren, and the pain mostly disappeared. Still, it'd probably be for the best if he took it easy today.

"Thanks, Naofumi," Ren said.

"No problem…" Naofumi didn't question Ren any more. The poor boy looked beyond exhausted despite sleeping through the night and morning.

Itsuki humphed, but he didn't try to argue with Ren.

About ten minutes later, they came over a rise, and a town appeared in the distance. The Filolials ran towards it.

"That… I think I see some demi-humans walking around there." He said.

The closer they got, the worse the town looked. The Filolials squawked in triumph. They ran by a damaged sign that looked like it was supposed to be hanging to some pole, but Naofumi was able to read it despite how damaged it was.

**Seaetto Township**

_'Looks like they listened to you, Ren. Good job.'_ Naofumi thought.

It also explained why the surrounding area looked so horrible. This was the site of the First Wave of Catastrophe. The one that hit several weeks before the Kingdom summoned them.

The Filolials slowed from a run to a trot as they entered the town, Itsuki smiled. He was right. Demi-humans were out and about. A lot of the buildings looked to be in bad shape. But they were busy clearing the debris, cleaning the road, making buildings that were still standing livable again. Naofumi was surprised at how they were already there and how much progress had been made.

Guess it helped when you had hundreds of people of all shapes and sizes working together.

The demi-humans gradually stopped what they were doing. Staring at the three of them as they trotted on by. It felt weird to Naofumi. But fortunately, they got right back to work.

The Filolials slowed as they passed a large wagon. Naofumi recognized it as the one Filo had been pulling last night. But there was no sign of her.

Finally, a familiar figure ran towards them. "Sir Heroes?! Sir Heroes?!" Van Reichnott yelled.

The Filolials came to a full stop, looking down at the man curiously. The three dismounted. Ren and Itsuki still looked exhausted and a bit sore from riding their Filolials. But Naofumi felt fine. "Lord Reichnott."

"Thank the Gods you're all okay." Van bowed respectively in front of them. "When your party members met up with us late last night, we became worried. I became even more worried when they explained why you weren't with them. It's a relief you made it back safe and sound."

"Where are our parties?" Ren asked.

"First, I must ask if you managed to kill the monster Idol released," Van said.

"Yeah, we did," Ren said in an annoyed voice. "Why does that matter-"

"If that monster had escaped, it would have likely rampaged through the kingdom and killed many more innocents than the current Waves of Catastrophe," Van answered.

"... oh…" The Three Heroes looked a little pale. They hadn't realized the monster would be that seriously dangerous if they hadn't killed it. They were suddenly a lot more grateful that they'd managed to kill the thing.

"As for your parties," Van continued. "Sir Ren's party is resting in the former inn in the eastern section. Sir Itsuki's party is resting in the building right of the bathhouse in the west."

"Oh, okay." Ren suddenly looked unsure about facing his party.

"And mine?" Naofumi asked.

"... I believe they went on ahead to the village south of here. By the coast." Van said.

"Why are they down there?" Naofumi asked.

…

Van answered, and Naofumi got back on the blue feathered Filolial. He told it where he wanted to go, and immediately, it and the other two ran off away from the village, heading further south. A pair of demi-humans ran up to Van, grabbing his attention.

"Shouldn't we go with him-" Ren said, having second thoughts about seeing his party altogether.

Itsuki put a hand on his shoulder. "We'd only get in the way… and we need to let our parties know that we're okay first."

It was a long moment before Ren nodded, and he and Itsuki walked off amidst the old town of Seaetto. The ghost town Van and his demi-humans were gradually turning into their temporary home.

* * *

For fifteen minutes, Naofumi held to the blue feathers of the Filolial he rode. Staring at the horizon in the distance.

_'Lurolona Village…'_

He didn't know what he should be thinking or feeling. But he recognized the name. She never told him the name of her village herself. But he'd managed to make a good guess by studying his maps and gathering information about the Waves that Lurolona was her home village…

...

The scent of the sea washed over his nose. The hills around him cleared away. And finally, the remains of a ruined village at the edge of the sea came into view.

Naofumi stopped the Filolial he was riding. It and the other two looked at him. Naofumi had to take a moment to stare at the devastation that had only been described to him before.

What had been a sprawling village before the Waves was now nothing but ruins. Homes sat in various states of collapse. From partial to complete and total. The streets were full of rubble. Fishing boats down on the beach were overturned and badly damaged. Shops were destroyed and/or vandalized. The Church at the head of the village stood like an empty tomb. Bewailing the death of its home with silent, dry tears.

Naofumi slowly entered the village on the Filolial. Still looking around in amazement at everything. He found discarded toys and family pictures on the ground. Things that had been lost or left behind in the midst of what had happened to the village. _'This… this was Raphtalia's home village?'_ He couldn't even picture people living in a place like this. So complete was the devastation the Wave and the knights of Melromarc had wrought on the place.

It was like they had destroyed it with the intention of making sure no one lived here ever again...

The Filolials squawked at Naofumi, and he got thrown off. They turned tail and ran off away from the village faster than Naofumi had thought possible. He rubbed at his backside, which didn't really hurt from being thrown off because of his defense stat. It was more annoying that he had been thrown off and abandoned here. _'Damn it. What got into them-'_

"Daddy!"

Naofumi turned again, just in time to see a giant poof of feathers. And then a small blonde loli girl tackled into his chest. Wrapping her arms tightly around him.

"Filo?!" Naofumi hugged the little girl, who he realized was crying.

"Filo was so afraid. Filo was worried Daddy was hurt and wouldn't come back." Filo cried into his shoulder.

"Don't worry. I'm fine. We managed to kill the dragon monster and got away." Naofumi said in an annoyed voice. He'd only been gone for one night. Still, he started rubbing the KFC girl's head. "Good job on getting everyone to safety, Filo."

"It was really hard. Filo wanted to go after you so badly. But Filo was tired and didn't want to put mommy in danger." She said as Naofumi set her on the ground.

Naofumi was about to ask where Raphtalia was, but then Filo continued. "Did you bring any dragon meat back for Filo?!" She asked excitedly. "Filo smells something good in the air!"

Naofumi looked at her in disbelief. He chuckled at how quickly Filo turned the topic towards food. He also realized why those Filolials ran off. _They_ likely didn't want to become Filo's next meal. "No. I didn't have the chance to absorb any meat."

"Boo!" Filo pouted.

"But I'll get to making you that banquet I owe you." He said. "You've more than earned it."

Filo brightened up immediately. "Yay!"

Naofumi chuckled, patting his daughter on the head. At least she was in a good mood. Or maybe it was the promise of food. Oh well.

"Filo!? Why did you run off?! You should be resting!" The indignant cry came from none other than Melty. Who appeared running around a corner of a pile of rubble before suddenly stopping at the sight of Naofumi.

"I found Daddy!" Filo said happily, hugging to Naofumi's leg. "Daddy's okay!"

"Oh, Sir Naofumi." Melty recomposed herself in an instant. "As you can see, I managed to guide Filo and the others safe and sound." She said. Sounding calm and composed like a proper royal. "I do believe thanks are in order."

"Yeah, good work," Naofumi said dryly. "Looks like I'll be trusting you for a while yet." Melty nodded approvingly to herself. "Second Princess." He added before looking back to Filo.

Melty flared up at the nickname. The composed royal was gone in an instant. "When are you going to stop calling me Second Princess?!" She indignantly asked. "It's so rude and annoying!"

"Funny. I thought that was your name." Naofumi said sarcastically. Brushing Filo's hair with his hand.

"BOO!" Wow, it was like Filo was rubbing off on her new best friend more and more.

Naofumi rolled his eyes, feeling somewhat better at the reaction. Annoying royalty helped put him in a better mood for some reason. Though he knew Raphtalia would disapprove… the hollow feeling in his stomach returned again at the thought. "Where's Raphtalia?"

…

Melty and Filo looked sad. Filo pointed towards the sea. In the direction of the cliffs. "Mommy has been there ever since Filo brought her here…" She said. "She didn't want Filo to sleep with her or anything… Mommy said she wanted to be alone." She sniffled.

It was worse than Naofumi could have imagined. If Raphtalia was pushing her own daughter figure away…

"I'll get to making that banquet for you, Filo. Just… give me a moment to talk to Mommy." He said, moving to walk past her towards the cliff.

As he walked by, Filo grabbed his hand. He looked down and found Filo looking up at him. She was crying. "Please, help mommy get better."

She cared more about her mommy than her food. Melty was also looking up at him, her hand over her heart. She looked really sad, just like her friend. Maybe Filo was rubbing off on her in more than one good way...

Naofumi nodded, released Filo's hand, and continued on.

He had to climb over pieces of rubble every now and then. He'd been worried about getting the slaves out of the city. He'd been worried about the monster chasing them. He'd been worried about the Church Army. About Ren and Itsuki as well as their parties. He'd been worried about protecting everyone and getting all of them to safety.

But he'd forgotten to worry about the emotional turmoil his sword and companion had to have been going through the whole time. What she had to be going through right now. She'd lost her best friend. She'd gone on a homicidal rampage from anger and grief… she hadn't reacted to anything after that last night.

It took several minutes, but he eventually found her. The sun was low in the morning sky. Its rays made her auburn hair shine like diamonds. But she looked far more fragile than any gem he'd ever worked with.

She was on her knees. Kneeling in front of a fresh dirt-covered grave. A gravestone marker she'd made rested at its base, a little flag sticking out from the rocks. Next to it was another grave. This one was not fresh, with grass growing over it. Naofumi was only able to tell it was a grave because of the grave marker. She didn't move, even as he approached from behind.

He stopped five feet away from her. Looking down at her. Suddenly, he felt unsure of what to do. Unsure of what to say. Unsure if he could do anything to help.

'_What can I do here?! Emotions aren't even my specialty!'_

He almost backed off. Unsure if he could or should help. But then Raphtalia turned her head, looking back to him. Her eyes were red, puffy from crying. Dark bags were under her eyes from staying awake all night. She had no smile, and her face yelled grief. Her tail didn't move in happiness or anything when she saw him. It rested limply on the ground.

He couldn't walk away, not when she was like this. His brain finally kicked into gear, and he walked up to her. He wordlessly pulled his cloak off of himself and wrapped it around her. When his hands touched her neck, it was cold. She was cold.

Raphtalia didn't speak at first. Not until Naofumi had finished wrapping his cloak around her. "You're… you're okay?"

"Yeah... We were able to handle the monster. None of us got hurt too badly." Naofumi said softly. She didn't react to his voice. He rubbed her cold shoulders, but he still got no reaction. A frown started working its way onto his face. "Raphtalia. What can I do to help?"

Raphtalia turned to the grave. It was like she hadn't heard a word of what Naofumi had said. "Raphtalia?" He asked again.

"I should have been there. I should have helped her." She uttered quietly.

...

Naofumi hung his head, resting his hands on her shoulders. His worst fears were confirmed. She was still suffering from last night. The immediate thing to come to mind was to tell her how it wasn't her fault. "Raphtalia-"

"I could have done something." She said, stopping him. More tears started leaking down her face. "I could have snuck on ahead of everyone. I could have used my magic to avoid all the knights. I could have gotten there in time. I could have… I could have saved Rifana."

"Raphtalia, we didn't know what was happening to her-" He tried to say. Reaching down for one of her hands in an attempt to comfort her.

"But I did know Master Naofumi!" Naofumi flinched at the term, and at her slapping his hand away from her. She gripped at the cloak around her, wanting to throw it off. But Naofumi's hand on her other shoulder kept her from doing so. "I felt that something was wrong out there! I didn't know what it was! But now I realize that I FELT IT WHEN SHE DIED!" She clutched at her hair, unable to remove the warm cloak from her body. "It's my fault she died! I could have done something to get there sooner! I should have done something to get to her sooner! But I didn't! I waited until it was too late! And now she's dead! It's _my_ fault that Rifana died!"

Naofumi stared at Raphtalia. It was like everything she had been bottling up all night. It was trying to force its way out. But she didn't want to let it out.

"It's all my fault! I should have been there for her… I should have… I should have been there for her." Raphtalia said, sniffling to herself. She was already bottling it in again.

Naofumi was silent.

"That wasn't the worst part." She sniffled. "When I found out she was dead. When I found out I was too late… the first thing I wanted to do was kill him. I wanted to kill Idol for what he did to us… for what he did to her…"

_'Raphtalia… it wasn't your fault. I would have done the same thing in your position.'_ He thought. Hoping that Raphtalia's amazing mind-reading abilities would work their magic.

She shook her head. "I didn't just want to kill him. I wanted to make him and his entire city pay for Rifana's death… I wanted to do something Rifana would have never wanted me to do."

Hearing Raphtalia say it, he was reminded of what it had been like to be under the Shield of Rage. How he wanted to kill Bitch. And how he tried to kill everyone that got in his way. At first, he'd wanted to kill her if only to protect those he loved. But after a while, he wanted to kill just to make everyone pay for the way they'd treated him since being summoned.

Raphtalia sagged where she knelt. "I'm worthless. I couldn't… I couldn't save my best friend... I'm not worthy to be at your side, Master Naofumi. I'm not worthy to be at anyone's side." Raphtalia cried softly. "I'm worthless…"

…

...

A pair of strong arms wrapped around her. "You're not worthless," Naofumi said. "Not to me."

Raphtalia was still. She wanted to refute it. She wanted to say he was wrong, but he turned her to face him. He stared into her deep tea-red eyes, freezing her in place. "I know it hurts… but don't hold it back. Let it all out. I'm here for you, every step of the way." He embraced her tightly. His cloak still covering her.

Raphtalia's red eyes widened, and then they shut tight. Tears flowed freely from them, and she buried her head in Naofumi's shoulder as she screamed in grief.

She screamed, thinking about her best friend's death. Thinking about the murderous rampage she'd went on trying to kill Idol. Thinking about how she'd been so useless that she couldn't help Naofumi when he was risking his life to protect them from a strong monster. Thinking about seeing her village in ruins once again. And more.

Someone as great as he didn't deserve someone like her. Nobody deserved her. Not even little Filo deserved her. But he didn't let go. He held on. Just like she'd held on to him long ago when he was at his low and didn't want anyone by his side.

Naofumi said nothing. He merely held the crying girl to his shoulder. The crying girl whose heartrending screams turned to sobs as her throat got sore from screaming. His hand comfortingly going through her hair and patting her head the entire time.

She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve him. She wanted him to let her go and to let her suffer for her mistakes. But he didn't, and his love and care for her brought the grief and loss she'd tried to hold in to the surface. Where it released itself through her tears, her screams, her sobs, her everything.

Minutes passed. Naofumi still didn't move. The sun slowly moved across the afternoon sky. He didn't want her to bottle this up any longer. He wanted to help her let it go.

At last, he felt her sobs dying down to sniffles. He'd had a long time to think and to ponder. He felt now was the time to whisper in her ear. _"It's not your fault... You did everything you could do... I'm so proud of you, Raphtalia."_

He whispered to her more words. Raphtalia's crying gradually died down more and more. Other than gripping tightly to him, he wasn't sure if he heard what he was saying or not. But he continued regardless. _"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. I wouldn't want to help people if you hadn't helped me. I wouldn't have beaten that monster if you hadn't given me hope."_ His eyes shut tight, and some of his tears fell into her hair. He had been unsure what to say earlier. But the words flowed off his lips as naturally as water cascading down a waterfall.

_"You're amazing, Raphtalia. I don't know where I'd be without you. You've always been strong for me. You've always given me hope that things will turn out better. Please, if you're not strong enough to face this alone, then let me help you. If you have no hope left, let me share the hope I have now because of you. Let me stand by your side so I can protect you from the fire and brimstone of this world." _A sob wracked his own throat. _"I love you so much Raphtalia. I'll do anything in my power to keep this from happening again. I promise."_

He wasn't sure how much of what he'd said had been heard. She had cried herself to sleep sometime during his speech. But he adjusted himself so Raphtalia could be comfortable resting against him. He kissed the top of her head and floofed her ears in her sleep. _"I love you. Whether you like it or not. I'm not letting you go."_

He held Raphtalia. And he didn't let go as all the hate, all the rage, all the sorrow, all the grief, and everything in between she'd held throughout the night finally drained away. Letting her drift off into a deep sleep.

* * *

_Raphtalia looked around herself. She didn't recognize the place. It reminded her of her village. But her village was supposed to be destroyed…_

_"Raphtalia!"_

_Raphtalia turned her head. A smol weasel girl appeared from the door of her home, smiling at her. "Rifana?" She said confusedly._

_Rifana smiled happily. "The one and only."_

_"Ri-Rifana!" Raphtalia ran forward and embraced her smol friend. Tears leaking down her face._

_"Lucky you! Getting to be held and comforted by the Shield Hero!" She said happily._

_Raphtalia found herself smiling as she let go of her friend. "What? Are you jealous?" She teased her friend._

_"You don't have to be rude about it!" Rifana pouted, her tail bristling behind her._

_Raphtalia let out a small laugh at the familiar reaction. "Well, I can also tell you that he's a great kisser."_

_Rifana looked stunned. "You kissed a boy!?" She asked incredulously. "And I wasn't there to see it!?" Now she looked offended. "How could you do that to me?! I missed the chance to ruin your moment and make you super embarrassed and everything!"_

_Raphtalia laughed some more. Her friend had always been the girly romantic. The fact that she had gotten her first kiss before Rifana was mind blowing to the weasel girl. "And the Shield Hero too! No fair! You're super lucky Raphtalia!" Rifana pouted._

_Raphtalia laughed a little while longer… then the expression on her face became sad. "I'm sorry…" Her head fell, and her tail sagged behind her. "I should have been there for you. I should have tried to rescue you sooner. I'm… I'm so sorry I was too late."_

… _"It's fine, Raphtalia." Rifana was smiling again. "You didn't know what was happening to me…"_

_Raphtalia sniffled. Getting down on her knees for Rifana. "But… I didn't save you in time, Rifana. I didn't save my best friend in the whole world." She whispered. "It's my fault."_

_Rifana set a hand on her shoulder. "You and I both know that's not true. So stop beating yourself up over it."_

_Raphtalia didn't say anything in response to that. Rifana continued to smile. "Don't worry about me. I'm finally free of Idol, and he got what he deserved in the end." She started giggling to herself. "They're still trying to clean the fat stains off the stone." She said mischievously._

_"Rifana…" Raphtalia rolled her eyes. Even in death, her best friend was still weird._

_"You know that I'll be watching over you, right Raphtalia?" Rifana asked._

_Raphtalia looked her in the eyes. "You… you promise?" She asked in a small voice. _

_Rifana nodded. When she made a promise, she kept it. "Thank… thank you." Raphtalia whispered, more tears falling down her face._

_"Of course. After all, someone has to make sure you stay out of trouble." She teased._

_Raphtalia pouted. "You were the one that always caused trouble before!" She complained. Why did her friend have to ruin a heartfelt moment between them! So rude!_

_"And that means I'm the perfect person to keep you out of trouble in the future," Rifana said happily. "After all, I don't want to see you falling into another Episode like this again." She said seriously. "The Shield Hero needs a strong companion by his side. You need to be that for him, Raphtalia."_

_"Hmmph!" Raphtalia couldn't stop the smile from coming onto her face, and she hugged her best friend. "Thank you, Rifana. I'll do my best to be strong."_

_Rifana hugged Raphtalia back. "Don't worry. If you need help, I'll never be far from you, Raphtalia." She let go of Raphtalia and smiled. "Don't forget to smile for me, okay? Your smile was the only thing that motivated me, that motivated everyone from the village to have hope and to hold on."_

_Raphtalia sniffed and nodded her head. Smiling for Rifana. The light around them brightened. The dream Rifana had set up for them was ending._

_"Take care of him. Take care of the great Shield Hero, you lucky girl."_

In Naofumi's lap, shortly after she'd fallen asleep, a smile worked its way onto Raphtalia's face.

She didn't know if the dream was real or not. Or if it was her subconscious way of filling in the void the grief and sadness had left in her when she cried it out.

But at last, she felt at peace.

She felt ready to be the pillar her Naofumi could lean on once more.

* * *

Ren slowly walked into the inn room. His eyes darting around at everyone's sleeping faces.

Tersia and Farrie were dead asleep, sitting next to each other on a couch. Bakta was out of his armor, sprawled out on a bedroll with his mouth hanging open and drool coming out. Welt was in a single chair. Slowly rocking back and forth in his sleep.

Ren gulped. They all looked so peaceful. So relaxed. He didn't want to bother them while they were like this. He didn't want to bother them at all...

He turned around to leave. But then he realized something. He didn't see Wyndia in the room.

_'Where is she?'_ He turned and looked around again.

He snuck over to the other end of the room. Being careful not to disturb anyone. Then he opened the door and peeked inside.

"I said I didn't want to be bothered, Tersia."

Ren paled. Wyndia was awake. And she was sitting on the edge of a twin-sized bed. Facing away from him.

"I'm serious. I'm fine. I don't care if that idiot ran off to face that… that large monster. I'm not some fragile vase that needs to be taken care of. If he wanted to be an idiot, that's his right."

Ren stood there. Not saying anything. He was too anxious to speak up and say it was him. It felt like an eternity that he stood there. Then, his brain finally clicked into action. And he started moving to close the door.

"Wait… Okay. Maybe I am a little worried, Tersia." Wyndia said, her voice sounding oddly vulnerable.

Ren stopped. He was doing his best to remain calm. He wanted to say he wasn't Tersia. He wanted to just close the door and leave. He was stupid! Why did he listen to Itsuki?! He couldn't bear to face his party now after abandoning them to fight by himself! His outer shell was crumbling from how guilty he felt for trying to sacrifice himself so they could escape!

Yet he couldn't tear himself away. Wyndia leaned forward on her bed, crossing her arms under her developed chest. "He's just so… thick-headed. Even more, than my father was." She continued. "He doesn't think things through. He says he wants to involve us, but when things really get dangerous he pushes us away. He keeps on rushing headlong into danger without thinking if we want to help or not."

Ren wanted to speak. But he couldn't. His voice was choking up in his throat. Wyndia sighed. "I know what you're going to say. You've told me it before Tersia. He just wants to protect us. He wants to keep us from getting killed. But I don't want him to protect me! I don't want the person who was strong enough to kill my Father to treat me like I'm some lost puppy that needs help! I don't need that! I just… I just want…" The next part was so quiet, Ren didn't hear it.

Ren continued to stand in silence. Staring at the back of Wyndia's head. "I want him to realize that we care about him. I don't want him to beat himself up for his mistakes. I keep on trying to get it through that thick skull of his, but nothing ever works Tersia. He's too stupid to get it."

She whispered the next part. "I hate it… I want to hate him… but I can't."

Ren almost fell to his knees. "I'm worried about him Tersia," Wyndia whispered, still unaware that it was Ren at the door. "What if he didn't survive? What if he doesn't come back… what if he's hurt out there, and it's my fault that I wasn't able to help him. I want to get stronger too so I won't have to be left behind when he faces danger."

…

…

"Tersia-" Wyndia finally turned towards the doorway. But no one was there. The door was still cracked open.

Outside the building, Ren leaned against a wall. He was breathing in and out heavily, on the verge of having an anxiety attack.

_'I can't… damn it. I can't…'_ He felt more guilt over what he'd done than ever before.

He grimaced, feeling his hurt ankle flare up again. He'd moved too quickly trying to flee from the building.

He sat back against the wall and put his head in between his knees. Feeling terribly guilty about what he'd done.

_'Why… why do I do this to myself?…'_

He sat outside for a while after that. Gathering himself until he felt the cool and aloof shell of his was fixed. Then he went back in. Hiding his inner turmoil under his outer shell.

His party was awake this time when he entered. Thanks to Wyndia asking who'd been at her door. At his entrance, they surrounded him in relief, happy that he was okay, and congratulating him for the kill when he confirmed he killed the monster and took out the dragon fragment as proof.

Wyndia, of course, saw that he was injured. And forced him to lie down on a couch so she and the others could treat him. And he allowed it. He allowed the Tsundere girl to treat him.

He didn't want to make her anymore mad with him than she already was.

He wasn't sure how much more guilt he could handle though.

* * *

Eclair slowly pushed the double doors open. Claw marks covered both sides of the wood.

The outside of her Father's manor was a mess. Untrimmed overgrown bushes dominated the paths. Windows were broken. The land of his estate all-around had been taken over by nature. And the area reeked heavily of monsters.

Right after opening the door, a black dog with long fangs and red eyes jumped at Eclair, barking loudly in agitation. She deftly sliced, and the monster fell in two pieces around her. An experience notification appeared next to her head, but she didn't acknowledge it. She continued on into her former home.

The loud barking got the attention of the rest of the pack living in the manor. After walking through the front living room, she was attacked by the rest of the pack. Eclair kept calm. She turned and sliced. Spinning and cutting and beheading, until at last, the last few dogs fled from her, yipping in fear and terror. They jumped out the broken windows and ran for the hills. Wanting to get as far away from the scary strawberry haired knight as possible.

Eclair cleaned her blade of blood on the fur of one of the monsters. She was in a hallway now. Tattered pictures of herself, her father, and other family members hung or laid against the walls on both sides. _'To think… this happened because I wasn't here.'_

Continuing through the manor. She found the dining room her Father normally held feasts for the townsfolk in. The long table was in pieces. It looked like silverware had been set up for a meal. But it was all over the room. Bent, twisted, in pieces, and so forth.

She found a room with the musical instruments her Father had loved to play. Those same instruments were destroyed. Just like the dining room. Eclair didn't mind. Her fingers had always been better suited for holding a sword, and she'd appreciated the sound of slicing through air more than the notes from a piano.

As she moved throughout the manor, she saw more bones scattered here and there. But she didn't know whose they were. If they were her Father's, his servants, his knights, or some random monster.

It was almost surreal. After all her attempts to get here. After being rejected, then imprisoned, and various other things, she was finally here. She was finally trying to find her Father's remains.

She found the doors to her old room. Surprisingly, they were still locked and untouched, just like she'd left them. It took a good kick to bring the locked doors down. Besides the layer of dust inside, everything was as she'd remembered it.

She didn't have a girly room. Her bed was made with the precision of a knight. Her study table was empty. A stand with another set of her customized armor on it rested in the corner of the room. She had wood floors instead of carpet. She remembered requesting that from her dad since it was easier to practice swordsmanship on the hardwood than soft wool. Scratches in the wood here were from her early days of using a sword and not from the claws of monsters.

Despite there being no signs of her Father, she walked in. She grabbed the armor from off its stand. She went by her collection of favorite swords that still hung on the wall. Right where she remembered leaving them. She examined them, letting her fingers softly trail over each one, remembering with fondness the memories each sword contained. She then grabbed two of the best ones.

Only one sword was missing. The sword she was supposed to inherit from her Father.

She moved on. She still had to find her Father's remains. She still had to make sure he was given a proper burial. But she hadn't found him outside the manor. She'd been told by one of Van's demi-humans, someone who had lived in Seaetto before the Wave struck and destroyed her home, that he'd died here. But Eclair still didn't know where.

_'Father, where did you fall?'_

She checked the master bedroom, the kitchen area, the servant's quarters, the launder's room, and several other places inside the manor. All of which had signs of dust and destruction. Until, finally, she walked into one of the last rooms. His study.

What she saw made her stop.

The inside of the room was covered in claw marks. The furniture was ripped to shreds. The bookcases were toppled over and covered in claw marks. Despite all this, the room had signs of a struggle. Some of the marks on the walls were from a blade and not a monster.

Looking through the room, she saw a glint coming from under a fallen bookshelf. She reached in and pulled the item out.

It was her Father's sword.

She proceeded to lift the bookshelf up and set it to the side. Tattered books fell to the ground. But at last, her search came to an end. The skeletal remains of her Father rested in the pile of books.

Eclair covered her mouth in horror. She'd expected it to be bad. But this… his bones were covered in chew marks. His armor was nowhere to be seen. He was dressed in the tattered remains of the robes he'd been wearing while filling in as ruler for Queen Mirellia. _'He didn't even have time to don his armor for the Wave.'_

Tears filled Eclair's eyes, and she got on her knees in grief. She'd known her father was dead for a long while. But seeing it with her own eyes caused her heart to wrench in pain. She'd hoped he'd had time to run out, to don his armor and defend his people. But he'd been caught unaware in his study. Unable to go out and save those he'd loved and protected during his years as the Lord of Seaetto.

_'I'm sorry, Father. I should have stayed here. I should have been here to protect you and everyone else from the Wave.'_ She thought sadly. Her hands gripping one of her Father's skeletal hands.

She should have stayed so that all of this wouldn't have happened…

After a long moment, Eclair wiped tears away from her face. It was hard, but she'd found his body. Now, at last, she could give him a proper burial... She just had to gather the courage to bring herself to move him...

She held his hand a moment longer. Wishing she could feel something alive. Not this cold bone and cold metallic feeling… ... _'Huh?'_

She let go of the hand in surprise. She hadn't been aware before, but there was something held loosely in the skeletal hand. She moved the hand and turned it over.

It was slightly rusted from time. But gripped in the palm of her Father's hand was a necklace. Attached to it was a rosary with a depiction of the sword, bow, and spear.

_'Father was a worshipper of the Four Heroes Church… why is he clutching a rosary?'_

She took a look around the room again. Now that she thought about it, why were there many sword marks on the walls? Her father wasn't that sloppy. In his prime, he'd been one of the best swordsmen in Melromarc. So why did his study look like a war zone...

She unearthed the rest of his skeleton from the tattered books. Looking more closely at the bones and his robes.

She had to look past the marks monsters had left on his body long after he'd died. Some bones were missing. But she eventually found something different. The bone in his right arm had a slash mark in it. One that came from a blade. There was another blade mark in between two of her Father's ribs. Further examination showed similar marks on different bones.

She flipped over the bookcase she'd uncovered him from. Part of the shelves was broken. But it wasn't from being clawed. It was from an impact. Likely her Father being thrown into it.

...

_'No…'_

She remembered when she asked the Royal Knight Commander for permission to go home and bury her dead Father. How he'd laughed it off and told her to stop bugging him. And how when she pressed, he told her to leave his office, before he met the same fate as the damn bastard.

...

The dots connected. And Eclair's fists clenched in realization. "That… that BASTARD!"

She punched a hole in the wall. The weak wood easily gave way to her fist, but it stung. She held her hand, face reflecting her pain.

Her father had died during the Wave. But it hadn't been the wave monsters that killed him. It had been a person. Scratch that. It had been a group of COWARDS, who'd gone in and killed her Father in the least honorable way possible while a Wave of Catastrophe was going on! And she had a feeling the Royal Knight Commander knew who they were.

It was hard to calm herself down. She couldn't fathom why her father had been killed and why his murder had been covered up. It was even harder to bring herself to carry her Father's remains outside of the ruined manor to dig a grave for him. But the hardest part was having to fill the grave with dirt. Watching as the man who had raised her and loved her with all his heart was given the burial he deserved. The sword he'd wielded to the end placed reverently over his chest.

When it was finished, she touched her fingers to her lips and rested them against the dirt. "I promise, Father. I will find your killers, and I will bring them to justice. Your death will not go unpunished."

She turned around and left. Leaving the grave and her old home behind.

The next time she saw that mustached bastard, she'd force the truth out of him. Even if it killed her to do it.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**This is where Arc 3 is going to end. Crap, I'm sorry time isn't flowing quickly here. And Arc 4 still has to see the Pope and the Wave. Ugh… I can't wait to get past this since there won't be any major on the run or that kind of stuff going on! It'll be nice to give the best couples a break too! What they need is to stop having all this crap thrown at them all at once!**

**It's funny I'm complaining about that. Since I'm the one choosing to write about them going through those situations.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this arc of the story. Tune in next week for Arc 4, and the countdown towards the Pope.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**Second Princess**

* * *

"Hey, Second Princess, grab the pot over there for me."

"My name is not Second Princess!"

"Whatever you say, Second Princess."

Naofumi was busy cooking the banquet he'd promised to Filo. Melty had volunteered to help. But now, she was highly regretting it. She picked up the pot with clenched hands.

"That does it, I'm sick of this!" Melty yelled.

"Sick of what, Second Princess?" Naofumi asked, not even looking up from the pot he was cooking monster meat in.

"I'm sick of you always calling me by Second Princess!" She yelled, pointing the pot angrily at Naofumi. "I've done nothing to deserve this verbal abuse! Second Princess is not my name! It has never been my name and you know it!"

"Calm down, I don't see anything wrong Second Princess," Eclair said, walking by on her way for sword training. Melty looked shocked at Eclair addressing her by the name.

"Eclair's right. You need to calm down Second Princess." Naofumi said.

"But that isn't my name!" Melty yelled. Looking like a confused, indignant, offended little child.

"Second Princess. Maybe you should let someone else help Naofumi with the cooking." Raphtalia said gently, approaching the girl from behind and head patting her between her two ponytails.

Melty looked even more shocked. "No, not you too Raphtalia."

"You heard her Second Princess. Get out of the way so we can get dinner ready."

"What about the pot you asked me for!?" Melty indignantly yelled.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it for you, Second Princess," Raphtalia said with a smile, taking the pot from Melty before walking to Naofumi with it.

"Why!? Why are you doing this to me?!" Melty yelled, pulling at her ponytails. "What did I do to deserve being called-"

"Second Princess!"

...

Melty slowly turned in shock. "There's no way..."

Filo ran up to her, smiling happily. "Second Princess! I'm all rested and ready to play now!"

"No... not you too, Filo..." Melty said, her voice shaking.

Filo cocked her head cutely to the side. "Second Princess? Is there something wrong-"

"No! MY NAME IS NOT SECOND PRINCESS!" She yelled. This couldn't be happening to her! HER BEST FRIEND COULDN'T BE INFECTED BY SIR NAOFUMI TOO!

"But Daddy calls you that all the time Second Princess? Why can't Filo do the-"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Melty screamed and ran away. It was bad enough Naofumi called her Second Princess. It was worse that Eclair and Raphtalia were also taking to calling her that.

Filo was the final nail in the coffin.

"Wait, Second Princess!" Filo chased after Melty.

"My name is Melty! Melty Melty Melty MELTY!" Melty cried in her indignant voice.

"What's up with Second Princess?" Raphtalia asked Naofumi curiously.

He shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe she's going through puberty."

"Hmmm... poor girl."

Melty continued to indignantly scream her real name while Filo tried to chase down her best friend.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	47. 47: Arc 4: Before The Storm

**I almost didn't want to post this chapter today. But then I realized it wasn't going to be very long because of what's going on. So I'm posting it late today. I'll see you all either Friday for KidFumi, or next Monday. For now, enjoy.**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _31 more Favorites, 33 more Followers_ (_Total: 1547 Favorites, 1761 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _June 15th, 2020 5:39 P.M._

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Seven:** _Before the Storm_

* * *

_Evening_

Raphtalia awoke to the sound of crackling wood. _'Hmmm?'_

She was sitting against something soft. She had a blanket over her. She felt groggy, but she also felt very warm, well-rested, and better minded than she had in a long time.

There was no worry about Naofumi being taken and killed by bad people. No suffering being caused by some curse. No guilt from failing to save someone she cared for. Her mind felt warm and peaceful.

_'Mmmm… Naofumi?'_ She started rubbing at her eyes. She looked behind her, but she was sitting against a bedroll. And behind that was the ruins to some home. Her ears flicked around in confusion. '_Odd, I could have sworn that wasn't a dream. Why am I here instead of-'_

"Mommy!"

Raphtalia was jerked out of groggy land as her daughter jumped in her lap and hugged her.

"Filo! She was just asleep!" Naofumi yelled at the overexcited loli.

"But mommy's awake! And I wanted to hug mommy!" Filo complained.

"She's awake now because of you!" Naofumi yelled. He wouldn't have normally been this mad, but Raphtalia had had a rough day! And Filo wasn't being very considerate! "Don't you remember how rough she had it last night?!"

"Oh… Filo's sorry mommy." She said dejectedly.

Raphtalia smiled. "No, it's okay, sweetie." She embraced Filo back. She smiled above Filo's shoulder at a very worried Naofumi. "Mommy feels a lot better now that she's hugged you."

"Really?!" Raphtalia looked Filo in the eyes, smiling happily as she nodded. Filo smiled brightly in response. "YAYYYYY!" She hugged her mommy back.

Naofumi's worried look disappeared somewhat, but the worry didn't disappear from his eyes. He turned and got back to stirring a pot he had hanging over a good-sized fire.

Filo got off of Raphtalia and ran around like a little ball of energy. Happy that her mommy was okay. Raphtalia then stood up and stretched herself out. The blanket fell to the ground beside her. She was still dressed in her usual armored attire. Looking around, she realized they were camped in front of the ruins to her town's Church. The large square was pretty open, besides the debris from strewn about from destroyed buildings and stands. Naofumi had a fire going, and he was preparing dinner over it.

Well, she thought it was dinner. He was rushing his current creation. And there were six big pots with food stains on the insides to the side. As she watched, Naofumi took the current pot off the fire and put it to the side. He grabbed one of the six pots and began cleaning it out to use again. As he did so, Filo ran up to the still-hot pot and began shoveling the food inside down her throat with her hands.

Raphtalia looked at Naofumi confusedly.

"I promised her an all you can eat buffet." He said with a sigh. "I had to reward her some time. But I didn't want to leave you alone either in case..."

Raphtalia giggled. She felt bad for Naofumi. He must have been cooking for _hours_. An all you could eat buffet for Filo was like trying to fill a black hole. Damn near impossible. But at the same time, she also felt even warmer. Naofumi caring about her well being made her feel even better. Her tail wagged happily behind her at his thoughtfulness.

"Raphtalia, are you really sure you're okay. If you're not, you can just tell me, or-" Naofumi started to say worriedly as he finished stirring and focused on her again. He didn't want to push her to her limit again or anything.

"Yes," Raphtalia cut him off with a hug. Her tail wagged even more happily behind her. She'd caught him off guard with how quickly she'd closed the distance between them. "I'm fine now. Really."

…

Naofumi's face softened. He gently hugged her back. "Okay… but I'm still sorry I moved you here without your permission. After you fell asleep, I didn't want to leave you on the cliffside. And I wanted you nearby just in case you needed me or-"

*chu*

Raphtalia shut him up this time with a soft kiss on the cheek. After it was over, her cheeks were flushed with red, as were his. "Naofumi. Please shut up."

Naofumi blushed a deeper red. Rubbing a hand over his cheek where Raphtalia had kissed him. "Thanks, really. But you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine now thanks to you."

"You're sure?" He asked, still sounding worried.

She pushed down her inner embarrassment. It was really heartwarming that he cared so much about her well-being! She wanted to tackle him to the ground and kiss him over and over and over again for some reason. But she pushed it down and nodded as she poked a finger in his chest. "Yes, I'm sure." She smirked as he was lightly pushed back. "Besides, you shouldn't be worrying about me. You should be worrying about making sure our daughter eats her fill."

Naofumi groaned. _'Noooo, please save me from this horrible fate. I'll do anything!'_

Raphtalia giggled and began walking away from the camp. "I'm going to wash up. Make sure Filo doesn't clean out all our food, Naofumi. I might want some later."

"No, please, save me Raphtalia-" Raphtalia didn't listen. It almost seemed like she was skipping away into the ruins of her village.

…

Had she read his mind again? Probably. But the sound of the pot hitting the ground and a loud satisfying burp brought him back to reality. "More food Daddy!" Filo said happily.

Naofumi groaned to himself. _'Why did I have to reward Filo like this?'_

He consigned himself and his shield to his fate. He finished cleaning the pot and used a water source Melty had made to fill it with more water. He took out another monster carcass from his shield (even after weeks of being stored, it was still fresh. Weird) and got to slicing it up to make more quick monster meat stew. The food glowed from the effects of the dozen or so shields he had that improved his cooking skills.

_'Stupid Yandere Shield!'_

Why couldn't he have a dozen or so different shields boosting something useful like his Attack stat?!

"I'm hungry daddy!" Filo complained childishly.

'_GAHHHHHHHHHH!'_

* * *

The sun was close to setting when Raphtalia finished drying and changing. Her village once had a bathhouse before the Wave destroyed it. With it gone, she had to hike to a nearby river and clean herself there. She walked back towards the village, putting her towel and other clothes away and squeezing the water from her long hair braids.

Not only did she feel mentally and emotionally refreshed. She also felt physically refreshed. Like she was an entirely new person who'd been washed clean of the last few days. It wasn't like she was forgetting what had happened. But she felt she could live normally. Or at least, what would be considered normal for their circumstances. _'I can smile. I can be happy.'_

Her stomach growled, and she blushed to herself. _'I should see if Naofumi would be willing to make something for me while he's feeding Filo.'_ It felt cruel to do so. But she was too hungry to not want his cooking.

She quickly arrived back in the village. But as she walked down the ruined road, seeing the ruins all around her, she decided to take a slight detour down memory lane. Now that she wasn't blinded by grief and loss.

She looked at the various homes. All of which were in various states of collapse. '_That was Keel's house… and that was Petal's grandparents… and… and that one was Rifana's…'_ She stopped in front of the home in question. It was completely leveled.

She'd almost forgotten. Rifana's house had been completely destroyed during the Wave, and Keel's house had been unlivable. The large Cerberus Dog had plowed through them both during its rampage. But since part of Raphtalia's house had survived, Rifana and Keel had stayed with her every night up until the Church Knights came...

After a moment, she moved on. She saw a familiar area. It took her a moment to remember that was where she'd been standing when the Church Knights came and slaughtered everybody. Looking around, it was like she could visualize the events of that day...

She shook her head and continued on. Only a few houses down from that, and not far from the cliffs, was her home. To her surprise, she found the living room she, Rifana, and Keel had slept in was still intact. The upstairs roof had collapsed, and her parent's room was gone, but the living room was still there.

Raphtalia cleared some debris that had fallen from the ceiling. The couch looked like it had seen better days. But she was able to sit on it. Her parent's walking chair was also there. She remembered sitting in her dad's lap in that chair so many times to listen to stories about the Cardinal Heroes. Her hand reached out and lovingly felt the wood… to think it had only been over three months ago...

'_I'll grab that before we go.'_ She decided. As well as the book on the Four Heroes that was tucked away underneath it. Naofumi could store all sorts of things in his Shield. It wasn't a far cry to consider storing furniture in it too. Plus, maybe it'd help him to unlock a useful shield.

Looking around the room some more, she found a ball nearby. If she remembered correctly. It was Keel's. He'd used it in a series of friendly games after the Wave to cheer up the kids in the village who lost their parents to the monsters. And near that were some dolls. Raphtalia had scavenged them out of the destroyed part of her house for Rifana. So she could keep them with her at night when they went to sleep. That way, Rifana wouldn't feel so alone with her parents being dead...

Thinking about it now, it was amazing they were able to even get through those times. It had been so hard, and things had looked bleak even before the Knights did what they did. Yet she'd smiled for everyone back then. She'd been nice. She'd helped Rifana and Keel and the other kids to smile despite losing her parents. She'd smiled and tried to encourage others even after they were enslaved. It hadn't been perfect. She'd been sad. But she'd had a reason to smile, just like now.

She reached over and picked the ball up. She could give this to Keel next time she saw him. She then picked up the dolls. They were proof that she could smile, and help others to do the same.

She was putting them away when someone spoke. "Was this your home?"

Raphtalia jumped. She looked to the doorway and sighed in relief. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry." Melty quickly apologized. "I swear I wasn't trying to sneak up on you."

"It's fine. And yes, this was my home."

"Okay…" Melty stood in the doorway. Weirdly enough, she looked shy. Holding her hands together in front of her blue dress. "Is… is it alright if I come in?"

Raphtalia smiled happily. "Of course." She patted the couch seat next to her. "There's not much, but it's home."

Melty looked around and then hustled inside. She sat next to Raphtalia. But she hugged herself and looked down at the ground. Not looking in Raphtalia's direction.

"What did you want to talk about?" Raphtalia asked.

"How do you know I want to talk to you about something?" Melty asked.

"Call it intuition," Raphtalia said. "Or maybe I've seen when you're debating about asking Filo about something important too many times these last few days." Melty blushed heavily at that. Was she really _that_ obvious?!

"Is it about Naofumi calling you Second Princess?"

Melty flared up. "You're not going to call me that too, are you?!" She indignantly asked.

"No, of course not." Raphtalia smiled gently. "I know I normally call you Princess Melty. But I can call you Melty or Mel if you prefer."

…

"Mel would be nice," Melty admitted shyly.

Growing up, she probably didn't have many friends who didn't address her as Princess Melty or Second Princess. "So tell me, Mel, what's troubling you?" It was like Melty had visited an aunt.

Melty smiled slightly at the nickname Filo had casually given her. She hadn't admitted it to anyone yet, but it meant a lot more to her than she let on. "Well… I've spent a lot of time walking around today and thinking. And I... I was wondering how much damage came from the Wave… and how much came from the Knights that were supposed to protect the region." She asked shyly.

"... well… my house and many of the others got damaged by monsters from the Wave." Raphtalia said. "... but I'm afraid the Knights of Melromarc caused most of the destruction." She finished honestly.

Melty stared at Raphtalia for a moment, and then she looked sadly at the ground. "You were there. What happened that day?"

Raphtalia didn't go into all the details she told Naofumi before the Lute Wave. But she talked about how they had been rebuilding. How the knights had charged out of nowhere. The adults were slaughtered. She and the other kids were taken captive. And some of the knights burned the bodies, tore down what they'd rebuilt, and burned the Seaetto flag in the largest bonfire of all.

When she was finished, Melty was quiet. "I'm… I'm so sorry. My mother and I didn't know." She said sadly.

"I don't see how you could have," Raphtalia said, rubbing the back of Melty's head comfortingly. The poor little blue-haired girl looked like she was beating herself up over this. "If what Eclair told Naofumi is true, the Three Heroes Church hid it from everyone." The Church Knights had cordoned off the whole region. The Royal *** Commander had been limiting which Royal Knights went in. And Van had mentioned that the region had been abandoned. So besides the slave kids that were taken, there really wasn't a way for people to know about what happened unless they were there.

"Still… Seaetto was supposed to be Mom's big project in ensuring peace with Siltvelt. It was supposed to show humans and demi-humans could get along. We were supposed to keep a close eye on it... And they just… they just…" She couldn't finish it. But Raphtalia knew what she wanted to say. The Church completely destroyed it, without mercy and without restraint. All on the basis of prejudice, greed, and power.

"And that cellar… you and others were put through such terrible things. And it's only because you weren't born human." A tear fell down the side of Melty's face. "I can't help but think that some of this is my fault."

"It's not your fault. You didn't know. The Queen didn't know." Raphtalia said again. She then spoke words of wisdom. "You can't act when you don't know that there's a problem to deal with." It was something she'd been forced to realize herself.

Melty sniffed some more. She knew Raphtalia was right, but part of her still felt bad about not being able to do anything... But then she wiped the tears away from her eyes determinedly. "I swear. When this is all over, I'll work with my mom to bring the knights that did this to your village to justice Raphtalia." She said determinedly. "They'll pay for what they did here. Then we'll make sure no one ever repeats what happened in that cellar again."

Raphtalia stood up, and she helped Melty to stand too. "I'll look forward to that day... Thank you, Mel." Raphtalia said happily. Who knows, maybe the Queen and the Bow Hero could work together in bringing her country's nobles in line in the future?

Melty smiled genuinely and looked off to the side. "Also… could you do me a favor?" She asked.

"What is it?"

"Can you get Naofumi to stop calling me Second Princess!?"

The poor girl had had a dream of everyone calling her Second Princess. And she was certain it was all Naofumi's fault! "I find it very rude of him to still be addressing me by that stupid title after everything I've done!"

Raphtalia sweatdropped. "I'll… see what I can do."

Raphtalia picked up the rocking chair, and the two of them left the house. Now chatting with each other about different topics.

It seemed Melty had found someone besides Filo that she could confide in.

* * *

An hour later, Eclair arrived back at Lurolona. The sun was beginning to set, and the sky was clear. She saw a trail of smoke rising from the village. And after a little while navigating the ruins, she found Naofumi cooking over a campfire.

"Don't tell me I have to cook for one more."

The poor guy looked worn out. He was surrounded by a pile of used pots and utensils he'd cleaned again and again. Fortunately, Filo rested against a wall in her Filolial form. Her wings folded over her bulging stomach. Melty rested against the warm pile of feathers. He'd temporarily conquered the greatest hill of all and managed to feed Filo till she couldn't eat anymore. Unfortunately, he was making dinner one more time for Raphtalia, Melty, and himself. And unlike Filo's all you could eat, he was taking more time to prepare their dinner. Seeing Eclair made him groan as he moved to grab more ingredients.

"It's fine, Sir Naofumi. I ate in Seaetto before I came here." She said dryly.

Naofumi looked at her distrustfully. That sounded too good to be true. But Eclair walked past her to Raphtalia. She was eagerly awaiting her dinner.

"Miss Raphtalia. Are you ready to resume your training?"

Naofumi again wondered if that was the right thing to do or not. But Raphtalia nodded happily and got up. "Sure." She unsheathed her sword, and they got into it.

…

After a moment of watching, Naofumi sighed and went back to stirring his pot. It felt odd. He wanted to be overprotective of Raphtalia. It was hard to forget how devastated she'd been that morning. Yet now, her eyes and smile were warm and full of life. Just like they had been after the Sacred Duel. She looked happy and had nothing weighing her down.

'_Maybe I'm worrying over nothing.'_ He thought. Maybe this was a sign that she was past the hard stuff in her life.

He really hoped so. The last few days had seen enough angst to sink a battleship. He'd rather they finally have somewhat smooth sailing instead of more angst, turmoil, and edge. It almost reminded him of some of the animes he'd watched back in Japan. Not that they were necessarily bad of course. But there was only so much **EDGE** a person could take.

He swore if his hair suddenly turned white, he'd run for his life. He did not want to be at the center of an **EDGE** plot mixed with a poorly thought out harem.

...

Oh well. At least he didn't have to cook for anyone else.

"Also, I was told to inform you the other two heroes will be arriving soon," Eclair said. "I don't know if they've eaten today or not."

Naofumi groaned again. "Nooooo… Please, don't tell me I have to cook for them too." He grumbled to himself. Eclair didn't respond and got back to helping Raphtalia.

The sun had set by the time the other two heroes arrived. Their parties had stayed behind to help out in Seaetto. Itsuki looked to be in a far better mood than before. Ren looked calm and aloof. Like when he'd first seen him at the summoning.

"What smells good, Naofumi? I'm starving."

Naofumi groaned in his mind. _'Damn it Itsuki. Just when you were becoming a better person.'_ He'd luckily sucked it up and had already prepared some more meat in a pan and filtered out the grease. Still, Naofumi grumbled as he threw the meat into the pot to stew.

"I could go for some food too," Ren said. "What stew are you making there?"

"At this point, I'm not sure what monster meat I'm using for the stew," Naofumi grumbled. For all he knew, he could throw cow dung inside and it'd taste great thanks to his shields! But he wouldn't since that would be an insult to his culinary tastes. He added a little more water. Chopped up more vegetables into little pieces before dropping them in. Then he lightly dribbled seasonings he'd made over the stew. An even nicer smell filled the air, making his stomach rumble in anticipation.

He hated that he had to cook so much today. But he was starving for something good. If he was going to eat something, he'd do his best to make sure it was damn near PERFECT!

"Whatever you're making, it smells good," Itsuki said happily. Seriously?! Why was he suddenly so happy? Naofumi doubted he'd been forced to spend his day cooking and comforting his party member!

Not that he was mad about doing the second part. But if that boy didn't drop the smile, he was going to show some ineffectual punches around!

His hair better not turn white! He didn't want the **EDGE!**

Ren and Itsuki sat down on pieces of debris. Both of them saw Raphtalia and Eclair practicing together, but didn't comment to Naofumi about Raphtalia being up and smiling.

Actually, Ren looked more impressed at the sword training Eclair was doing. Two months ago, he would have gawked at the idea of training. But after what he'd seen, it wasn't sounding like such a bad idea anymore.

Maybe after they'd had a little time to settle in when things were over...

"So… Do we know what we're doing next?" Naofumi asked after finally calming down. He continued lightly stirring the stew.

"Van's scouts are reporting that the Church Army didn't follow us," Itsuki answered. "He has people (humans, not demi-humans) in towns outside the region gathering news. But by the looks of it, they'll be safe here for now."

"So we'll be able to go to the Capital to face the Pope then," Naofumi said.

"... yeah." Ren said. "But we're not sure when we're leaving for that."

"Would you rather wait till after the Wave?" Naofumi asked.

"I don't know," Itsuki said. "We'd have a chance to talk to Motoyasu at the Wave. But the news we're hearing about in the Kingdom doesn't sound very good."

It'd only been a day. But Itsuki shared what some of Van's adventurers had managed to gather from speaking undercover with friendly members of the guild.

The Church wasn't just imprisoning demi-humans, but anyone that spoke out against the change in leadership. There were rumors of the Church's followers gathering to the capital. There'd been no news given about the Cardinal Heroes besides the Shield Demon tricking the Sword and Bow Heroes into attempting to raze the capital, their efforts only being stopped by the brave efforts of the country's knights and the Spear Hero. No news had been published about what happened to Idol. And the only current news about the Cardinal Heroes was that the Spear Hero was at the Capital, watching over the First Princess's recovery.

There was one last bit of worrying news. The Church was going to host a public execution soon.

No news was coming out of the eastern part of the kingdom for some reason. But it sounded like something big was going down there. Maybe a mass slaughter?

Quite honestly, it sounded like the Pope had ****ed up the country really badly in the short time he'd been ruling thus far.

"I don't know how long we can afford to wait," Itsuki said. "That's why Ren and I wanted to talk to you now. We wanted to make sure… you know…" Itsuki glanced in Raphtalia's direction.

"Don't worry. She's fine now." Naofumi said. The stew was almost finished.

"Really?" Ren asked curiously.

"Yeah. I don't know how or what I did. But she's… better than I've seen her in a while." He admitted. She looked even better than when he'd confessed to her that he loved her. Even though she'd been through a lot herself these last few days.

That girl was something else.

The two were silent after that. Naofumi finished the stew and called everyone else over. They gathered around the fire, wooden bowls and spoons in hand to eat. Except for Eclair, who continued training by herself.

"Mmmm, it tastes really good Naofumi," Raphtalia said, her tail wagging happily behind her. It'd been a while since she'd eaten his cooking. In a way, it made the extra effort he'd put in worth it.

"Yeah, this is really good," Itsuki said, looking down at the bowl in shock.

Ren didn't say anything. He was plowing into the bowl's contents like a starving man. He'd never tasted food so good in his LIFE! Cool and aloofness be damned! Its warmth filled him and helped him feel better about the things that had happened lately.

"I have my stupid shield to thank for that too," Naofumi grumbled. The food tasted really, _really_ good. It was almost good enough to make him feel better.

"Where can I unlock a weapon like that?" Itsuki asked. "This beats any old stew I make."

"Trust me. You don't want to find that class of weapons." Naofumi muttered.

"But why not?" Itsuki complained.

'_Because if you do, your Bow will try to turn you into a butler too.'_ Naofumi thought sarcastically to himself. He felt a little zap from his shield at that. '_Stupid Yandere Shield.'_ "Just trust me when I say this is a curse."

"But it tastes really good!" Itsuki said. Not even Melty was talking! This stew was better than anything her royal chefs had ever made for her.

Naofumi felt he was very much in danger of being downgraded to royal butler status. "Just shut up and eat it!"

There really wasn't too much else to note. Everyone listened to Naofumi. The food was so good, they focused more on eating instead of talking. Soon, all the stew was gone, and everyone besides Eclair laid around the fire. Bellies full and warm.

"This… this is actually pretty nice." Itsuki said. They weren't doing anything important. They weren't preparing to face some noble. They were getting a chance to take a break.

"I'm too full to move." Ren moaned. "Is it alright if we crash here tonight, Naofumi?" He'd eaten so much that he felt too lazy to want to go all the way back to Seaetto. Not having to face his party for an extra day was a bonus!

"It's not like I can do anything to stop you." Naofumi groaned. He'd eaten too much himself. "Do whatever you want."

Apparently, no matter how high his defense was, his belly could still bring him down.

Itsuki and Ren pulled out sleeping rolls from their inventories. Naofumi pulled out a sleeping roll too. Melty snuggled into Filo's feathers. The poor bird was out cold. She sighed happily at the comfort and warmth. _'What a weird girl.'_

He was preparing to pull out a blanket when Raphtalia put the one she'd been using earlier over his shoulders. "I'll take the first watch." She volunteered. Smiling down at him. It looked like Eclair would be on watch with her.

Naofumi bit back the response of wanting to make sure she was okay with it. He instead offered a small smile to her. "Thanks, Raphtalia."

She kissed him on the forehead. It made the stress and events of the day melt away. "_Sweet dreams, Naofumi."_ She whispered softly.

He burrowed himself in the blanket. It'd been a while. But he again wondered how he'd been blessed to have such a wonderful companion that could make all his stress and worry melt away at the end of the day.

Ren and Itsuki were already asleep. Exhausted from the events of last night and the day.

Naofumi followed soon after.

* * *

"...fumi… … Naof… Naofumi? Naofumi?"

Naofumi groaned. He was being shaken awake.

"What?" He groaned out. He peeked open an eye and saw the stars of the night sky up above. It was Raphtalia that was shaking him. "What is it Raphtalia?"

"Naofumi, there's a strange fog approaching the village."

Raphtalia helped him stand up. When he looked in the direction she was pointing, his mind finally became alert. A bank of fog was descending on the edge of the village. But the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end from its appearance.

There was definitely something magical about the fog.

"Filo, Second Princess, get up."

Eclair had already woken Itsuki up, and both of them were waking up Ren. Naofumi helped Raphtalia wake up Filo and Melty. But by the time they were ready to move, the fog had stopped just at the edge of the camp. It didn't approach any farther. It's mysterious appearance and the way it just stayed in place definitely said this was magic.

"What is that?" Naofumi asked.

"It looks like some kind of magic barrier," Itsuki said seriously. He'd pulled back the string on his bow, and was prepared to fire at whatever threat that would come out of the fog.

Melty felt the magic was familiar. But she couldn't remember why at first.

'_Seriously. I thought we were finally getting a break!'_ Why couldn't Naofumi just get a break of like a few days! Was that too much to ask for?! Did the Universe really hate him that much?!

The group was on edge. The sound of many thumping feet was approaching. Large shadows (not the cloaked ninja variant) in the fog appeared running towards them. Ren and Itsuki didn't recognize this from any game scenario, which made them both more on edge as it was unknown to them. Ren held up his sword, his Status Magic preparing to select **One Hundred Swords** in case there were a lot of enemies.

But then Filolials started running out of the fog. Instead of running at them, they ran along the circumference of their camp. Surrounding them in a semi-circle. The sight confused all the Heroes and Naofumi's party.

"Stay back! We just took down a big powerful dino yesterday!" Itsuki yelled in an attempt at intimidation. His voice sounded a little too high though to be very intimidating.

"Wait, stand down Sir Bow Hero, I recognize this magic," Melty said.

"What do you mean Second Prin-" Raphtalia jabbed Naofumi in the side. Apparently, his DEF stat wasn't high enough. "Ow!"

"It's Melty. Not Second Princess." Raphtalia corrected. "But what do you mean Melty?" Raphtalia asked.

Why was that important?! What was up with Raphtalia this time!? He-... wised up and didn't finish that thought. He'd rather it didn't get caught on her mind reader abilities if she did have such a thing.

Melty gave Raphtalia a happy nod, confirming his companion was in league against him to get him to stop calling the Second Princess by her nickname. Little did she know the war she was starting to get out of being called by that title. But that wasn't important. What was important was the Filolial pulling a very fancy carriage out of the fog towards them.

Melty walked forward, smiling happily. "This is the rare Filolial I met on my way to the Capital." She said happily. "She saved my life from a dragon."

It looked like another Filolial to Naofumi. Sure, it's Sky Blue feathers were shinier than Filo's. The light red piercing eyes were also different from what he'd seen on other Filolials. And the carriage looked fancy enough to carry royalty inside. But it still didn't look that different from other Filolials he'd seen.

"I mean you no harm. Please, put down your weapons, Sword and Bow Heroes."

Naofumi backpedaled. Okay, the speaking was definitely _not_ normal.

Itsuki and Ren looked surprised. Melty jumped back in surprise. "You, you can talk?!"

"Indeed, I can, Princess Melty." The Filolial said to Melty. Melty looked somewhere between shocked and overjoyed.

"What... the hell..." Ren lowered his sword in amazement. Itsuki followed suit.

"I thought you said you knew her Sec-" Raphtalia jabbed Naofumi in the side. Cutting off the nickname again!

"Who are you?!" Ren asked. His sword was down, but he still looked to be on his guard.

"Relax. I am not your enemy." The Filolial shone brightly. And then it shrunk down, similar to Filo's transformation magic. But without the poof of feathers that accompanied it.

After a moment. A little girl with angel wings stood in front of them. She was dressed in a gothic style red and white dress and boots. She had white hair with three cowlicks sticking up in the front. Her face was small and well-composed. She was the same height as Filo in her loli form, but her wings were longer.

The heroes all stared in slack-jawed amazement. Including Naofumi. '_WHAT IN THE FREAKING HELL!?'_

"My name is Fitoria," Fitoria said. "And there's much I wish to discuss with you three."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Welp. It looks like Naofumi's just instantly getting dunked into this next plot arc. Poor Naofumi. You can never catch a break.**

**I'll see you all next week. I hope you all have fun and enjoy your Monday!**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**Maybe One More**

* * *

"Please don't tell me I have to cook for them too."

"I'm afraid so, Naofumi."

Naofumi sighed. He pulled out another pot and threw some meat into it to sizzle. He hoped Itsuki and Ren were the last ones that were going to come.

"Oh, I think Lord Reichnott is also coming," Eclair said. "I don't think he's eaten all day with how busy he's been."

"Fine…" Naofumi pulled out a cutting board and a table and started chopping vegetables into pieces.

"Now that I think about it, I think he's also bringing the Hero's parties along for protection," Eclair said, thinking to herself. "They could probably use some food too."

A vein bulged in Naofumi's forehead. He pulled out another pot, started another fire, and began to fill the pot with water so he could have a second stew going. "Anyone else?" He asked.

Eclair thought about it for a moment while Naofumi went about getting the second stew going. "I think Van is having his scouts come here to report while he's with us."

Naofumi groaned mentally. He pulled out more meat and vegetables along with seasoning. Setting them out on another table he'd pulled from his inventory.

"There's also a couple of the former child slaves that are tagging along because they want to thank you."

Naofumi started the third fire.

"And maybe a few of the adult slaves who want to thank you."

Naofumi pulled out more food.

"As well as some of the demi-humans who want to meet you."

Naofumi started the fourth fire.

"I think the one nurse that helped Raphtalia who also wanted to see you-"

"IS THERE ANYONE ELSE?!" Naofumi yelled.

…

"Maybe one more," Eclair said. "I can't remember who though."

Naofumi huffed and got to cooking. That one could deal with it if there wasn't enough food.

He was almost done cooking when all the people Eclair mentioned arrived… on the backs of wild Filolials. "Sir Hero!" Van waved happily from the royal carriage being pulled by Fitoria.

"Oh yeah. There's also the Queen of the Filolials. She said she and her flock would be starving after traveling all this distance." Eclair said, remembering who the last guest(s) were going to be.

…

Naofumi's left eye twitched.

Somebody was going to die.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	48. 48: The Bird Loli Queen

**Not as long a chapter today. I'm finally getting better at not writing super crazy long chapters. Hope you all enjoy it. :)**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _37 more Favorites, 42 more Followers (Total: 1584 Favorites, 1803 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated: **_June 22nd, 2020 2:50 P.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Eight: **_T__he Bird Loli Queen_

* * *

You know, Naofumi should have been more impressed by Fitoria's appearance. But he'd seen a lot in this world. He'd seen bats that could imitate his party members. A shield that could 'protect' his identity from others. A Church with a massive hate boner for him. A large freaking dino dragon attracted to Ren for 'reasons'. He even had his own personal transforming Filolial loli daughter.

If this, 'Fitoria', had _really_ wanted to impress him, she wouldn't have shown she was also a Filolial transforming loli. He recovered from his slackjawedness faster than the other two heroes.

"You want to talk to us?" He asked. Indicating to himself, and the two others. What were they so surprised about? Hadn't they been around Filo long enough?

Then again, Naofumi wasn't sure if Filo's type of Filolial was _that_ rare or not.

Fitoria nodded. "I do." The fancy carriage behind her shined brightly and disappeared.

Okay, **that **was impressive.

"Who, what, how-" Itsuki wasn't sure what question to ask. Who are you? What are you? How did you do that?

Fitoria was now wearing what looked like a necklace with a carriage attached to it. Like it was the most normal thing in the world. Naofumi wondered how he could get himself one of those.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Ren asked cautiously.

"Your fight with the Tyrant Dragon Rex," Fitoria said. "When the three of you collapsed, I was the one that asked my friends to assist you."

Three very familiar Filolials ran out of the semi-circle and stopped in front of the Three Heroes. They gwahed in happiness and lowered their heads to be petted. The three did so, and they continued to gwah in glee. "They seem to really like you," Fitoria added.

Melty and the others still stood in their spots. Melty had stars shining in her eyes at all the Filolials surrounding them. "Wow! It's her! It's really her!"

Raphtalia relaxed, seeing there was no danger. Eclair still looked on guard, just in case. And Filo…

"Can I go back to sleep now? I'm tired."

"Filo. Don't be rude." Raphtalia said, putting her hands on her hips.

"But I want to sleep mommy," Filo complained.

"Don't you know who that is?!" Melty asked Filo as if she was crazy, gesturing at Fitoria. "That's Fitoria! The Filolial Queen of Legends! Hardly anyone gets the chance to meet her, and-" Her face took on an astonished look. "I don't believe it. I met you once already. You saved my life from that dragon."

"And you saved the life of that Filolial. It was the least I could do." Fitoria said in her well-composed voice.

"Eeeeeeeee!" Melty looked like she was about to explode from glee.

"Mel!"

Fitoria spared a glance at the little blonde loli. She sighed as if she'd have to deal with her later or something. "Come, Heroes. There is much I wish to discuss with you three in private."

"What about my party?" Naofumi dryly asked.

"This place is being protected by my magic. You have no need to worry, Shield Hero." Fitoria said in her same neutral tone. Indicating to the magic fog surrounding the village square.

"And what about our parties?" Itsuki asked. Though Ren didn't voice the same.

"I don't sense anyone else here," Fitoria said. "Are your parties in danger?"

…

"Fine. We'll go then." Itsuki muttered.

Fitoria walked into the fog. Naofumi looked to the two other heroes, who still looked unsure about following. But he shrugged before going into the fog after Fitoria. The other two heroes followed behind. "A magic barrier. I knew it." Itsuki muttered.

"Be careful, Sir Naofumi," Eclair said, eyeing the Filolials warily.

"So many!" Okay, it was official. Melty was the President of the Filolial fan club. "I want to pet them all!" She pulled out dried jerky from her dress.

Just how long had she been waiting for this moment?!

"Mel!" Filo whined in complaint.

Were all these tasty morsels trying to steal her best friend of a few days away from her?!

"Come on, Filo. Let's rest until they're done." Raphtalia led her daughter to the bedrolls.

"But they're trying to take Mel away from me!" Filo complained.

"Mel will be fine."

"**Transport Carriage.**"

The rest of what happened drowned out when Naofumi disappeared into the fog.

* * *

It felt like a minute after walking into the fog. But when he walked out, Naofumi was surprised to walk out into another set of ruins. Unlike Raphtalia's village, these were older, and far more ancient.

There was also the carcass of the Tyrant Dragon Rex. Laid on its side a hundred feet away.

"What the hell?"

"Where are we?"

"Why is that here?"

Itsuki and Ren were looking around. Both of them were as confused as Naofumi about where they were. They didn't recognize the ruins from any place in their games.

"Why did you bring us here?!" Naofumi angrily asked, seeing Fitoria sitting on a piece of debris several dozen feet in front of them.

"I wanted to make sure we'd have complete privacy," Fitoria said, expression as calm and composed as ever. "This is my domain. There is no one alive that knows where we are now. When we are done, I will take you back."

"No way."

"That's impossible…"

Naofumi felt an angry growl rising to his throat. He didn't think walking into the fog would take him so far away from his party! But he cut it off and calmed himself down. "What did you want to talk to us about?" He asked. They were already here. Might as well not piss off the person with the power to transport them to gods know where.

The carcass was also there. They hadn't harvested it for new weapon forms yet. This could turn out to be worth their while.

"There are many things I wish to discuss with you three individually. But before that, where is the Spear Hero?"

The three looked at each other and grimaced. "Motoyasu… is at the Capital." Ren said.

"He isn't really keen on helping us out," Itsuki said.

"He had me thrown into prison even though I didn't do anything wrong," Naofumi said dryly.

Fitoria's well-composed face gave way to a frown. "He's been after Naofumi for a long time for something he didn't do." Ren further explained. "He... listens to his girlfriends more than he listens to us."

"Especially this one girl named Myne. Or Princess Malty." Itsuki said.

"Bitch," Naofumi muttered. The two others looked at him, and he shrugged. "What? She'll always be Bitch to me."

...

"And have any of you tried talking with him yourselves?" Fitoria asked.

The three were silent. Naofumi hadn't really had a heart to heart with the guy. Ren and Itsuki, besides the time at the Sacred Duel, hadn't really spoken to Motoyasu either. They hadn't, in fact, ever tried to reason with Motoyasu.

"I doubt he'd listen," Naofumi said bitterly while crossing his arms. "He trusts a person with a skirt far more than any of us."

"..." Fitoria didn't comment for a while. She looked like she wanted to facepalm. "I'll talk that over individually with you later." She finally said. "What did you do with the Dragon Emperor Fragment that was in the Tyrant Dragon Rex?"

"Is that what the glowing purple core was called?" Ren asked.

"Yes."

"I absorbed it into my sword," Ren answered.

"... I was afraid that was the case." Fitoria said with a sigh. "I must ask that you hand it over."

"Why do I have to do that?!" Ren asked. Didn't Fitoria know all the trouble they'd gone through to defeat the damn monster?! Since the three of them had been close together too, they didn't get experience from the kill.

"There are more dragon core fragments in this world, Sword Hero," Fitoria said calmly. "The one you found is more evil than the rest. It consumed the last monster who lusted after it. And mutated it into the beast you fought last night."

…

The three hero's eyes widened. "It is true that we Filolials don't like dragons. I took the carcass of the beast to prevent anyone else from using it for evil. But I ask for this not to weaken you. But to prevent one of the Holy Heroes from suffering a similar fate. If you don't believe me, I won't ask for the other fragment you're currently carrying in your weapon."

"Other fragment?" Itsuki asked.

Ren grimaced. He pulled up both cores on his HUD. Now that he knew what it was, a proper title appeared for it at last.

**Gaelion's Dragon Emperor Core Fragment**

How the hell had she known it was in there?... "Fine." Ren finally said. "But in return, me and the others get to absorb parts of the Tyrant Dragon Rex."

Fitoria frowned again. "I am not for the Holy Heroes using parts from dragons to fight."

"We've already absorbed parts of dragons before." He said. "And we were the one that killed it. So it's either that, or I keep the core." Ren said.

"... Or I could just take it from you by force."

It was said so calmly that the Three Heroes almost didn't realize the threat behind her words. But only a few seconds later, Fitoria sighed. "Alright. You may do so."

The Three Heroes looked between each other. Then they cautiously approached the carcass of the Tyrant Dragon Rex, but Fitoria didn't stop them. So they knew it was okay.

Ren used his sword to cut off pieces of scales, fangs, meat, bone, and other parts for the three of them. They unlocked different weapons. Naofumi's shield told him all the shields he unlocked required him to be at a higher level to use them.

After a moment, they were done. Ren pulled out the large purple glowing dragon core from his sword. Fitoria wordlessly took it, and then it disappeared with a glow. The carriage on the necklace glowed with power. Getting a better look with the light, Naofumi thought he saw a gem embedded in the center of the small carriage before the glow faded away. The stars in the night sky wasn't enough to light it again.

"What now?" Itsuki asked.

"Now, I will speak to you individually, and in private," Fitoria said, turning away from them. "I will speak with the Bow Hero first. Then, I will speak to the Sword Hero. I will save you for last, Shield Hero. After that, we will return."

"Why do you need to speak to us separately?" Ren asked.

Fitoria was already walking off into the ruins. "Let's just go along with it," Naofumi said. "We already saved the carcass for us. We might as well see what else we can get out of this."

...

Itsuki wordlessly put his bow on his back, and then walked off after Fitoria.

Ren and Naofumi sat in the clearing for a long while. The both of them silent, and looking down between their feet. Naofumi didn't know why, but he felt like they were all going to be lectured by a teacher. Though it was hard to see Fitoria as such with how small she was.

Unless this was like some of those weird loli school animes he'd heard about online.

"You get the feeling that we're being lectured here?" Naofumi asked.

"I don't know. This wasn't-" Ren cut himself off and grimaced.

"It wasn't part of your game." Naofumi finished.

Ren nodded. "I don't have any background info for who this Fitoria is or what she wants with us." He said.

"She did save you from mutating into a horrible monster," Naofumi said sarcastically.

"... and that carriage she has... I get an odd feeling from it." Ren said.

"How odd?" Naofumi asked.

"I... I just don't know." He murmured.

...

After a moment, Itsuki reappeared. He didn't say anything as he sat down next to Ren. Ren got up, and walked in the direction Itsuki pointed to. Pretty soon, he disappeared into the ruins.

"What did you talk about?" Naofumi asked.

Itsuki didn't answer. It was hard to tell in the dark of night, but the blonde boy looked a little pale. Naofumi switched to a shield that gave him better vision in the dark (he would unlock the bonus permanently when the Shield was unlocked) and Itsuki looked very pale.

"You okay, Itsuki?" Naofumi asked worriedly.

"I-I… I don't want to piss her off in the future." He chattered nervously. It was like he had been whipped.

"What did you tell her?" Naofumi asked.

Itsuki shook his head. "I-I-I'd rather not t-talk about it n-now." He stammered.

Naofumi sat in his spot, growing more worried by the minute for Ren's safety. But thirty minutes later, he also walked out of the ruins. Still looking as calm as before.

"You're up Naofumi."

Naofumi looked the calm raven haired teen over. On closer inspection, Ren looked a little pale. "Is there anything I should prepare for?" Naofumi asked as he stood up. "Like a lecture, or maybe a death sentence?"

"Prepare… to explain what's been going on since being summoned." He said. "After that…" He didn't finish, and sat down. He looked lost.

Naofumi thought that over as he walked into the ruins in the same direction Ren and Itsuki had gone. They didn't give him a very good feeling about what was going to happen.

He took note of his surroundings. He could tell the ruins were old. Not only were the structures crumbling, but the stone was worn from years and years of weather. Vegetation had reclaimed the area, covering many of the old structures in vines.

After a little while, Naofumi found Fitoria. She was sitting on a ledge leading to an open field below. Beyond that was a forest. Naofumi opted to sit on the ledge near her.

"Tell me, Shield Hero." She spoke after he sat. "What have you done since being summoned to this world?"

It was just like Ren had warned. "Besides being on the run for the majority of my time here?" Naofumi said sarcastically.

Fitoria didn't comment. And eventually, Naofumi sighed and told her what he'd done since being summoned. From fleeing with Raphtalia, raising her and fighting the Lute Wave, to disguising himself as a night merchant and raising Filo.

She didn't question the Lute Wave much. She must have gotten info from Ren and Itsuki about how that went. "So, that's her name. Filo." Fitoria said after he mentioned Filo.

"Yeah… do you know what she is?" He decided to ask. Since he still didn't know what Filo was.

"Filo is a Filolial Queen, like me," Fitoria answered. "A Filolial Queen can only be raised by a Hero. Filo is special, and proof that you are a Cardinal Hero."

"Oh…" Naofumi was surprised. Filo was _that_ rare. No wonder he'd never found information on her species before. She was literally a walking legend.

He'd heard about Fathers treating their daughters like princesses. He wasn't sure if he wanted Filo to learn she was royalty though. He didn't go through all that work of helping her learn to behave without an active monster crest for nothing. Thank the Gods she still had it. Otherwise, the **Monster Tamer Shields** wouldn't help make her stronger.

"Filo was the original reason I wanted to meet you," Fitoria admitted. "I wanted to test her and see if she was worthy of taking my place as the next Filolial Queen. But then I found you, and the Sword Hero, and the Bow Hero facing the Tyrant Dragon Rex. I wanted to test your bonds. And see if you were strong enough to defeat what the Heroes of the past could not."

"What?"

"It was long ago. I can barely remember what I was told… But I do remember that monster was sealed away after the heroes of that time refused to work together to defeat it. I wanted to see if you could do what the past heroes could not."

"And what if we hadn't beat it?" Naofumi asked.

"I could have easily beaten it on my own," Fitoria said in her same composed voice. "You were never in any real danger."

… He, Ren, and Itsuki had struggled not to die facing that creature. Just how strong was this little loli girl claiming to be?! "Why didn't you help us if you could have easily beaten it?" Naofumi asked, having to keep the anger out of his voice again.

"Again, I wanted to see if you three were capable of working together. Had you not beaten it, I would have done so. And had you started fighting with each other instead of trying to fight the Tyrant Dragon Rex. I would have killed it, and then the three of you."

… oof. Apparently, she was strong enough to one-shot them all too. This little girl did not accept any crap from the Cardinal Heroes.

_'Meep…'_ Naofumi got the feeling that making her angry would not bode well.

"Continue, Shield Hero," Fitoria said.

Naofumi did so. The sarcasm and dryness taking a far backseat. He described the rest of what happened. Fitoria didn't question after that. Soon, he was talking about what happened at the Capital. Anger and bitterness came into his voice at how he was captured and put in prison. Then how he had to duel Bitch so he and the others could leave. How Bitch had cheated, and threatened his party members, and then-

That was where Fitoria interrupted. "I must ask, did you use a Cursed Weapon in that fight, Shield Hero?"

"I… … …" Naofumi felt his throat go dry. Then he sighed reluctantly. "Yes, I did. I didn't have a choice in the matter. Bitch said she was going to torture and kill Filo and Raphtalia. And I just… I lost it."

…

"It is as I feared." Fitoria sighed. "I was hoping at least one of the Cardinal Heroes would be spared the despair of past Heroes. But if you and the Spear Hero were both using them…"

"Do you know anything about the Cursed Series?" Naofumi asked.

"Only that it was a failsafe. Something that the weapon would unlock only when its wielder was beginning to Despair and to lose the will to continue fighting. It was the weapon's way of giving the hero a new reason, a new purpose to continue fighting. But continued use of the Cursed Weapon bears a heavy burden on the Hero, and sometimes, their party. There are times where they never recover..."

She looked at Naofumi, her face serious. "I will only warn you once, Shield Hero. Just as I warned the other two. Don't ever rely on that cursed weapon. You will only find pain."

Naofumi grimaced. "I don't plan to. Not unless it's absolutely necessary."

Fitoria stared hard at him. "... I would prefer a definite no. But… your answer will have to do." She said with a sigh.

"Besides. I also have the Blessed Series." Naofumi said. "So it's not like I have only the Cursed Series to fall back on."

"I saw it during your battle. Which makes me worry for you even more, Shield Hero."

"Why?"

"A Blessed Series is normally unlocked when a Hero overcomes the trial that inflicted them with their Cursed Series. But from what I can tell. You have not. Over the course of the fight, your shield's power began to wane." Fitoria said. "Which Blessed Series do you have?"

"The Hopeful Series."

"... hope… hope inspired from someone, or something else." Fitoria continued to look ahead. "That hope… is like a poison."

"I wouldn't say that." In Naofumi's opinion. It was only because of hope that he was here now. It was only because of Raphtalia and Filo that he was talking to Fitoria and not off on some rampage!

"Hope itself is not bad. Hope can sustain us in times of trial and suffering." Fitoria rubbed the ground next to her. It was like she was remembering a time long ago. "But Hope given by others is limited. It pushes us more than our boundaries require. And then when we run out of Hope, we lose our last sustaining possession protecting us from Despair."

…

…

Naofumi thought it over. If Fitoria was right about how one acquired a Cursed Series… "If I lose... 'Hope' while using that Shield… I'd jump straight into the Cursed Series?"

"Yes," Fitoria affirmed. "It's possible you might unlock a different Cursed Series. I don't know. It has been too long for me to remember the details. But you could end up turning into a monster worse than anything else you'd ever face."

That was a scary thought. He remembered Rage well enough. If he were to be dunked straight back into it. Or if he were to be dunked into a different Cursed Series without warning...

"I don't have a choice though," Naofumi mumbled. "If I don't use it, I'll never be strong enough to face my enemies. I'll never be strong enough to protect those I hold dear." And he'd never be able to deal damage.

Fitoria was finally giving him a look of approval. "I can see why your weapon chose you, Shield Hero." She put a hand over the gem, and a glow passed over the Shield.

"What did you do?" Naofumi asked.

"There's nothing I can do to help your Cursed Series. It is yours and yours alone. But your Blessed Series is tied to something… or someone…" Fitoria frowned. "I enchanted it. Should the need arise, it will give your mind a temporary reprieve before you reach the point of no return. It won't last long. But it'll be more than enough for you to change out. That is all I can do for you."

The item Fitoria enchanted appeared in his HUD. He recognized it. "Thank…" Naofumi felt tears poking at his eyes. "Thank you."

"Your journey has been a hard one, Shield Hero," Fitoria said gently. "I do not envy you for the path you've been forced upon. But regardless, I'd suggest not using those Shields. Not until you first learn to be Diligent. That is the only way you'll never lose Hope..."

"... I'll try... Is there anything else you wanted to ask me about?" Naofumi asked.

"I will need your permission to test Filo tomorrow. It will be rough, but it will be for her benefit." Fitoria said. Her tone was well-composed once more, but it held a note of friendliness to it.

Naofumi thought he must have moved past the threatening stage now.

"That's okay with me… Is it okay if I ask you a couple of questions before we head back?" Naofumi asked.

Fitoria hummed an affirmative. "First, just how strong are you?"

"I have been alive for centuries. It has been years since an enemy made me exert myself in battle." Fitoria said.

"... Okay then. Next question. If you're so strong. Why weren't you at Lute when the Wave hit?" Naofumi asked. "Why am I- why are me, Ren, and Itsuki only meeting you now if you're supposed to be important?"

"You've seen the corruptness of people, have you not?" Fitoria asked. "I do not travel the outside world much these days."

That was a very good point. If the people had been this bad for centuries, Naofumi felt he'd get sick of living among them too. She gestured to the sky.

"As for why I didn't fight at Lute. You four were already there. And my time is needed elsewhere. In two days, I'll be traveling to the sea near what your people call Shieldfreeden. And several weeks after that, after the next Wave in Melromarc, I will be needed in a small country west of Faubley. My flock is spread thin, protecting all the areas you and the other Cardinal Heroes should be protecting."

"What does that mean?" Naofumi asked.

"I'm fighting the Waves that you aren't," Fitoria answered.

…

A light went off in Naofumi's head. "You mean… the Waves aren't just occuring in Melromarc? They're worldwide."

"Yes," Fitoria said. "I admit I tore into the Sword and Bow Heroes about why they weren't fulfilling their duties, protecting the other parts of the world. But they helped me understand why the Cardinal Heroes have been stuck in Melromarc." If they hadn't explained it, she would have been angrier with Naofumi.

Naofumi was still reeling from the sudden revelation. _'The Waves are happening all over the world and not just in Melromarc. What the hell?...'_ He then realized how much worse it was for all four of them to be summoned to Melromarc with that. _'Did those Church idiots want to doom the rest of the world!?'_ He angrily thought. It was bad enough to summon him just for the sake of killing him off. But to summon all four of them despite the threat everyone was facing.

Naofumi was surprised there wasn't an open war being fought against Melromarc.

"I am doing what I can. But the other heroes will be needed, desperately, and soon… I can't remember everything from the waves, but I remember the heroes will need to make a choice. To either fight for the world, or for the people in it. Many will die in the first, but the world will be saved." Naofumi remained silent and listened. "The second is a thornier path, but it can be accomplished. If the four Heroes band together."

"I'd love to work with the other heroes, but Motoyasu isn't being very reasonable." Naofumi said.

"You'll have to work together, or else the world is already doomed. And this conversation will be meaningless."

"Then last question. Why **do** we all have to be united? Ren, Itsuki, and I are doing just fine. Why do we need Motoyasu's help?" Naofumi asked.

"Because if even one hero is lost, then the Waves will become too great for us to handle."

…

Naofumi grimaced. It was words straight out of his Help Guide on the waves. "If only the King and the Three Heroes Church hadn't summoned us all," Naofumi muttered.

"I don't understand the actions of humans. I don't understand why they tend to be so greedy and corrupt. I only want to protect my flock, my friends. I fight the Waves in my territory around the world." Fitoria said in understanding.

The world was lucky. Even though the Cardinal Heroes were stuck, Fitoria had been doing what they could not.

"Then why? Why do all this if you don't like people?" Naofumi asked.

"...Because it's what my Hero asked me to do…" She put a hand on her chest. "I can barely remember him… But I remember him telling me to do what was best for the sake of the world. To protect it and the people… even if it meant killing the Heroes so a new group could be summoned in their place."

"... And you'd really kill us to do it?" Naofumi asked.

Fitoria nodded. "It'd make me sad to do so, knowing how good you are… but I must do what's best for my world and for everyone in it to survive. You think I'm strong, but soon, I won't be enough to stop what's coming." She looked at him seriously. "The world needs all the heroes to be united if it wants to survive the Waves of Catastrophe. I cannot stress that enough. You must handle the problem in Melromarc so you can help protect our world. You must get the Spear Hero to fight by your side."

"Can't you help us with that?" Naofumi asked. If they had Fitoria on their side, and if she really was as strong as she said she was, the Pope wouldn't stand a chance. They could try and brute force some sense into Motoyasu. Maybe even kill Bitch too.

Was it his fault he still hated her?

"As I said, I made a promise long ago not to interfere with human affairs," Fitoria said. She remembered glimpses of times where she'd interfered in the past. And it had always ended badly. "I will only help defend the world from the Waves of Catastrophe. Nothing more, nothing less."

"But why even do that if you don't like people that much?"

"It is for them." Fitoria gestured. Naofumi looked, and he finally realized something else.

They were being watched from the other side of the ruins by the forest. A large group of Filolials had their heads poking out from the bushes. "This place was once an ancient civilization protected by the first heroes. Now, it is one of the last places in the world where they can roam freely. By limiting my contact with the outside world, I help to protect them. I give them a safe place to grow and live their lives. But there are more of my friends out in the world. Those who found good humans to pull wagons for. Princess Melty is one of those good humans."

The Filolials realized they'd been found out, and they turned tail and ran into the forest. "I know there are many bad people out there. But there are still those worth defending. Like them. Thus, I honor the words of the hero that raised me. And I fulfill my duty."

"... alright. I'll try." Naofumi finally relented. "I'll try and get the Spear Hero to listen to me. To listen to us." He said, referring to himself, Ren, and Itsuki. "But I won't be responsible for him if he decides not to listen. And if he refuses, we'll get strong enough so we won't need his help."

Fitoria looked down below. "I hope he will… I tire of watching batches of heroes fight with one another… And I don't want to have to kill the three of you if the Spear Hero doesn't listen and gets himself killed."

"... you know. I'm starting to think you're too nice for that Fitoria." Naofumi said.

Fitoria's eyes slightly widened, remembering something from the distant past.

_"You're too nice Fitoria." A hand patted her gently on the head. "That's what I like about you. You have a good heart." A younger, more innocent-looking Fitoria smiled happily up at her blurry Master. "I hope you keep it. I'm sure it'll guide you well after I'm gone."_

"I'll try. But no promises." Naofumi said.

Naofumi was still just sitting there, waiting for Fitoria to say something when Fitoria laid her head on his thigh. _'Um… what?'_

"Please… just for a few minutes…" Fitoria said, her voice sounding more vulnerable than before.

"Um… Okay… Fitoria." He sat like a statue. Staring down in disbelief. "You said a hero raised you, right?" She nodded on his lap. "Was it the Shield Hero?" He asked.

"I… I can't remember." Fitoria sounded sad. "Filolials have short memories. There are so many important things I have forgotten." She hated her memory. Even though she was special, sometimes, her memory was almost as bad as a normal Filolial's.

This little girl was weird. But Naofumi felt he could connect with her in a way. Neither of them was fans of the people of this world. But they still did what they could to protect them and those they cared about.

He rubbed her head gently. "You remembered enough. Thank you."

Fitoria sighed happily, relaxing for what felt like the first time in forever. _'I can't remember much… but I still remember that gentle touch.'_

* * *

Ren and Itsuki were still sitting on a piece of debris together. It had been an hour since Naofumi had left. But there was still no sign of him. They hadn't talked much that entire time. As they were both still reeling from their conversations with Fitoria.

"Do you think he's okay?" Ren finally asked.

"I don't… I don't know." Itsuki stammered.

"Poor guy, he must be getting reamed out really badly," Ren said.

"I don't think anyone could get reamed out more than I did." Itsuki shivered at the memory.

It had felt like the majority of his time with Fitoria had been her chewing him out. For not helping out with the Waves all over the world (even though he hadn't known other waves happened elsewhere earlier on in the story of his game. Said game was becoming increasingly unreliant story-wise as of late). For going out and murdering people (even though it was a good cause) instead of focusing on getting stronger (he'd technically gotten experience killing those nobles, but he shuddered to think about that now). For not trying to talk with Motoyasu before (which he couldn't really be at fault for that since he spent much of the last month in self-inflicted exile). The worst though was for using his Cursed Series so much before and then again in the fight with the Tyrant Dragon Rex.

That had been a big no-no. Even though it was what helped them killed the thing.

She made it abundantly clear. Shun that weapon like the plague. Or else. There had been other things she'd reamed him out for, but he'd rather not think about them now.

He _really_ hoped Naofumi wasn't receiving the same treatment.

"Did she only ream you out?" Ren asked.

"Yeah… it felt like it at least." Itsuki turned his head to look at Ren. "What about you?"

…

"She reamed me out on some things… and talked with me on others." Ren said. Not explicitly mentioning anything. He really didn't want to tell Itsuki what they had talked about. Especially since it confirmed one of his worst fears.

"I hope they finish soon. This place is giving me the creeps." Itsuki said while looking around.

Ren again didn't comment. His mind was focused on something else…

...

"Ren, hey Ren?"

Ren jumped, almost slamming into Itsuki. "Hey, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Ren said defensively.

"I've been trying to talk to you for the past five minutes. But you've just been sitting there." Itsuki said.

…

"It's fine. You don't have to worry about me." Ren said despondently.

"Ren, seriously, what's going on?" Itsuki asked. "What did Fitoria talk to you about?"

Ren honestly wondered if he should tell Itsuki or not. But then he finally saw Naofumi walking out of the ruins. Fitoria was behind him.

"It was nothing. She just told me not to push my party away." Ren said calmly. It was a half-truth. She'd counseled him about not trying to go it alone with the trials he was facing. But for now, those trials would just be another secret he'd hide inside his heart.

Besides, Fitoria said he hadn't unlocked a specific one as far as she was able to tell. He didn't want to worry about it. He just wanted to forget it and move on.

The small group clustered together.

"**Transport Carriage.**"

A few seconds later, and they disappeared from the ruins.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Next chapter, we'll move on with the plot. I can't wait for the upcoming Pope fight.**

**The following omake is taken from the Shield Hero Discord Server. I've been waiting months to use this. Thanks a bunch, my fellow degenerates.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**It's Always Been Bitch**

* * *

"You think you have it bad? Look what happened to Myne here-" Motoyasu was saying. It looked like he was having some argument with Naofumi about something.

"That's Bitch."

...

The heroes went silent at the new individual's appearance. "Wha- who are you?!" Motoyasu asked confusedly.

"I'm Allen. And her name is Bitch." Allen said, pointing at the scarred bedridden redhead. She hissed like an angry cat and tried to get up to attack the author. But she was too pathetic to get up.

"But we haven't gotten to that point in canon yet! Naofumi hasn't officially renamed her!" Motoyasu said angrily.

"Metaing much?" Ren whispered under his breath.

"And what are you doing here anyway!? Don't you know that no one likes a self-insert?!" Motoyasu angrily asked.

"If only you knew," Allen muttered under his breath.

"What?" The Four Heroes looked confused.

"Anyway. I don't care. She's Bitch. Deal with it." Allen said.

"But, why?" Motoyasu asked in shock.

"Didn't you know. Her name has always been Bitch to me." Allen said.

"..." Motoyasu wasn't sure how to respond.

"By the way. Who's Myne?" Allen asked.

"This. This is why I like this guy," Naofumi said dryly. "He gets it."

"Naofumi…" Raphtalia lightly facepalmed.

"Again, who is Myne?" Allen asked.

"No, what's a Myne?" Naofumi said.

"Why is Myne?" Ren asked.

Even Motoyasu joined the huddle. Wanting to figure out the curious debate about what a Myne really was. Said 'Bitch' continued to struggle to get up from her bedspread. This author was getting in the way of her becoming Queen! And he was doing unspeakable, horrible things to her in his other AU fic! He had to pay!

Itsuki sighed. "I'll just prepare for us to get sued by Marvel again."

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	49. 49: Filo's Trial

**Since Reviews are broken (again, FF_Net, seriously, fix this problem permanently and stop putting a band-aid on it), I'll respond to M.J. here. It's actually Filo, not Firo. It's One Peace Books, Kadokawa, and Aneko (the Author) who put it as Filo, not Crunchyroll. Firo is the old WN non-canon name Aneko started with, and he/she changed it when they started writing the LN, which is canon. FF_Net still needs to fix that in the character sheet. Anyway, I'm not changing from the LN variation. Period.**

**With that out of the way, onto the story!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _35 more Favorites, 31 more Followers (Total: 1619 Favorites, 1834 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _June 29th, 2020 2:00 P.M._

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Nine:** _Filo's Trial_

* * *

The_ Next Morning (6 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"No, absolutely not."

Naofumi was cooking breakfast over a fire. And surrounding him were at least a dozen Filolials of varying colors. All of them looked up at him with wide, pleading, hungry eyes.

He, Ren, and Itsuki had returned a couple hours before sunrise with Fitoria. They'd had the chance to rest while Eclair kept watch, but after waking up, Ren and Itsuki said they were heading back to Seaetto to grab their parties. They'd be back by breakfast, hopefully. And after Fitoria was done with Filo, and if Van and the town was still safe, they'd make plans for portaling to the Waypoint they had set near the Capital.

They still weren't back yet. So Naofumi was passing the time making everyone's breakfast. But now, these gluttons were begging him to make breakfast for them too.

"Didn't you hear me? No means no." Naofumi said to the Filolials again, shooing them away from him.

"Don't be so mean to them!" Melty defended the Filolials from where she sat. "They have as much right to eat as you and me!"

"You shut it Second Princess!" Raphtalia and Filo were out fishing. There was no one to stop him from calling Melty by her annoying title now!

Melty's face turned a brighter red. Then the Filolials crowded around Naofumi again. Their eyes were even more wide and adorable than before.

"No, back you gluttons! Back I say!" Naofumi tried to defend the meal cooking over the fire. "Go to the forest if you're that hungry! I'm sure there's plenty of monsters to eat there!"

…

The Filolials pulled their last resort. Their wide eyes filled with tears. Pitiful gwehs came from their beaks. It looked like all of them were about to cry. His cooking just smelled so, so good. And they felt so at peace around this human.

Naofumi's face twisted. Damn it, why did their sad faces break his heart in ways he didn't think possible?! Was this some secret weapon the Filolials used for survival?!

Filo must never learn this trick. Ever.

"Alright! Fine! Have at it! See if I care!" Naofumi threw the meat he'd been carefully prepping up into the air.

"Gweh! Gweh! Gweh! Gweh!" The waterworks turned off. Filolials excitedly ran around after all the meat Naofumi had been cooking. Catching it in the air or tearing it to pieces when it landed on the ground.

Melty was smirking widely at him now. "There, was that so hard now, Naofumi?"

Naofumi grumbled something like _"Stupid Second Princess."_ Under his breath. He started throwing chunks of barely cooked meat at the ravenous Filolials while cooking more ammunition to appease them.

An unknown amount of time later, Raphtalia came back. She and Filo were both carrying a line with a dozen 2+ foot long fish hanging from it that Naofumi didn't recognize. She was smiling widely. "Look what we caught Naofumi!"

"Huh. What kind of fish are they?" He asked.

"They're Lurone Trout! They're really tasty!" Raphtalia said happily.

"Good job." Naofumi said dryly. "Maybe we won't starve after all." He offhandedly tossed the last chunk of barely cooked meat (which still obtained the benefits of his cooking shields) at the Filolials. They lazily chomped it down.

Finally, they rested contentedly on the ground.

Good thing too. He was out of monster carcasses to cook with. Between using Item Enchantment on his shields, cooking Filo's all you can eat meal, and now this, his supply of stored edible monsters in his Shield had been exhausted.

"Awwwww, Filo wants some too!" She complained. Seeing the Filolials resting with full stomachs on the ground made her jealous.

"Didn't you eat enough fish in the sea?" Raphtalia asked curiously.

"Yeahhhhhh, but Filo's hungry for Daddy's cooking now." Filo whined.

"You'll get breakfast when everyone else does." Naofumi said dryly. He'd already given her her reward yesterday. There was no way in hell he was putting himself through an all you can eat round with Filo again!

"Boo!" Filo pouted in complaint.

"How about you go play with Mel while Naofumi cooks?" Raphtalia suggested.

Filo continued pouting, but then she ran towards Mel. After all, she needed to make sure the tasty morsels resting on the ground hadn't corrupted her! "Let's play Mel!"

"Alright!" Melty excitedly got up and ran after the blonde loli.

"So, do you know why they're still staying around?" Raphtalia asked as she started gutting the fish so Naofumi could cook them.

Fitoria was outside the village at the moment, preparing an area for Filo and herself. Naofumi didn't get all the details about the trial from her. But it sounded like it'd involve fighting of some kind? But he hadn't told his party yet (since he'd opted to rest first).

"Fitoria wants to give Filo some kind of trial since she's a Filolial Queen." Naofumi said. Raphtalia gave him six of the fish, which he absorbed into his shield (they didn't unlock a new Shield, so he either absorbed them before, or they just weren't meant to unlock anything). The rest she laid out on a table. "She's just getting it ready."

"Huh." Raphtalia sliced off the head of a fish. "Mel explained to us last night after you left what a Filolial Queen was. To think that's what Filo has been all this time."

"Back in my world, some Fathers liked to claim that they treated their daughter like a princess." Naofumi said sarcastically. "I never thought I'd end up having to raise a princess."

Raphtalia finished gutting the first fish in record time. She handed it to Naofumi, who began seasoning it in preparation for cooking. "For some reason, I doubt that's going to make you treat her any differently." Raphtalia said sagely.

"You're damn right I'm not." Naofumi said. Melty was a very good example about how much he cared to treat royalty. Now, if Raphtalia was royalty, that would be a different story. But what were the _**odds**_ of that happening? "I'm glad she's at the point where she listens to us both. The last thing I need is for her to become snotty and spoiled again by learning she's royalty." Naofumi commented dryly.

"I doubt she'd become snotty and spoiled learning that. Besides, was she really snotty and spoiled a month ago?" Raphtalia asked.

… As she beheaded and gutted the rest of the Lurone Trout, Naofumi had to think about it. Sure, Filo complained about being hungry a lot. But she never really asked for much. She loved pulling the wagon. She loved collecting random shiny stuff. She loved receiving attention from him or Raphtalia. She sometimes had a problem with _listening_, but honestly, what kid _didn't_ have that problem?

It wasn't until Raphtalia was finishing the last fish that he spoke again. "... okay, so maybe she's not as spoiled as you were as a kid." Naofumi said.

"See, I told you-" Raphtalia was saying happily, glad that Naofumi was taking her side, when her mind caught up to the rest of Naofumi's sentence. "Wait! What is that supposed to mean?!" Raphtalia asked, hands on her hips and tail bristling behind her.

"Well. Between the ball and other toys I made for you. 'Your' childhood gluttonous appetite. Your demand for sweets. Peeing all over my cloak, -"

She blushed a bright red at that. "I, I only did that once! And I was growing quickly! I couldn't control my appetite-"

"- oh, there was also all the nights you climbed into my sleeping bag because you couldn't sleep. The hair brushing. And your constant need for headpats and hugs." Naofumi finished. "You were definitely far more spoiled."

"... You're so rude Naofumi." She said, looking away with a pout, and her tail wagging poutingly behind her. Okay, so maybe she had been a little more spoiled than their daughter. Was it her fault she liked receiving head pats when she did something good?! "And after I brought all this trout for you-"

Naofumi laid a kiss on her cheek, much to her surprise. "You turned out great though." He said with a smile. "So maybe Filo will turn out okay too." With that, he got back to cooking the trout Raphtalia had gotten ready. Whistling happily to himself as he did so.

Yes, this was good payback. Another point for the otakus!

...

Raphtalia's cheeks reached a new level of redness. She gripped the sides of her head. Her tail wagged fiercely behind her.

"MMMMMMMMMMMM!" How was Naofumi so infuriating, yet so DAMN KISSABLE at the same time?! It was a phenomenon of incomprehensible proportions!

She had to walk away to calm herself down. She was torn between yelling at him or throwing herself at him! But why did she want to throw herself at him!? She didn't know what she'd do after that!

Why were hormones so damn complicated?!

_'Ha. I'm glad she's feeling better.'_ His cheeks had a light dusting of red on them. But he smiled in victory. As long as he embarrassed her more than she embarrassed him, he'd be the victor.

Eventually, after separating the trout into six inch long strips of meat and seasoning them, he was done cooking. The smell attracted Filo and Melty, as well as a still slightly flustered Raphtalia. It was just in time too for Eclair to arrive from sword training. Along with Itsuki, Ren, and their parties.

Maybe it was a good thing the Filolials ate his original breakfast. By the time the others would have gotten there, it would have been cold.

"Has the trial happened yet?" Itsuki asked as they all sat down.

"Not yet. Fitoria should be back soon." Naofumi began handing out plates to everyone. Ren and Itsuki were slightly surprised to be having fish for breakfast, but Naofumi wasn't going to take complaints when the contented Filolials sleeping nearby had cleaned him out.

The next few minutes passed with everyone eating their breakfasts. The parties didn't say much to each other, but they had a lot to say when they got a taste of Naofumi's surprisingly good cooking.

"I would die if it meant eating food like this every day!" Bakta was in heaven.

"I don't even like seafood! What the hell is this?!" Aksel asked in disbelief. There was no way in hell this was seafood to him! It tasted wayyyyy too good!

"Sir Naofumi, have you ever considered opening a restaurant?" One of Ren's mages asked.

"I'd work there. Like, seriously! Sign me up!" Crystal said.

"That would be my favorite place in the world if it existed." Rachel, who was normally calm and composed, was moved to tears by the good cooking. She couldn't even see a trace of magic in the food. How was it possible for it to taste so good? Maybe this was why Naofumi was accused of being a devil. He could probably sway whole countries to do his bidding with his cooking.

Itsuki and Ren looked at each other worriedly. Was Naofumi's cooking really good enough to steal their party members away from them?... not that they could complain. If their weapons didn't keep them from getting experience when partied together, they'd travel around everywhere with Naofumi just for the sake of enjoying his cooking.

Naofumi groaned. Why did he get the feeling that he could never escape being everyone's chef now? Oh well. The fish tasted pretty darn good in his opinion. Like chicken mixed with pork. It was unlike any fish back in Japan he'd ever seen or cooked with, but its meat had been softer and easier to cook with than Monster meat. And it had been more enjoyable to cook this time around since it was closer to what he liked to make in Japan.

If Raphtalia caught more fish, he definitely wouldn't mind cooking it.

Wyndia glanced at Ren every now and then. But the Tsun girl was remaining silent. Rishia, the other quiet girl, was taking glances at Itsuki. Then Maya would notice, give her a thumbs up and a wide grin, and she'd silently "fueh" before focusing on her plate. Her face glowing a bright red.

It was when they were about finished with their meals, wishing there was more to eat, that Fitoria finally arrived. The others became silent. Even after Ren and Itsuki had described Fitoria to them, they were surprised at how small she looked. In human form, she really was only as tall as Filo. Maybe a little taller, but it was hard to tell.

"Good, everyone is here." She said. She looked at Naofumi. She then looked at Filo, who was confused about why the boring lady from yesterday was focusing on her.

"What do you want-"

Too quickly, Fitoria rushed forward through the air, grabbing Filo by the throat. The gust of wind almost blew everyone off their seats.

"You," Fitoria answered.

Before Filo could realize what was happening, Fitoria spun and threw Filo high and far in the air. Towards the area she'd had prepared outside the village.

"Filo-" Raphtalia was caught so off guard. She almost stumbled forward trying to stop Fitoria, but Naofumi hugged her close right as Fitoria used a wind spell to launch herself in the direction she'd thrown Filo. The wind knocked everyone out of their seats except Naofumi and Raphtalia. It also startled the sleeping Filolials awake.

"Gweh! Gweh! Gweh!" They stood up, scattering in a panic.

"What the hell!" Itsuki and Ren stood up, as well as their parties.

"What's going on?! Why is Fitoria suddenly fighting Filo!?" Melty asked worriedly.

"We have to find them!" Eclair said, drawing her sword.

"Was this what Fitoria meant by trial?" Raphtalia asked Naofumi worriedly.

Naofumi didn't answer and instead got up and calmly followed behind everyone. Gripping Raphtalia's hand in his.

* * *

Filo impacted the ground hard. She rolled over and over, before slamming into a random boulder.

One of the hills outside of the village had been leveled. Forming a battlefield of sorts. As Filo stumbled to get up, a magic barrier appeared around the area. Making a dome.

"What's going on?! Why are you doing this to Filo!?" Filo angrily demanded.

Fitoria floated in the air in front of her with the strength of her wind spell. She looked calmly down at the little girl that had the potential to take her place in the future. She looked disappointed.

"How can someone as pathetic as you be raised by a hero?" She asked, her tone of voice not changing.

"Pathetic! I'll show you pathetic!" Filo concentrated and tried to transform into her Queen form. However, the transformation didn't work. After a few seconds, she looked down at her hands in shock.

"The spell I've put over the area keeps us in our human forms. If you want to beat me-" Fitoria moved from the air to behind the surprised Filo. "-you'll have to fight me in this form."

Filo was turning her head and raising her hand in self-defense when Fitoria backslapped her away. Filo was sent flying, a shockwave bursting out from the place of contact.

"Filo!"

Melty and everyone else crested the hill by the village. They got the chance to have front row seats for what was going on down below. And it did not look pretty.

Filo backflipped in the air, and then dug her feet into the ground, stopping just short of slamming into the barrier. "Fine! Filo doesn't have to be big in order to beat you!" She had little to no experience fighting in her loli form. But that didn't mean she couldn't try! She burst forward in a blaze of speed. Bringing her hand back to ready a punch.

Fitoria sidestepped at the last second. Filo flew past in surprise. "You're too slow." She raised her hand, and in a chopping motion, slammed Filo into the ground in front of her. A wave of dust burst out from the point of contact. She then raised her foot back and kicked Filo away effortlessly. Another shockwave burst out from the contact as Filo was thrown into the air.

"Filo, no!" Raphtalia yelled in terror. What was happening?! This couldn't be what Naofumi had meant by trial!

"Fitoria! Stop this!" Itsuki yelled.

"This is insane! You're going to kill her!" Ren yelled in agreement. If there were any doubts about how strong Fitoria had been before, she was washing them away with how she was beating the hell out of Filo with hardly any effort.

"I cannot. Either she gives up, or she proves she's worthy of her status as a Filolial Queen. It will not stop until that point." Fitoria said calmly.

Filo struggled with getting up out of the ground. Her eyes widened, and she barely jumped to the side, avoiding the next attack from Fitoria.

"We have to stop this-" Ren ran into the barrier and flew back over his party. "Oof!"

"Yeah, I don't think we'll be penetrating that anytime soon," Naofumi muttered. "Filo! Remember, you don't have to just fight with your hands!" Naofumi yelled in support. "Use your magic!"

"Listen to Dad, Filo! You've got this!" Raphtalia yelled alongside Naofumi. It was like a set of parents encouraging their daughter at a sporting event. Only this one was a hundred times more deadly.

"R… Right!" Filo stood up, putting her hands in front of her. "As source of thy power, I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature, and blow my target away in a fierce tornado! **Fast Tornado!**" A funnel of wind burst from her hands, traveling towards Fitoria.

"Yes, you've got this Filo!" Melty cheered.

"As source of thy power, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature, and blow my target away in a fierce tornado. **Anti-Fast Tornado.**" Fitoria calmly uttered.

Filo's wind tornado suddenly died. Becoming just a small gust of wind that slightly raised Fitoria's hair. Filo took a step back in shock. "What, but-"

Fitoria appeared behind her again. "You're wide open."

She punched Filo, hard, in the gut. The poor blonde girl was launched up into the air.

Fitoria appeared in the air in front of and above her. "**Zweite Tornado**." A strong, powerful burst of wind erupted from Fitoria's hand.

"**Fast Gust!**" Filo, in a panic, tried to cast a wind spell to protect herself. But the Tornado easily burst through it and grabbed her in its clutches. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

"No, Filo!" Mel cried out in terror.

Eclair tried the same thing Ren had, but she was sent flying much farther away than Ren had. She disappeared over the hill. Crystal and Aksel both tried the same, but unlike the other two, they were pinned to the ground by some wind before they had the chance to strike at the barrier.

"Please. It is not my wish to harm you." Fitoria said to them. "This is the trial that must be performed for any Filolial Queen." She said calmly, as Filo struggled to lift herself to one knee. "They cannot afford to be weak. If they are to assist the Holy Heroes. If one is to take my place one day, he or she will have to be strong enough to fill my seat."

"Urgh…" Filo swayed where she stood.

Fitoria let out a sigh. "Perhaps this one is not strong enough for it."

"Naofumi… is there nothing we can do for her?" Raphtalia asked.

Despite knowing it was a trial, Naofumi had already tried to use **Fast Guard** to help Filo. But the barrier, whatever it was, had blocked the spell. It was keeping anyone out and everything in.

"I guess it's time for me to end this." Fitoria breathed in, and then a light green glow filled the air around her.

"I… I don't believe it," Melty said in shock. "She's sucking the mana out of the air around her."

"She's what?" Itsuki said.

"It's something even the most adept of mages like my Father struggle to learn!" Melty said. "It allows them to draw mana from the environment around them to power up their attacks!"

"She must be charging up for one hell of an attack then," Ren said, grimacing. There really wasn't anything they could do but watch.

Filo swayed in her spot. Almost falling to one knee again. "No..."

"I will make this swift, for your sake-" Fitoria was saying.

"Filo!" Naofumi yelled.

"Daddy?" Filo called back unsurely. Should she give up? It hurt to continue fighting. Especially when her efforts seemed meaningless. Fitoria was just so strong-

"I believe in you!" Naofumi yelled. "We believe in you! We know you can do this!

Fitoria gasped in recognition.

_"I believe in you, Fitoria. You can do this."_

"Remember, no matter what happens, Naofumi and I will still love you!" Raphtalia yelled to her encouragingly. It was like she was cheering up her own kid at a sports event.

"So don't just stand there and take a beating! Fight back with everything you've got!" Naofumi yelled, forming an angry determined fist in front of him. "And use your head! You're not going to win unless you think about how you're going to beat her!"

Filo looked surprised, and then she nodded determinedly. "Got it!" She faced Fitoria again. She couldn't give up now! She had her parents to think about! They were still cheering for her! They still believed in her! She'd watched them go through many difficulties recently, but they were all the stronger for it! So maybe, she could press on and believe in herself and get stronger for them!

She took a wide-legged stance and breathed in, similar to Fitoria. Green lights, fewer than what Fitoria had surrounding her, started flowing into Filo. Even though she was pretty badly hurt, she had been paying attention to Fitoria during the fight. Enough to recognize how she had sucked in mana.

The others were surprised by it. "Filo… can do it too?" Melty asked.

"Where did she learn to do that?" Raphtalia asked in surprise.

"Hmmm." Their daughter had always shown a little too much proficiency in quickly learning magic just by watching others. He smirked. Was that what Fitoria was looking for? A quick learner.

"Hmm, maybe you do have some potential. Even if it is a little." Fitoria said. It was in the same tone of voice as before, but there was a hint of something else in it.

Filo didn't wait to have Fitoria finish charging up whatever her attack was. She decided if she was going to win this, she herself would have to go **all out**!

The green lights finished absorbing into Filo. "**Haikuiku!**" In a blaze of speed faster than the normal eye could follow, Filo burst forward. Punching and kicking all around Fitoria.

Fitoria for her part held her own pretty well. Blocking each attack with ease. "Don't attack recklessly. Use your speed to focus on breaking your opponent's defense."

"Is she… helping her now?" Eclair asked.

Naofumi smirked more widely. "Yes. Yes, she is." He was right. The trial wasn't supposed to just be a one-sided smackdown. It was supposed to be a learning experience for Filo, to show her how much she had to learn. If Filo showed potential like she was now, she would learn from the master.

It was another classic anime trope. He should have seen this coming a mile away. Then again, it could have also been the classic OP character beating down weak character trope. But those normally ended in one punch. And the weak character generally underestimated the OP character.

A simple jab was enough to send Filo back. But then she almost immediately closed the distance again. This time, the girl focused the attacks of her **Haikuiku** on what she judged to be Fitoria's weak points. More specifically, her left elbow.

After a second of fast placed blurs, it worked. With a powerful kick to the left elbow at the right angle, Filo knocked Fitoria off balance in the air. Fitoria barely avoided the punch after that, but part of the hair on the right side of her head was shaved off from the attack.

"Good." Fitoria unleashed a blast of wind, knocking Filo away again. "But not good enough." She raised her hands in front of her again. "**Zweite Gust**."

Filo landed on the ground more gracefully than before and raised her own hands. "**Anti-Zweite Gust**."

The burst of wind Fitoria had formed dispersed before reaching Filo. She hadn't just learned to suck in mana. "**Haikuiku!** AssourceofthypowerIordertheedecipherthelawsofnatureandblowmytargetawayinafiercetornado!**ZweiteTornado!**" Using the speed granted to her by Haikuiku, Filo sped up her chant exponentially. It took a lot of mana, but her counter-attack formed and headed right for Fitoria.

"**Zweite Tornado.**" Fitoria, instead of trying to use an Anti spell which would require her to say all of what Filo had chanted, decided to use her own spell to intercept Filo's. The two tornadoes slammed into each other mid-air, and if it wasn't for the barrier, Naofumi and the others would have been blown away by the force of the impact.

A haze of dark cloudy tornadoes obstructed Fitoria's vision. However, after a few seconds, her tornado won out. Filo's tornado dispersed, and her tornado flew on to strike the ground Filo had been standing on with a harsh **Crack!**

"You should have known even if you got magic off, it wouldn't be powerful enough to beat mine," Fitoria said calmly.

"I did!"

Fitoria looked up in surprise. Filo wasn't standing in her original spot. She had instead used the force of the wind to fly up into the air. Using the dark clouds of the tornadoes as cover to get her in close. "And now, you're going down!"

YES! This was what Naofumi meant when he told her to think! He'd never been more proud of his daughter than he was now!

Filo punched down, and Fitoria quickly formed a barrier above herself. Filo's punch connected with the barrier, but she didn't stop pressing down. Her fist glowed as mana became inserted into the punch.

"Good job Filo!" Raphtalia yelled happily.

"You can do it! Just a little more!" Melty cheered alongside Raphtalia. The others started yelling encouragement to the little girl.

"Your attack is still pathetic. You'll never break this barrier." Fitoria said calmly.

Filo yelled. She had to go farther. Faster. Stronger! She had to push herself for her mommy, her daddy, her best friend! Everyone she cared about and wanted to-!

Her hands became covered in a weird claw-like construct made of wind. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

The barrier above Fitoria cracked. She stared, shocked at Filo's determination. It was like... she was seeing herself from so long ago. "I'LL BEAT YOU! I'LL DO IT!" Filo yelled. "**I'LL BEAT YOUUUUUUU!**"

The barrier shattered.

The burst of wind from it almost sent Filo entirely off course. But as she flew past, her wind claws leaving a slight, bleeding scratch on Fitoria's still stunned cheek.

**BOOM!**

Filo crashed into the ground. Leaving a billowing storm of dust around her.

…

…

"Filo… can't give up… I have to beat you..."

Filo stumbled forward out of the dust. "I have to get better." She stumbled a step towards Fitoria, who alighted on the ground. "I have to get faster." She stumbled another step forward. "I have to get stronger."

Fitoria watched, Filo gradually stumbling exhaustedly closer. "Why?" She simply asked.

"So I can protect them. My mommy, my daddy, my best friend, and everyone else." She stumbled forward the last step, crying softly. "I care about." She pressed a tired fist against Fitoria's chest. Still crying softly.

The Heroes and their parties watched in stunned amazement.

…

"You did well, Filo." Fitoria softly patted the blonde girl on the head. "I admit defeat."

With that, the barrier over the area fell. And Filo collapsed in a tired heap.

* * *

_Several minutes later_

Filo had to be carried back to the village after the trial. Fitoria used healing magic on her to help her recover.

It was still very much a surprise what Fitoria had done. But now, Ren, Itsuki, and their parties realized Fitoria was only testing Filo, so Filo was being showered with congratulations for passing. Especially by Melty, who couldn't stop beaming.

"You were so amazing! You were like swoosh, and she was like whoosh! And when your attacks combined in the middle, it was just so, so, eeeeeeeeee!" Melty was totally fangirling it out now.

Naofumi almost wanted to ask if she actually was the President of the Filolial fan club.

"Are you thinking of something rude?" Raphtalia asked. They were a little ways away observing Filo.

"Never." He lied with a straight face as Melty hugged Filo tightly. Filo eventually managed to disentangle herself from her best friend and ran up to Naofumi and Raphtalia.

"Mommy! Daddy! Did Filo do good?!" She asked excitedly.

Naofumi patted her head. "You did amazing." He said honestly. "Good job."

"Ehehe!" Filo's face brightened exponentially. It was almost too adorable.

"You were wonderful sweetie." Raphtalia looked over the moon with joy.

"Congratulations, Filo. You have passed my trial." Fitoria said, smiling warmly at the blonde girl as Naofumi stepped back. The Filolials from earlier were now surrounding them. "You have more than earned this reward."

Her carriage necklace glowed, and a small box appeared in her hands. She opened it and inside rested a small tiara.

"That looks like something a princess would wear," Melty said curiously.

"Indeed. This will mark Filo as my heir." Fitoria said. "Wear this as proof of your strength and courage."

"So cool!" Melty's eyes beamed. She was now going to be best friends with Fitoria's heir! AWESOME!

"Hmmm?" Filo looked it over curiously, and then she put it on. She hoped it wouldn't get lost in a fight or whatever. But then, it glowed with a bright light and vanished. "Huh?"

Then, much to everyone's surprise, a cowlick grew out the front of her hair. "Ahhhhh! What's up with Filo's hair?!" Filo cried.

"It is a sign of royalty. Wear it with pride, Filo." Fitoria said, smiling warmly.

"No! Filo didn't ask for this!" Filo pulled the cowlick off, crying in pain as she did so. Then, another one grew in its place. "No! No no no no no!" She pulled it out repeatedly. Even though it hurt her to do it. Some of the people couldn't help but laugh as they tried to get her to calm down and stop.

"You will only gain more as you grow more powerful. They never go away. So I'd get used to it if I were you." Fitoria said. Indicating the three cowlicks she had on her head.

"Nooooooooo!" Filo fell to her knees in anguish. She'd only been born over a month ago, and now she had to deal with cowlicks for the rest of her life!

As ridiculous as it looked, Naofumi couldn't argue with the stat boost it gave Filo. _'With her stuck at level 40, this will be a huge help.'_ He thought happily. In a way, he was also proud of Filo. She'd learned more in that short bout than she had any other time fighting in her life. And she'd learned skills that'd make her a pain to fight, whether she was large, or small form.

Some of the Filolials burst out from behind Filo and threw her into the air cheering. "Ahhhhh!"

"Of course. We must celebrate." Fitoria said to her friends.

"Awww! They want to celebrate Filo's coronation!" Melty said happily.

"No! Filo doesn't want this! Stop it!" Unfortunately, no one paid Filo's complaints any mind. Ren and Itsuki's parties were all for it. It had been hard and difficult for a while. And they were going to the Capital soon. So they eagerly took the chance for a celebration. And with that, the rest of the day melded into a blur.

Fitoria summoned the Tyrant Dragon Rex corpse using her weird spell. Naofumi finally noted it was similar to the skills Ren and Itsuki used to portal their parties around. However, he didn't pay it much thought after that since Fitoria summoned it and gave it to him to cook for the celebration.

He was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

For once, he didn't complain about cooking. In fact, he very much enjoyed it, since it was for a celebration, and since he didn't do it alone. Ren helped him slice the meat off into cookable portions. Bakta and Aksel gathered wood for the fires. Wyndia, and surprisingly Rishia, used fire magic to light them. Maya and Raphtalia helped to gather seasonings and other herbs Naofumi requested from the forest.

Overall, it came out really, really good! And there was so much of it, that he didn't have to worry about running out! Even with the Filolials, Filo, and Fitoria (she had quite the appetite herself!) feasting on it!

As for what the three parties did, Rachel showed off cool tricks with her magic. Welt pulled out a violin and provided what sounded like country music to Naofumi. He'd never heard it before. It was fast-paced like a folk dance. And he was actually fairly decent at it. Crystal, Maya, and some of the others danced to it. Bakta and Aksel had a personal dance-off between each other to see who was better. It seemed like those two had to compete on everything.

The dance-off only peaked higher when Itsuki pulled out a violin of his own. Naofumi's first impression of the blonde boy when they were summoned was that he looked like one of those kids who spent their time practicing on a piano. The way his fingers were built and everything. It turned out the assumption was very much correct. The blonde teen not only played the tune Welt had been playing, but he played it almost better than he had. Rishia watched as if mesmerized. And Itsuki ended up playing other songs for the rest of the celebration. Some of which sounded oddly like anime theme songs to Naofumi.

At one point, Melty begged Fitoria to show her how large she could become. And the Filolial Queen grew into a 20-meter tall GIANT! NO WONDER SHE CLAIMED TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ON THE TYRANT DRAGON REX! SHE COULD LOOK THAT THING IN THE EYES IF IT WAS ALIVE!

And she only made the girl happier by giving her a ride on her head behind her crown of feathers up top. Melty couldn't have been happier.

The only one who seemed even slightly unhappy was Eclair since she couldn't go away and do some sword training. However, she eventually became happier when Ren and Raphtalia attempted to spar against her together. Only for her to majorly kick their butts. Ren tried to claim she cheated, but Wyndia slapped him and told him not to act so childishly. Much to his embarrassment, and the laughter of everyone else there.

Naofumi didn't mind that he spent most of his time cooking for everyone. He was content with just watching everyone have fun.

And thus the rest of the day passed.

* * *

The carcass of the Tyrant Dragon Rex was nothing but bones. The entire thing had been stripped of meat. It had been feasted on until it was gone. All that was left was for it to be absorbed to be used to power the Hero's Strengthening Methods.

'_Wow… now that was a lot of cooking.'_ Naofumi thought, cleaning the last of the pots he'd used in the water source Melty had made. _'But that was satisfying cooking.'_

Said princess was now asleep next to Filo amidst Fitoria's Filolial friends. All of them looked plump and fat from the day's feast. Ren and Itsuki, as well as their parties, were also sleeping amongst the Filolials. Even Fitoria was asleep in the center, though the Filolials had given her space to rest.

She'd mentioned she was traveling to the sight of a wave tomorrow. Naofumi was glad she was resting. She seemed like the type who pushed herself too often. And call it the Father in him, but Fitoria looked like she needed the rest.

He finished putting the rest of the pots in his inventory. Then he absorbed a third of the bones from the Tyrant Dragon Rex. The rest could go to the other two heroes.

It was time for him to go to bed too. But first, he'd noticed that Raphtalia wasn't sleeping with everyone else. '_Where would she be now…'_

…

He walked around for a little while. Looking throughout the village. Eventually, he decided to look at the cliffside.

He arrived at the cliffside, and sure enough, Raphtalia was there. Unlike before though, she was on her knees. Holding her hands reverently over the graves. A set of fresh flowers had been laid over each one.

This wasn't the broken girl he'd found here before. But he felt worry spike in him again. He had to make sure for himself.

Her ears flicked on her head, listening to his approach. He rested a hand on her shoulder. "You know you didn't do this to them, right?" He asked her worriedly.

"... Yes, I know." She said quietly.

He was still worried and wanted to say more. But she looked up and smiled at him. "Naofumi, would you kneel next to me?" She asked. "There's someone I need to introduce you to."

Naofumi looked surprised at her smile, but he listened and knelt on the ground next to her. She took his hand off her shoulder, and set it at the foot of the grave on the right. "Momma, Pappa, this is the great Shield Hero you told me so much about in your stories." Raphtalia smiled happily. "I'm sorry. I would have introduced him last time… but you know what happened."

Naofumi gulped. Raphtalia looked strangely vulnerable in a way he hadn't seen before.

"I've gotten to fight side by side with Naofumi for the last couple of months. It's been interesting. He's so brave. He tries to act cold at times, but he's really caring. We've already saved a village from a Wave. We're raising a little girl, her name's Filo, together. We've gotten to…" Raphtalia continued. Telling her parents and Rifana the story of what they'd been doing.

It felt personal. Almost too personal. Naofumi almost thought he should leave to give Raphtalia and her parents some privacy. But her hand gripped his gently. Keeping him there.

Raphtalia looked over the graves. Tears leaking from her eyes, yet she was still smiling. "I… I wanted to tell you… I'm going to do what you told me to do… I'm going to smile. Even when things get hard. I'll do my best. I'll be strong so I can smile for everyone, and help them to smile." She said.

The sacredness of the moment wasn't lost on Naofumi. Japanese held their ancestors as sacred. His parents had been complete jerks. But his grandparents had taken Naofumi to shrines when he was younger. Those places held a sacred air about them, much like what Naofumi felt here.

Raphtalia was quiet. As if she was listening to someone. Naofumi felt that he should speak.

"You have an amazing daughter." He said. "She's strong. Stronger than she gives herself credit for. She won't kill because of revenge or hate. She wants to protect those around her and help them to be happy..." He looked down at that. "She'd have been better suited to be the Shield Hero than me." He admitted.

She looked at him in surprise. He then looked at the graves determinedly. "I haven't been doing my job as the Shield Hero. Raphtalia and everyone else I care deeply about shouldn't have to be going through these difficulties because of me." If he hadn't run away that first night, if he hadn't chosen to keep running, if he had chosen to do a multitude of other things differently, the problems they'd been dealing with would have never escalated to what they were now. They probably would have never had to deal with such difficulties. Raphtalia deserved a lot more. "I promise, I'll make things right. So your daughter won't have to struggle to smile ever again."

Raphtalia sniffed. Naofumi looked at her. She looked… really happy. "I'm… I'm happy Keel and the others survived…" She looked at him with tears in her eyes, and then she hugged him. He reciprocated and allowed her to softly cry into his shoulder. "I'm happier to have you with me."

Naofumi held her close for a few seconds. But it felt like an eternity. And eventually, they separated and looked back down at the graves. "It's okay mother, father, Rifana." She remembered what her friend Rifana had said way back when. "I'll be happy with the Shield Hero for you, Rifana. I'll protect his smile with my sword. I promise."

_"Good. Kiss the Shield Hero for me, Raphtalia. He looks like he needs it."_

Raphtalia lightly blushed. Naofumi helped her up. "We should rest now. We're going to have a long day tomorrow."

She looked to him, smiled, and kissed him on the lips. Much to his surprise. She separated after a few seconds. "Alright. Thank you for this, Naofumi."

As they walked back to the camp, Naofumi was blushing a brighter red than Raphtalia. Her tail wagged happily behind her too.

The score between them was tied once more.

Damn it.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Fitoria is one strong birb. I liked writing this chapter a lot.**

**The next day, they're off to the Capital. And we get to deal with problems that have been building since Arc 2. What awaits our Heroes upon their arrival? How will they go about the situation? Will they be able to convince Motoyasu to help? Will they depose the Pope and end the war with Siltvelt before the Wave strikes?**

**Find out. And review to your heart's content!**

**Also, on a side note. I love making omakes about Naofumi's struggles to increase his damage. Keep those kinds of ideas coming.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**Item Enchantment**

* * *

"Come on. Just give me a good enchantment, please."

He used some of the Tyrant Dragon bones to enchant a shield. It gave him a **-4%** **Damage from balloon monsters** **Lvl. 1 **enchantment. His right eye twitched in agitation.

"I swear. I'm only going to do this one more time. And if you give me one more useless enchantment, I'm going to break you."

His Shield gave him a zap. **Ha, you can't break me unless this world ends.** The text appeared on his HUD. **So good luck with that.**

"Screw you!" Naofumi chose the enchant option on one of his Chimera series of shields. He almost hoped it'd be worthless, so he'd have a good excuse to destroy the damn shield.

**+1% Damage dealt by Snake Venom Fang (large) Lvl. 1**

…

Naofumi blinked several times in astonishment. "Did… did I just…"

He had to look it over from several different angles. Including, strangely enough, from under his Shield.

"YES! I DID IT!" He screamed in victory. It was only a 1% increase, but it was an INCREASE!

"What did you do Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked curiously.

"I FINALLY FOUND A WAY TO INCREASE MY DAMAGE!" He was bursting with happiness. He grabbed Raphtalia by the face and kissed her several times in excitement before running around in excitement again. "WOOHOOOO!" Sure, it was only damage from a specific skill. BUT IT WAS DAMAGE NONETHELESS!

As he ran around again, Raphtalia clutched to her face in embarrassment. The kissing had just come from out of nowhere. And then-

"Wait, I can't just stop at level 1!" Naofumi stopped running around and looked at his Shield excitedly. Suddenly, it was like he held all the power in the world. He had an evil grin on his face.

Was it any wonder why his Shield didn't trust him with an attack stat?

"I'll increase this enchantment to level 10! Then, I'll be able to do some serious damage with this counter of mine! Yes, I can see it now!" He clicked the option to upgrade the enchantment. The chance of success was 99%. He had it in the bag-

**Enchantment Failed**

The enchantment reset. Getting rid of the damage enchantment.

…

…

...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naofumi had the expected freak out. Bashing his shield into the ground again and again.

**Lol, how's that low attack stat treating ya?** The Yandere Shield's text appeared on his HUD.

Raphtalia sweatdropped, seeing Naofumi switch to the **Shield of Rage II** to try and burn the Shield against the ground and destroy it. "Oh, dear. Here we go again."

"I'll ****ing end you! YOU HEAR ME YOU STUPID YANDERE SHIELD! NOT EVEN YOUR DUST WILL REMAIN WHEN I'M DONE PULVERIZING YOU!"

Raphtalia went to grab Filo. Before Naofumi really lost it again.

"DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	50. 50: Snap, Reality Check

**Just wanted to say. We've officially passed the 500,000 view mark. Also, this fic's one year anniversary is coming up soon. Thanks again for all the support, and I hope you all are able to enjoy today's chapter!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _33 more Favorites, 29 more Followers (Total: 1652 Favorites, 1863 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:**_ July 6th, 2020 1:41 P.M. (EST)_

* * *

**Chapter Fifty:** _Snap, Reality Check_

* * *

_Two Days Ago (7 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

The figure sitting on the porch breathed in heavily, and then slowly exhaled. His gold-colored eyes roamed over the forest around him. His white ears flicked this way and that, listening to the gentle breeze gently rustling the plants. His black and white striped tail flicked lightly against the wood of the porch.

Dou-Lon felt good. Actually, he felt better than he ever had before. The pain in his abdominal area was gone. He'd been allowed to check. Only a small scar to the side of his belly button and a small scar on his back to the side of his spine remained. He'd been termed fully recovered two days ago, and allowed to do what he pleased.

He no longer had to drink that tasty explosive medicine, whatever it was, that the old widow had been giving him. He was allowed to walk outside of the home. To do stretches. To fix meals. Whatever he wanted…

He sighed sadly. He lifted his knees and rested his head on them.

"Hakuko Dou-Lon is still here?"

Dou-Lon didn't respond as the short old wrinkled lady shuffled out onto the porch. She rested on a small cane. Otherwise, she looked the same as before. She frowned, observing him for a moment before speaking again. "I thought Hakuko Dou-Lon couldn't wait to leave. Is there reason why Hakuko Dou-Lon wishes to stay?"

"... maybe…" Dou-Lon said.

"Hmmm… Hakuko Dou-Lon is sad." She observed.

"... very sad." He admitted.

During his recovery, he'd also had time to ponder. To think about what he'd done before. Betraying the Shield Hero with his slip of tongue. Getting his friends killed… being unsure if he'd even been out doing the right thing, to begin with. Trying to find the Shield Hero so he could bring him back to a place that would be just as dangerous as Melromarc.

"Why is Hakuko Dou-Lon sad?"

Dou-Lon chuckled sadly. "Because I finally realized it." He said. "I didn't come here for a good cause. Hell, I only made things worse with my actions. I don't deserve to see the Shield Hero... I never did."

"Did you not believe you came for good cause?" The old lady asked curiously.

"Yeah, I mean, I thought I did. But I didn't."

The old lady chuckled. "Then Hakuko Dou-Lon is conflicted."

"I'm not conflicted!" He said angrily, getting up and facing her. He towered over the short lady, made shorter by the fact that she leaned on a cane. "I was wrong! I was stupid and naive! I let my beliefs get in the way. I listened to my friends when I shouldn't have! And now I'm-"

"Conflicted."

…

Dou-Lon fell to his knees. He felt tears fill his eyes. Yes, he felt conflicted. Part of him still felt like it had been the right thing to come here. To try and help out the Shield Hero in whatever way possible. Even if it meant bringing him to Siltvelt. And he was ashamed of himself for it… ashamed that he'd listened to his friends instead of trying to convince them to change their opinions, to change their mission to assist the Shield Hero and his party.

The old lady placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hakuko Dou-Lon. There's nothing to be ashamed of. The most honorable still capable of mistakes."

"But this was a big mistake," Dou-Lon said sadly. "I did great dishonor to my Hero… my nation's God. My nation has done great dishonor to the Great Shield Hero. How can I ever make up for what I did?"

"... Well. You won't make up for it crying on my porch!" The old lady slapped him across the face, briefly shocking him. When he looked down at her though, she was smiling. "Silly Hakuko. Has anything been accomplished by those who sat and did nothing?"

He shook his head. Still shocked by the slap. It'd been a little while since she'd last slapped him. It was like she had become a grandma to him over the course of his treatment. A crazy, old, yet caring grandma nonetheless. "Dou-Lon. You are good Hakuko." She said, rubbing the top of his head. His tail flicked back and forth behind him at the action. "Like your great uncle, you care for your people. But unlike him, you also care for others. You have big heart." She poked his chest. "I should know. I saw it myself."

"Whoa! Whoa!" Dou-Lon stumbled back, almost falling off the porch. "Okay, I did not need to know that!"

The old lady laughed. It was a serene sound, and it made him oddly happy. "Go, you know what you must do now, Hakuko Dou-Lon."

And the weird thing was, Dou-Lon did know what he had to do. For some reason he couldn't understand, he felt strongly that the Shield Hero needed him. And soon.

"How will I know where to go though?" He asked.

"Trust your instincts. They will not fail you, should you listen." She turned around and began to shuffle towards the doorway.

Dou-Lon thought on it. And almost turned around to leave, but then turned his head to ask one last question. "What is your name?" He'd asked several times since first waking up, but she'd never answered him.

…

"I forgot how pesky you Hakuko could be. You think yourself worthy to hear it?"

Dou-Lon growled lowly and turned around to leave. If the old hag was going to keep it to herself, then-

"Ming."

Dou-Lon stopped and looked back at the old lady. She was facing him again and giving him a smile. "My name is Ming…"

"... Ming, thank you."

"I should thank you, Hakuko Dou-Lon. You have made my last few weeks… interesting." She said before she turned and closed the door behind her.

Chuckling, Dou-Lon leaped from the porch and dashed into the forest. "Ming… it's almost like she grew up in Siltvelt with a name like that…" After a few seconds, he paused and then turned around. He had to ask if that's why she knew so much about Siltvelt. Had she grown up there herself? He also realized he hadn't properly thanked her. He'd only said it. He hadn't shown his thanks.

However, when he came back to the clearing, the small home was no longer there. He paused in shock. '_What…'_

Not even the smell of her good cooking lingered in the area. It was like the place had never existed… or maybe, was it hidden by advanced magic?

Dou-Lon bowed in reverence. There were few people capable of such magic. Of making the medicine she had. "Ming, whoever you really are, thank you for what you did for me. I will never forget this."

"_Trust your instincts, young Hakuko. They shall guide you as mine has guided me._"

He got up, turned around, and ran back into the forest.

Trusting his instincts, he chose a direction, and mid-leap over a log, he changed into his therianthrope form. On all fours, the white, black striped tiger dashed into the forest.

* * *

_Present (5 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

The night passed all too quickly for Naofumi. One moment, he'd laid on his bedroll to rest. Then, he'd been dreaming good dreams. And then, just when the dream was getting really good, Ren gently shook his shoulder.

"We're leaving soon. You should get ready." He said calmly.

Naofumi groaned tiredly. Couldn't he dream of ear floofing and tail fluffing a little longer (which was weird, since he'd never floofed Raphtalia's tail before)? Still, he got up nonetheless. Rolling up his sleep roll so he could store it in his shield.

Their small camp buzzed with activity. Crystal was sharpening the tip of her spear. Eclair was sparring with Raphtalia and Welt, helping to wake themselves up. Bakta, Maya, Wyndia, and Aksel were helping to make sure everyone's supplies were gathered and packed. Melty and Filo were making sure all the Filolials were accounted for (Melty had likely named them all by this point). Rachel, Tersia, and Farrie were making sure they were well stocked on Mana Healing potions. And Ren and Itsuki were making sure that everyone was up and getting ready to head out.

Today was the day. They were finally going back to the Capital. Naofumi was finally going to deal with the Pope and all the crap he'd been put through by him and the Church once and for all. As well as settle things with Motoyasu.

Naofumi finished cleaning up his area just as Fitoria approached him. "Shield Hero. What do you plan to do now?"

"What do I plan to do?" Naofumi said dryly. "I'm going to the Capital. I'm going to reason with Motoyasu. And I'm going to deal with the evil people there who've made my life a living hell once and for all. So me and the others can do our jobs as Heroes in this damn world."

Fitoria hummed in affirmation. Then she plucked one of her cowlicks from her head. "May I?" She asked, indicating to his Shield.

Naofumi placed his shield arm in front of her, and she dropped the cowlick in the gemstone.

Naofumi's eyes widened as his HUD alerted him to a variety of shields that were forcibly unlocked. After it was done, he had the entire **Filolial series** of shields. He couldn't use some of the Shields since he was below the level requirement, but they all gave some cool bonuses. Bonuses that would help Filo's baseline stats and bonuses that would help her grow even stronger as she leveled up.

"I gave one to the Sword and Bow Heroes too. Even if they aren't raising Filolial Queens, it should help them in your coming battle." Fitoria said matter of factly.

"You already gave me that enchantment two nights ago… and Filo's gift yesterday... why give me and the others this too?" Naofumi asked.

"I chose long ago not to interfere with the affairs of humans. But that doesn't mean I won't do what I can to assist the Holy Heroes." She said seriously. "If your goal is to help the world, I will assist you, however I can."

Naofumi nodded. "It is."

"Then, if the Spear Hero does choose to help, will you give him this too?" She plucked one last cowlick from her head and wrapped it in a cloth before handing it to Naofumi.

"Motoyasu helping us…" That seemed like a task almost as daunting as facing the Pope and his followers. Yet Fitoria was looking at him with confidence.

"Fitoria. You're too nice. You know that?" Naofumi said sarcastically.

Fitoria was far above pouting. She simply smiled knowingly. "I've been told that before." Naofumi patted her on the head, and she had to resist smiling uncontrollably.

The others were almost ready when a wagon rolled into the area. "Sir Heroes!"

"Who is he?" Fitoria asked.

Naofumi looked and saw Van smiling widely, waving to him from the driver's bench of a wagon being pulled by a different Filolial. "A good man. One of the few people in this country that actually likes me." He walked over as Van pulled over. Fitoria went to make sure her flock was ready. "What is it, Van?"

"I heard you were preparing to leave. I wanted to give my thanks as well as my people for all that you've done to help and protect us." Van said, bowing in respect. "We all wish you good luck at the Capital."

"Thanks. I'm not sure that luck will help us much today though." Naofumi said dryly.

"I agree. Which is why I'm pleased to give this back to you." Van pulled out a familiar set of armor from the back of the wagon. Naofumi's eyes widened when he recognized his Barbarian Armor. Shining and gleaming in the light of the morning sun.

"My blacksmith finally finished the repairs last night. It was a mess for him to fix with everything else he has to make. But he added a self repairing enchantment to it." Van said as he handed it to Naofumi.

**Barbarian Armor 1.5**

**Barbarian Armor 1.5: Effects: Defense Up. Wind Resistance (Small). HP Recovery (Slight). Auto Repair (Small)**

Naofumi looked down at the chainmail armor he'd been wearing the last couple of days. And almost too quickly, he ran behind some rubble to change. He came out less than a minute later, donned in his old armor and cloak. It felt like he'd been reunited with an old friend. He'd never felt so excited to have his armor back.

Now he felt ready for anything that'd be thrown at him! "Thanks, Van. I promise the next time you see us, it'll be to tell you it's safe to return home." Naofumi said seriously, and gratefully.

The noble gave him a firm handshake. "We'll have to wait and see, Sir Naofumi. Make sure the Second Princess doesn't receive any harm." He said, a note of seriousness in his voice.

"Melty! It's Melty!" The girl yelled at Van.

The others were gathering together around Fitoria. The Filolials looked eager to go. Naofumi nodded to Van and then walked over to everyone. He might have also allowed his cape to trail epically behind him in the sea breeze.

Got to pull those hero moments whenever possible.

"Take us there, Fitoria."

Fitoria nodded. And placed a hand to her necklace.

"**Transport Carriage.**"

"Return us our country, Holy Heroes." Van bowed. "We're all counting on you."

A bright glow surrounded the entire group. And then they disappeared.

* * *

The bright glow faded, and Naofumi found himself standing on the edge of a ridge in the forest. In the distance rose the walls of the South Gate of the Capital.

"Whoa, did that feel different to anyone else?" Askel asked.

"It felt just like Sir Itsuki's skill." Rachel said with a shrug.

"Maybe it's because someone else transported us?" Welt suggested. The other party members conversed amongst themselves.

"I'm sorry. This is as far as I'm willing to take you." Fitoria said to Naofumi, Ren, and Itsuki.

"It's fine. Thank you again for this." Itsuki said.

"I hope you're able to handle that Wave safely," Ren said.

Fitoria nodded at them. "Remember my words from before, Holy Heroes." The carriage on her necklace glowed. After a second, the royal carriage they'd seen before was behind her again. Looking more closely at it, Naofumi and the others saw a gemstone on the roof. Fitoria then changed form herself. Besides the carriage, she looked indistinguishable from any other normal Filolial.

"Oh, so that's how she does it..." Filo focused, and suddenly she changed from looking like a large owl to a large ostrich. Naofumi and Raphtalia hadn't seen her look like that for a long time. "Gweh! Gweh!" Filo looked at herself in surprise. "Gweh?"

"Can she… not speak in that form?" Raphtalia asked.

"It appears she hasn't found out how to change her voice box as I have," Fitoria said. Looking Filo over herself. It was an impressive transformation. Flawed, but good.

"Gweh?"

"Looks like we finally found a way for her to stay quiet," Naofumi said dryly.

"Gweh! Gweh! Gweh!" Filo squawked indignantly.

"I'm sure he was joking, Filo." Raphtalia petted Filo's long neck, trying to calm her down. "You were joking, right Naofumi?"

"How does she get her carriage to do that?" Itsuki asked.

"I'm not sure…"

"Me neither…" The Three Heroes were now looking at Fitoria's carriage. Wondering how the hell she was able to get it to change forms.

"Gweh!" Filo pouted at them all. And then she changed back into her child form. Still pouting at her daddy for being rude. "Meanies!"

"Farewell, Holy Heroes." Fitoria waved to them with a wing, before facing the southeast. She and her flock ran into the forest. After a moment, they disappeared from view.

…

"So, Naofumi. Where should we start?" Itsuki asked.

Everyone in the group looked at Naofumi. He looked around at everyone in disbelief. What were they all looking at him for? Was he the go-to man for everything they did now?!

Itsuki and Ren didn't say anything. But Naofumi saw the vulnerability in their eyes. They were Heroes, but they were also teenagers. They were scared. They had no idea what was going to happen next. Ren had almost died at the hands of the Pope. And Itsuki had lost someone to the Pope's shadows. They wanted this to end. But they didn't want anyone else they cared for to get hurt or killed for their actions.

Naofumi got to thinking. "From what we know. We're going to need to either convince Motoyasu to help us or knock him out before we face the Pope." He said.

"Why before-" Aksel was asking.

"So he doesn't attack them during a critical fight, idiot!" Crystal slapped Aksel on the back of the head. Shutting him up.

"Is, is it because it'd be easier to find the Spear Hero? Fueh!" Rishia leaned away from Crystal. Afraid her white-haired party member might also slap her for speaking up.

"Yes, actually. It'll be way easier to find Motoyasu. The Pope will be a little more tricky." Naofumi said.

"So we somehow need to isolate Motoyasu with one of us while the rest of us track down the Pope and plan an ambush?" Ren suggested.

"Sounds simple enough. I just don't see how we're going to accomplish that when there's likely a large Church following in the area-" Itsuki was saying.

"Wait, I have an idea for that." Naofumi grinned.

He looked at the city, a memory striking him. He'd almost forgotten that time. A moment right before he was captured. "I'll talk with Motoyasu." He decided. "I think I can get through to him while you sneak through the city and find out where the Pope is hiding." What he'd say to convince him to help, well, he'd figure that out when the time came.

"Why does my mind tell me you're planning to do something crazy and ridiculous?" Raphtalia asked with a sigh.

"Because Daddy is crazy and ridiculous mommy," Filo said. Raphtalia petted the blonde loli, smiling in agreement.

"I'll admit it. This plan is utterly crazy. No idiot in their right mind would do it. So I'm hoping this catches Motoyasu so off guard that it works." Naofumi said.

"Hit us with this crazy plan then," Itsuki said with a smile.

"We're already taking on an entire Church. I think this calls for a little dose of crazy." Ren agreed.

Naofumi laid out the details that came to his mind. Ren, Itsuki, and their party members offered input. Filo's wagon was still hidden in the forest near the South Gate. The Pope was probably at the Church, or somewhere more protected like the Castle.

It was odd. With the number of people there, it was almost like he was conducting a raid meeting with a guild. Only this was 100x harder than any raid he'd ever seen before. And it required a bit of tact, some deception.

And, as Van had said, some good luck. Because either a lot of things needed to go right. Or they needed a ton of help.

* * *

_Fifteen minutes later_

Naofumi walked confidently down the center of the road in plain sight. The forest around him gave way to the plains around the walls of Castle Town. Nearby, balloons of various colors roamed the tall grass. Seeking out some unfortunate beginning adventurer to torment.

He still couldn't kill one without punching it for minutes on end. But damn, those little balls brought back old memories of starting out in this world. They'd made for some good stress relievers (and even better tools to use to distract other monsters or to fight Motoyasu in that duel).

Halfway across the plains, while still looking at the balloons roaming the tall grass, Naofumi heard yelling at the South Gate. He looked and saw Knights on duty at the top of a Guard Tower. They were pointing in his direction and yelling something to each other. It didn't sound like they knew who he was yet though. Otherwise, they'd really be in a panic.

This was no stupid stealth mission. Naofumi **wanted** to be seen.

He raised a hand above him as if making a show of himself and the Shield on his arm. "**Air Strike Shield.**"

The green shield appeared above him like a bright green banner. Its ornate design glimmered in the light of the morning sun. At the sight, the knights panicked and started moving around like crazy. Screaming their lungs off, sounding a loud warning bell in the guard tower, etc.

_'Good. They know I'm here now.'_ Naofumi thought, feeling some satisfaction. He'd almost wondered if he'd lost some of his charm. He slowed his walk even farther so they'd have time to prepare for his arrival.

In the few minutes it took for him to slowly approach, more knights appeared lining the walls. They were wielding either bows or pikes. A few manned themselves on the ballistae. But it didn't matter. He was outfitted in his Barbarian Armor once more. His defense debuff was gone. He'd unlocked stat bonuses from more shields (which was like throwing grains of sand on a mountain at this point) and spent more time using the strengthening methods. He doubted any of the knights here had an attack stat capable of piercing his defense. And if he could withstand hits from a large dragon, then those siege weapons would be meaningless.

Then, the gates opened. File upon file of knights marched out. Oddly enough, none of the ones in front had Tower shields to defend with. Instead, those in front wielded swords. Those behind them in the middle wielded spears. And those behind them in the back wielded bows.

Naofumi didn't pay them any mind. Instead, he stopped, focusing his eyes on his target fifty feet away. The one and only.

"Motoyasu. You've looked better."

Motoyasu grimaced, seeing Naofumi standing all by himself. He stood at the head of the procession. It looked like he had been rushed out of somewhere. His clothes were disheveled, and his armor wasn't properly on. He also had bags under his eyes, like he hadn't slept well. Good. The plan was going well so far. Motoyasu had come out at the start. If he hadn't, well, Naofumi could have caused some chaos to draw him out. But then the next part wouldn't have been very convincing.

"Why are you here, Naofumi?" Motoyasu raised his spear tiredly and angrily. "Did you want to cause even more trouble? Huh, is that it! Did you want to hurt Myne even more?! If so, I'll stop you! Right here, right now!"

And now, it was time for the next part of his plan. One that completely shocked everyone there.

"Why am I here?... that's simple. I'm tired of running." Naofumi took off his armor and put it into his Shield. He then switched to the Small Shield and moved it under his cloak on his back, before he got on his knees. Putting his hands behind his head. "I surrender, Motoyasu."

…

For a moment, the knights all looked unsure about how to react. Motoyasu looked like he had been slapped. Never in a thousand years would he have seen this coming. And Naofumi was banking on Motoyasu now. "Well, are you just going to stand there? I said I'm surrendering. Are you happy now?" Naofumi stated dryly. _'Come on you fool. Just take the bait before they do.'_

Fortunately, Naofumi didn't have to wait long. "Bind him!" Motoyasu ordered.

One of the captains looked at Motoyasu in shock. "S-Sir Spear Hero? Shouldn't we eliminate the Devil of the Shield while we have the chance-"

"No! I want him bound!" He said angrily. The Captain looked uncertain. But Motoyasu approached Naofumi regardless. Pulling chains from his inventory to bind Naofumi with. _"What are you really doing here, Naofumi?"_

_"If you want to know. You'll have to find out yourself."_ Naofumi whispered back.

Motoyasu's face flared slightly, but he bound Naofumi's wrists behind his back. "Help me escort this scum to the Castle Dungeons! I'll interrogate him myself for answers!"

_'Hook, line, and sinker. Thank you Motoyasu for still wanting to be the hero in your story.'_ Ren and Itsuki were right with their input. Motoyasu still saw all of this as a game. If a major storyline was dangled in front of him, he wouldn't be able to resist.

"Form an escort around the Spear Hero and his prisoner!" The Captain ordered. Still looking unsure about whether the Spear Hero was in his right mind or not.

"Sir!"

The knights filed around them. Motoyasu forced Naofumi to stand up, his hands chained behind his back. He might have tried to be rough, but Naofumi didn't feel it. The difference between their strength now was almost laughable, even with the **Small Shield** equipped. Part of him almost wondered if Motoyasu was really necessary to fight the Waves or not. But he shook his head.

He was getting the chance to isolate Motoyasu just as he'd planned. And he'd promised Fitoria he'd talk to him. No going back now.

* * *

The first thing Naofumi noticed as he was escorted through the gates of the Capital. How quiet it was.

There were no vendors out at their stands, selling their wares to passerby on the street. None of the shops or homes were open. No one was out and about besides them. He could have sworn he saw people peeking from windows, but then they'd disappear, or curtains would be drawn. The streets also reeked. Like maintaining them had fallen to the wayside.

Was all this because of the Pope? Was it because Naofumi was there? Was it because of the Wave of Catastrophe in less than a week? Or was it something else Naofumi didn't know about? _'What happened to make this place so dreary?'_ Besides all the knights guarding the wall, there was no one.

For ten long minutes, Naofumi saw nothing but a dreary town. And then, as they passed through gates into the Castle Courtyard, he finally heard sounds again.

"Ah! Ahhhh!" On his left, in the direction of the arena he and Motoyasu dueled inside of, a young man was tied to a post, dressed in nothing but rags. A man in priest's robes stood behind him, holding a whip. The priest lashed the young man again and again.

_'Why… why are they doing that to him?' _As Naofumi looked, the priest paused to take a break from the lashing. The young man locked eyes with him. Naofumi recognized him for some reason… and then he pictured the guy in knight armor. _'Did he… was he one of the Knights who helped me out at Lute?'_ He thought sadly. The young man looked so tired, but his eyes brightened, recognizing Naofumi.

"Don't let up. He and the other traitors must be properly prepared for today's execution." The one who spoke was none other than the Royal Commander himself.

The priest nodded and went back to whipping the young man, who cried out in pain once more. Naofumi growled, but he was forced to move on. Nearby, where the whipping took place, he saw others. Like the Knight Captain that helped him before, freshly whipped and looking at the ground with sunken faces. There were others standing in a line, waiting for their turn. None of them noticed Naofumi, too caught up in their gloom.

Naofumi almost stopped in surprise when he saw Aultcray standing in that line. He looked… older than before. His shoulders sagged, and his royal clothes were more like dirty rags. Depressed wasn't enough to describe it. It was like he'd been absolutely destroyed on the inside. And he was in line to be whipped next.

Naofumi actually felt sorry for the guy. _"Don't stop. Not here, please."_ Motoyasu whispered to him from behind. Did he actually sound pained by what he was seeing? Was he really seeing what was happening?

Naofumi continued on. And focused on what was going on in the rest of the courtyard.

Needless to say, it was like the Capital's population had been assigned here. And they were preparing for war. Or for the execution. Or both. The activity spilled out the side gates to different areas of the Capital. So the south was relatively open, but the west, north, and especially East was heavily defended.

He and the others had guestimated how many followers Balamus had gathered to the Capital in their absence. But this was immense even compared to Rabier. There had been hundreds down at the South Gate alone. Who knew how many there were here roaming the castle grounds or the other parts of the Capital? How had they gotten so many?

"No, please, I don't want to fight. I want to go home!"

Naofumi's head jerked to the side. There was a young man in knight armor. But he was trying to run from someone. Unfortunately, he didn't get far before he was tackled by another knight.

"That's the fifth conscript today." The Captain in charge said with a sigh. "Add him with the others." He was lifted by the armpits and dragged away. Still screaming about how he didn't want to fight. He wanted to go home.

_'Conscript… they're forcing people to fight…'_ Just what the hell kind of control did the Pope have over the people to enforce measures like this?

He received glares from most of the knights as he passed by. Chained like a common criminal. Fortunately, it seemed that Motoyasu's presence was enough for the knights to not attack Naofumi. Did they even recognize him? His Shield was hidden. Or was his face that well known now?

He was led into the Castle at last. It looked more religiously decorated than before. Rosaries of the Three Heroes Church had been added to all the statues. And upon entry, the observer was met with a large ornate rosary in the large open hallway. Words were imprinted on the bottom in the Melromarc language.

**May the Gods forever smile upon the face of this nation, and on the faces of her loyal Followers**

It almost made Naofumi want to gag.

After going down a few hallways. They went into a doorway leading down towards the Dungeons. However, they didn't go far before the knights opened a door on the right. Naofumi was pushed inside, and then the knights attached his bindings to a chair, forcing him to sit in it.

"Leave. I'll be able to handle it from here." Motoyasu told the knights.

"But, Sir Spear Hero-"

"GO!" The knights compiled at Motoyasu's angry shout. Rushing all too quickly out the door.

Looking around, the room looked like an interrogation room. There was the chair Naofumi sat in the middle of the room. There were two separate cells in the back that could be used to hold people. And a desk that was likely for taking notes. They were the only ones in here.

"Alright, Naofumi. We're alone now." Motoyasu said. "So tell me, why are you surrendering now?" Motoyasu asked.

"Because I wanted to talk, not fight," Naofumi said honestly. "That's all-"

"Don't you dare lie to me!" Motoyasu pulled out his spear and pressed the tip against Naofumi's chest. Naofumi saw it had a faint dark mist hovering over the tip, even though it wasn't currently his Cursed Weapon. "I know you're not _this_ stupid! So tell me what you're planning! Now!"

"... If you really planned on killing me. You would have done it in front of everybody at the wall." Naofumi said dryly.

Motoyasu grimaced. "Well, um-"

"I know you can pretend it didn't happen. But you listened to me back in that then before those Church Shadows captured me. You knew I wasn't lying when I said I wasn't the monster everyone claimed me to be. And I think part of you still thinks I might be innocent, whether you want to believe that or not. Otherwise, you wouldn't have brought me here."

The spear tip retracted slightly from Naofumi's chest. "So, I'll ask you. Do you really want to hear me out, or not?"

…

The dark aura disappeared from the spear tip. "Fine. I'm listening."

_'Finally. Now I can talk to the guy.'_ He thought. Now, where was the best place to start?

However, before he could, the door burst open.

"Sir Motoyasu, what are you doing with that, that, _fiend_!?"

Naofumi groaned. He was about to snap at Bitch for barging in at the wrong time when his mouth stopped.

Bitch stood in the doorway. Her hair was an absolute mess. From Melty's intention haircut to the areas still burned with the curse. Her arms were still bandaged, and her legs were too. Her face, however, was not since the curse there had healed. It was too bad for her that it did though. Because there were no bandages to hide the patches of scar tissue where she had been punched and burned repeatedly.

She'd had a good face before. But it looked like Naofumi had ruined that for her.

Was it bad that, unlike when he saw Aultcray's condition, he was pleased with how Bitch looked now?

"Myne, you're supposed to be resting-" Motoyasu was saying soothingly.

"I won't rest! Not until that Devil has paid for his crimes against me and-!"

"ENOUGH! I'll decide after I talk to Naofumi for myself!" Motoyasu shouted furiously. "You can stay, but don't talk to him until I'm finished!"

Myne took a step back against the wall in shock. Cursed Motoyasu was not a very nice Motoyasu. Then again, Motoyasu could also be having her stay as a way for Naofumi to get angry and spill his secrets. As if he'd fall for that.

Naofumi felt the chains on his wrists slacken. Then again, if Bitch was here, could he… possibly use her to his advantage? He'd have to think about it. First, he had to convince Motoyasu.

"Now tell me, what did you want to talk about, Naofumi?" Motoyasu asked, looking impatient. Myne immediately wanted to yell at him for wanting to talk with the Devil of the Shield, but she stayed silent.

"Why are you so deadset on thinking of me as a devil?" He asked.

"Because it's your fault we're in this situation!" Motoyasu said.

"Is it? How?" Naofumi asked curiously.

"It's obvious-" Myne started to speak when she cut off at Motoyasu's glare.

"Well, um, er, I've been stuck with Myne since that fight! But you hurt her really badly, and I've been too busy caring for her to keep up with what you've been doing to terrorize people lately!" Motoyasu said angrily.

"So am I responsible for what's going on out there?" Naofumi asked. "Am I responsible for the King and those knights being executed? Am I responsible for the Pope seizing power and pitting the people against me, Ren, and Itsuki? Hell, am I responsible for hurting Myne when she was the one that started that whole mess?"

...

Motoyasu looked unsure. "Sir Motoyasu!" She looked at Naofumi angrily. "Shut it, devil! That's my Papa you're speaking about!" Myne cried as she yelled. But the tears looked fake to Naofumi. Did she really not care for her Father?

"Myne, I'm trying to think here," Motoyasu said to her.

"What is there to think when you don't even know what's going on?" Naofumi sarcastically asked. Just a few minutes of paying attention had given him more information than what Motoyasu had gotten in the last week.

"Shut it Naofumi! It's not my fault! The Pope told me I should stay with Myne since she would be vulnerable while injured-"

"Bull ****! He wanted you to stay with her so he could keep you in the dark about what was really going on!" Naofumi said. "You saw what was going on out there! They're forcing people to fight! And I bet he's forcing them to fight-"

"You don't know that he's forcing them!" Motoyasu said.

"Were you paying attention to something other than me!?" Naofumi asked. "Or were you so short-sighted that you failed to see everything going on around you?! I know you saw what was happening to the King! Did you want to ignore that?!"

Motoyasu growled. "Naofumi-"

"You want to know what's really going on here?! The Pope is trying to gather enough followers to the Capital so he can use a weapon to wipe out me, Ren, and Itsuki!" Naofumi said. "Then, he'll hold onto you so no one else can try to resummon the Cardinal Heroes. And he'll take over the world one country after the other until he's taken over the world!"

"But that's, that's impossible," Motoyasu said. "If a weapon like that existed, I'd know about it."

"Ren knew about it. He said the Pope tried to kill him with it when he investigated the Church for wrongdoing." Naofumi said. "And Itsuki was almost assassinated by Church Shadows for going against their teachings. He was freeing slaves, and they tried to kill him for it! Tell me, do you think I'm lying?!"

Motoyasu looked uncertain again.

"Of course he's lying Sir Motoyasu! The Devil of the Shield is incapable of speaking the truth!" Motoyasu looked like he wanted to snap at Bitch. But he was also listening to her. Even cursed, the idiot was still somewhat taking his friend's side. "Don't listen to his shield! Remember that he holds the power to brainwash others into being his followers by listening to him!"

"Yes, I remember that Myne. Also, remember I told you to stay quiet." Motoyasu said back to her. She looked very angry at being told that.

"... you know, I feel sorry for you, Motoyasu," Naofumi said.

"What for?" Motoyasu asked.

"For having to put up with that she-devil," Naofumi said dryly. "She really has you twisted around her finger, doesn't she?"

"... What did you call me-" Myne started to say angrily.

"Give it a break Bitch." Naofumi cut her off. He'd finally realized what needed to be done. He looked directly at her, ignoring Motoyasu.

Naofumi concluded Motoyasu would never fully believe anything Naofumi said. He still listened to his friends more than anyone else, despite what he'd been through. So there was only one route he could take. One Myne had opened by entering the room. "You think you're fooling anyone with your stupid act? Don't be an idiot. You're not fooling anyone with that nonsense." It also gave him a way to get some stuff off his chest.

"Hey, you leave Myne out of this-" Motoyasu said angrily.

"NO. I'm done Motoyasu. You know what I think about that Bitch there?" Naofumi continued. "I think she's nothing but a rotten little brat. A worthless, pathetic woman who cares for no one but herself. Her own dad, who loved her more than anything in the world, is out there preparing to get executed, and yet she's here! Instead of out there shedding a tear of genuine care for the Father that raised her!" Naofumi said. "She's a bitch! A complete, utter, heartless bitch! I'm surprised I was naive enough to let her join my party at the start! And I'm surprised you're dumb enough to keep her around despite everything she's done to you and everyone else she knows!"

Motoyasu sputtered. Myne tried to stand up straight and smugly. But Naofumi could see the anger in her eyes. He was hitting close to the goal. But nothing Melty had told him about her sister had worked yet- "Your words mean nothing. If you want to try and brainwash me, Devil, you'll-"

"Melty was right. You really are unfit for the throne."

…

Myne's look of shock was priceless. Mentally, Naofumi grinned. _'There it is._ _There's her weak spot.'_ He thought triumphantly. One of Melty's last thoughts about her sister had been correct. There was one thing she desired more than anything else in the world.

"That's right. Your sister told me all about that. Apparently, you were such a disappointment of a daughter to your Mother that Melty had to take your place as heir of Melromarc." Naofumi said, the smuggest look ever on his face. "Look at that, a literal child is more fit to rule than you. In more ways than one."

"You… How dare you-!" Malty was getting angry again. But this time, it was showing its ugly side.

"I bet it stings, doesn't it? You could have been Queen so easily, and you could have had whatever you wanted. But instead, you had to go and be such a bitch to everyone that even your own Mother got sick of you and made your little Sister the heir." He continued. "It's not like I can fault her for that though. Since your sister is a much better person than you are."

"You take that back!" Myne screamed.

"No, it's the truth. She's annoying, like you, but in a different way. At least she can be nice and think about others sometimes." Naofumi said. "She doesn't go around plotting behind peoples' backs. She isn't hungry for power." Each comment was like a brick being thrown into glass windows. "She doesn't hide behind others when things get hard. She doesn't spout off excuses one after the other when things don't go her way. She doesn't make up rules and force others to follow them. She doesn't lie out her ***. And finally, she doesn't use her position to ruin everyone's lives. She is someone I can recognize to be a princess."

Naofumi paused, building up for the last breaking comment. "Unlike her, you're no princess. You're not worthy of such a title. You are nothing but a pathetic, whiny, spoiled little Bitch."

Myne's face exploded with fury. The last comment had been the straw that broke her mountain of pride. Creating an avalanche of fury and hatred. "You take that **back,** you worthless little peon! You dare to think you can talk down on me?! The **First** Princess!"

"What are you going to do about it? Kill me? You're too weak and pathetic to do it by yourself. Or did you forget what happened last time you tried that?" Naofumi asked smugly. This, this was what he wanted to see. Not only to help convince Motoyasu. But so he could have the satisfaction of making Bitch blow up at him.

And blow up she did. "**Zweite Fireball!**"

"Myne, no-" Motoyasu tried to stop her, but the fireball covered Naofumi's body. "What are you doing?!" He asked her.

"Why, she's showing her true nature." The fire dispersed from Naofumi. Not even the chair he was sitting in was burnt. If they had looked under his cloak where his shield was stored away, it was changed to the **Awakened Chimera Viper Shield**. "Don't worry. Nothing she tries will work on me now." He said, seeing how Motoyasu was staring at him in shock.

"**Zweite Fireball!** **Zweite Hellfire! Zweite…**" Bitch cast spell after spell point-blank. But they were all as useless as the first. Which only made her angrier and angrier.

"Wow, could you even start a campfire with that spell? I barely feel any heat."

She tried a drifa level spell. Naofumi had on no armor whatsoever. But he took zero damage. The fire dispersed, revealing a still smirking Naofumi. "Do you really want me dead that badly Bitch? Did I say something that offended you?" Naofumi jeered.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL ****ING KILL YOU!" Myne yelled, unleashing another fire spell.

"Your rape accusation failed to kill me. Your trick at the Sacred Duel failed to imprison me. What will you try next Bitch? What secret little plot are you devising in your head now to deal with me?"

"I knew there was a reason I wanted you dead from the start!" Myne yelled. And Naofumi cheered in his mind.

"From the start?" He faked looking surprised.

"I planned everything out! I was certain a Hero accused of rape would never survive past the First Wave! I was certain with Motoyasu's backing that I could become Queen! But you ruined everything, you worthless little peon!"

"What about your sister? Isn't she supposed to be the next Queen-"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT PIECE OF ****! I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY OF MY FAMILY! IF I COULD, I'D KILL THEM NOW FOR GETTING IN MY WAY! I'LL KILL ANYONE THAT GETS IN MY WAY!"

"Even Motoyasu." Naofumi said.

"**YES!**"

Motoyasu stood there. Staring at what was going on in bewilderment. Naofumi couldn't have been happier as Bitch continued to rant.

"I'M THE FIRST PRINCESS! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE NEXT QUEEN! I'M THE FIGURE THAT'LL GO DOWN IN HISTORY! NOT THAT LITTLE GOODIE GOODIE! NOT YOU! NOT ANY OF THE DAMN HEROES! ME!" Her eyes dilated on him.

It was perfect. She looked like an obsessed Yandere. Only, she wasn't obsessed about some guy. "You've been a thorn in my side for too long! I went through all that trouble, setting it up to make it look like you raped me, but you ruined it! You ruined, everything!" Her hands sparked with more fire magic. The scars on her face became more prominent. "You're pathetic! You're useless! Yet you've persisted, resisted, and defied me at every turn! THAT ENDS NOW! Your laughter, your smile, your hope, I'll take it all away from you! I'll make you wish you had never gotten in my way! You'll suffer! EVERYONE YOU CARE ABOUT WILL SUFFER! AHA! AHAHAHAHAHA!" Her head fell back as she laughed at the ceiling.

It actually surprised Naofumi. Was this what she was really like, underneath her facade? Was she really this degenerated and evil?

Don't get him wrong, he'd already known she was degenerate and evil. But to see how completely it defined her was shocking. He'd thought his insults and past insults had overexaggerated. No, they captured her character perfectly. She had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. All she cared about was money, power, and glory. And anyone that got in her way was an enemy, even if it was her own family.

It really made him sick that such a person could ever exist.

She finished laughing, breathing in and out heavily. She looked at Naofumi with pure rage on her face.

This was it… this was the moment of truth… _'Please… Motoyasu…'_

"... ... Was…" Myne turned her head, wanting to blast whoever had spoken to kingdom come. She gasped though when she realized it was Motoyasu. "Was all that... really true, Myne?" He asked, his voice shaking.

"Wha…" Malty finally realized her slip of tongue. Or rather, her slip of conversation. "No, I… I…" She reached out to him, but he backed away.

He looked terrified. Beyond terrified actually. He'd seen her true nature. He'd heard everything. "No, it can't be…" He whispered in fear.

"Sir Moto-"

"Now!" Naofumi yelled.

The air shimmered by Bitch, and Raphtalia sprang out from her illusion magic. Her body slammed said Bitch into the ground. Knocking her out momentarily.

"No, Myne-" Motoyasu tried to move forward, but a sword appeared at his throat, stopping him.

"Don't move." The air shimmered, and Eclair also appeared out of Raphtalia's illusion magic. "I'd rather not harm one of the Cardinal Heroes."

Motoyasu looked at Naofumi in shock. He stood up, brushing himself off. The chains had been off for the last few minutes. An illusion had covered that up. That was how he'd been sure that his two party members had managed to sneak in. "H-How?" Motoyasu asked.

"Simple. I planned this." Naofumi said, moving his Shield onto his arm. "Well, I didn't plan for this exactly. But the situation worked out better than I'd expected. And they managed to sneak past all the knights just fine." Naofumi said dryly.

"No-" Motoyasu knocked Eclair's sword away with his Spear and tried to rush forward to impale Naofumi, "-NAOFUMI!" Naofumi grabbed his spear by the tip, stopping the reckless attack. He held Motoyasu in place.

"Motoyasu, I'm not here to fight you."

"You liar! You tricked me! You hurt Myne-" Naofumi spun, throwing Motoyasu beneath him. He then pinned Motoyasu to the ground with one knee. He raised a hand, gesturing to Raphtalia and Eclair to not interfere.

"Ah! Get, get off me!" Motoyasu screamed in rage. He tried to get back up. But Naofumi's weight was like a mountain on his back. He felt angry, lost, betrayed.

"Motoyasu. You heard her yourself." Naofumi said. "You know she set me up. You know the rape accusation is false. You know I've done nothing to her. So just stop and listen, for once in your life just listen, damn it!"

"You're lying. She'd… she'd never…" Motoyasu had to force back a sob. "She's… she's my friend…" Friends were supposed to be loyal. Honest. Dependable. Trustworthy...

"... You know. I thought the same thing once." Naofumi said sympathetically. "I trusted her too. I really did. I thought she was the best thing that could have happened to me, being summoned to an unfamiliar world. But then I learned what she was really like. And that almost destroyed me, Motoyasu. Learning what she was planning to do to me… learning that she was planning on stealing everything from me, and casting me aside as a lowly criminal. I almost _wanted_ to die that night. To get it over with then and there."

Motoyasu stopped moving and sobbed against the floor. Naofumi stood back up. When he looked behind him, he saw that Raphtalia and Eclair had moved Bitch's unconscious body into one of the cells. As an extra precaution, they'd bound her with the chains Motoyasu had used to bind Naofumi.

"We won't have much time, Sir Naofumi. I'm certain Church Shadows are fleeing to alert the Pope as we speak." Eclair said.

"Okay." Naofumi took off his cloak, pulled out his armor from his shield and put it back on. Raphtalia helped him.

"Listen, Motoyasu. It's not only that Bitch who's been using you. The Pope has too. The night I was in that inn, I overheard her talking to a nun from the Three Heroes Church about killing me." Naofumi briefly explained his side of the story. He didn't ask to be a criminal. He didn't ask for any of this. When he was fully donned in his armor again, Raphtalia moved to the doorway to make sure the hallway was clear. It only took Naofumi about fifteen more seconds, leaving out many details before he got to this. "You have to know I'm not lying to you now. This isn't a game. None of it is. We need to stop the Pope before he makes things so bad that he dooms the world."

Motoyasu hadn't said one word the entire time. He was still lying on the floor. Tears leaking from eyes that were closed tight. He looked destroyed, completely, and absolutely.

The reality check had struck him, and it had struck hard. He wasn't a hero of the fine maidens. He never had been.

Naofumi felt bad for him. He knew what it was like to have your world come tumbling down around you. "Look. I came here, because I wanted you on my side. I'm sick of fighting you over nothing… but I'll understand if you'd rather run away and not help us out. Hell, I'm still not expecting you to believe what I said. It's not like you ever have before."

Naofumi looked down on him. "I don't care about what you're going through. All I want to do is protect others and keep people from taking away what I love. That's what I want. So tell me, Motoyasu… What kind of hero do you want to be?""

…

"The Throne Room…" Motoyasu muttered. "Pope Balamus… should be there."

Naofumi waited, seeing if Motoyasu would add anything else. But the poor blonde stayed lying on the floor. Not saying a word. Naofumi nodded and walked towards the doorway. "Sir Naofumi?" Eclair asked confusedly.

"Don't worry about him. At the very least, I don't think he'll attack us anymore." Naofumi said. "Eclair, use the dungeons to get outside. Find Ren and Itsuki. Tell them the Pope's here in the castle. We'll make sure he doesn't try to leave."

Motoyasu stayed lying on the ground. He didn't make any move to get up. He looked too destroyed and conflicted to do such a thing.

"Got it, good luck, Sir Naofumi. Miss Raphtalia." Eclair ran down deeper into the dungeons out of sight. Now that she knew where she was, she'd have a much easier time navigating than before.

Raphtalia looked between Motoyasu and Naofumi and then nodded. "The throne room it is."

The two of them ran out into the hallway. There were already shouts of alarm coming from the castle itself. Things were about to get hard once more. But Naofumi paused, glancing back at Motoyasu one last time.

"Take care, Motoyasu." He ran after his party members. Leaving a broken Hero behind to think over his sins.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**This just in, ****boi deceived again. Now, back to the weather.**

**Ah, writing that literal roast session against Myne was probably the best thing ever. I requested RLTygurr's help there to make it extra toasty. If you haven't read his fics, you should definitely give them a read.**

**Now, we're finally set up for the main event. I hope you're all ready for a showdown. It's time for things to come to a head.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**How far will she go?**

* * *

"Naofumi is evil! Completely and utterly evil!"

"Bull ****! You know nothing about me, Bitch!" Naofumi and Bitch were head to head, yelling at each other. Naofumi was furious, and Bitch was crying crocodile tears.

"You're so mean! You put my own sister as better than me! No one in their right mind would do such a thing!" Malty cried.

"I'm pretty sure it's because of you that people turn into lolicons for your sister!" Naofumi exclaimed.

"You're the one that's a lolicon!" She accused.

"I'd rather be a lolicon than a complete Bitch!"

"I'm not a Bitch! I'm the First Princess of Melromarc-"

"**BIIIITTTTCHHHH!**" Naofumi bellowed out of his MegaPhone skill.

"WAHHHHHH! You're so mean!" Bitch continued to cry crocodile tears.

"Says the person who can't even cry properly!"

"**** you!"

"**** yourself!"

Ren and Itsuki stood off to the side. "This is ridiculous."

"I can't believe Naofumi had to deal with her this chapter." Itsuki agreed.

"I mean come on. Who would ever be stupid enough to believe her?"

"I believe in you Myne!" Motoyasu shouted encouragement to Myne. "Don't give in to Naofumi's lies.

"We believe in you!" The Royal Knight Commander and his army of knights chanted encouragement to her.

"... I guess that answers that question." Ren muttered.

"I hope Eclair gives that stupid Commander what he deserves," Itsuki muttered.

"Hey, don't spoil what's coming!" Naofumi and Bitch both yelled at them. Before they went back to yelling at each other.

It was truly a wonder how far Bitch would go to make everyone but herself look like the criminal.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	51. 51: Liberation of Melromarc, Part One

**Crap. This part is turning out to be harder than I thought. Hopefully, I'm able to remember all of what I wanted to have go down. Enjoy the chapter! If I get it done that is!**

**Also, thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I'm glad you all enjoyed it. :) It was definitely enjoyable to push Bitch's Berserk Button until she broke! Also, eyes out for Spear Dude!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** 38 more Favorites, 32 more Followers (Total: 1690 Favorites, 1895 Followers)

* * *

**Updated:** _July 13th, 2020_

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-One:** _Liberation of Melromarc, Part One_

* * *

"Where is he?!"

"That Devil's here somewhere!"

"Find him!"

A group of knights ran down one of the hallways of the castle. Adorned in their metal armor, with rosaries gleaming on their chests. They were one of many groups searching the castle.

Soon after they were past, Naofumi and Raphtalia reappeared from her illusion spell, stepping away from the wall where she'd hidden them. "I hate Church Knights. So much." He muttered.

Raphtalia didn't respond, as she was instead pulling out another Magic Recovery Potion and drinking it down. The two then continued running.

Their first foray after exiting the Dungeons had been as expected. A large group of knights had been waiting for them. They'd all yelled and charged, yelling to take down the Devil of the Shield.

You know. Classic stuff.

Instead of staying and wasting time dealing with all of them, Naofumi used two of his Shield Skills to block off the main hallway so Raphtalia could dispose of the few knights guarding a secondary hallway, allowing them to flee deeper into the castle before the Shield skills disappeared.

The knights had been after them ever since.

"I think the Throne room is this way." Naofumi and Raphtalia turned down a hallway.

They ended up surprising a group of knights. Maybe it hadn't been the right way.

"Hah!" Raphtalia plowed one with her shoulder, launching him into a wall.

"**Air Strike Shield!**"

Naofumi's summoned shield slammed into the guts of several different knights. They stooped over from the hit, which gave Raphtalia plenty of time to knock them away into various walls and statues with the flat of her blade. Knocking them out.

"It's the Shield Demon!" "Get him!" More knights ran down the hallway. Screaming with determination to take down the pathetic devil.

"**Royal Shield!**"

The knights slammed into the gold-colored barrier. Thanks to his higher defense stat, it only cracked from the force of the knights slamming into it. Dazing them for long enough that Raphtalia was able to jump in the middle of them all. She slashed, kicked, and even headbutted one knight away. Within seconds, she was surrounded by dazed, wounded, groaning knights.

It was really sad. **Royal Shield** was his weakest skill. If they couldn't break through that, then they were really wasting their time trying to fight these small fry.

Though Naofumi did quickly stop and use a healing spell on Raphtalia. One of the knights had gotten lucky, and left a small gash on her arm. While they were nowhere close to being able to hurt him, they could still hurt Raphtalia. "Thank you."

The pair continued on. "Do you think Filo and Melty will be alright?" Raphtalia asked worriedly.

"I tasked them to be near the Castle Walls for a reason," Naofumi said dryly.

During their conversation before, Filo had perked up. Somehow, Fitoria had been talking to her? He didn't understand how or why since Fitoria was nowhere close to them by then. But apparently, Fitoria told Filo that she and her flock had passed a large column of people deeper in the forest, marching in the direction of the Capital. She'd told Filo as a warning in case it was more bad people. But when she'd mentioned they were marching under a purple emblem, Melty had brightened.

Melty argued it was her mother, and that she'd be at the Capital soon with her army escort. So on the off chance that she was right and Fitoria had somehow talked to Filo, Naofumi assigned her and Filo to scout the city and study the Church's defenses after they snuck the Hero's parties in. If the Queen really did come (which he doubted, since he'd never met her before. What excuse would she have to come now after all the bull crap that had happened in her country?), she'd have Filo and Melty to give her a tactical advantage. And if she didn't, well, at least they'd both be safe and out of harm's way.

The dad in him wanted to keep his daughter out of the most danger possible. And besides, the two kids were inseparable by this point. Might as well give them a task that keeps them both together.

Raphtalia didn't speak for a moment. Then, when they'd passed a statue of the Pope, holding a rosary of Three Heroes Church in both palms, she spoke about what happened earlier. "Do you think the Spear Hero will help us?"

"... I don't know. But I doubt he'll try to fight us now." He muttered.

"... I feel bad about what we did to him." Raphtalia admitted.

"... I do too." Naofumi said sadly. It had been necessary, but he didn't feel better about having done it. Especially since he understood intimately what Motoyasu was going through right now. It was the same thing he'd gone through the night he found out Bitch was going to betray him. He'd had help from Erhard and Raphtalia to get through it. And it still took him the better part of a month to mostly get over it.

He wouldn't wish for anyone to go through the hell he personally went through.

They turned another corner and hid together behind a desecrated statue of Aultcray as a squad of knights marched past into another hallway. After a few seconds, they continued forward.

Naofumi felt that they were almost to the throne room. It had been so long since he'd seen this part of the castle. But he still remembered that first day, looking out at the view of Castle Town for the first time. He was seeing that exact same view right now on his left as they ran up some stairs.

"I think we're almost there," Naofumi warned her.

Her ears flicked on top of her head. "Odd… I'm hearing fewer knights this way?"

She had a good point. He wasn't hearing any other knights nearby. And that squad had been smaller than the last few they'd seen. "Maybe they didn't expect us to get this far…"

They were silent a little while after that. Naofumi heard the knights' footfalls and shouts. But it was getting fainter and fainter. They then turned another corner, and ahead of them stood the closed great doors of the Throne Room.

There were no knights in front guarding it.

"Or maybe, this is a trap. And they want us to reach his Excellency." Naofumi said dryly.

…

Raphtalia looked worried. Her tail was starting to stand on end. "Naofumi." They stopped and looked at each other.

"Yes?"

She looked down at the floor nervously. She was wondering if they should wait. See if the other Heroes would arrive soon or not. But Eclair had a long way to run and meet them... "I… I… … … no. We're going to get through this." She said, determination filling her voice. "Trap or not, I will help you put a stop to this madness." She was beyond tired of letting these idiot people hurt them and ruin their lives. They were the ones that destroyed her village. That enslaved her and all her friends. That killed Rifana, beat little Maya, twisted the Spear Hero, and did so many other unspeakable horrible things.

She was done with them. She wasn't going to let something like fear or anxiety stop her now. If it was a trap. She would make them regret thinking they could ever trap them both.

Naofumi nodded and gave her a small smile. "Through hellfire and brimstone."

"Through hellfire and brimstone." She agreed.

The two marched determinedly up to the doors. And with a great kick, Raphtalia crashed them open.

"Ah... It's been a while. You're looking well."

The Throne Room looked almost exactly like Naofumi remembered it. The long, wide hallway of stone was decorated with fancy carpet. Two thrones rested on top of a stone platform at the end. Balconies lined the sides of the room. However, a few things were different. Flags with the rosary of the Three Heroes Church hung from the walls. The same symbol hung over the two thrones. And sitting in one of them, holding a weapon that looked oddly similar to Ren's sword, was the Pope himself.

The older looking man stood up as Raphtalia and Naofumi approached. The light refracted off his glasses as he smiled. "Devil of the Shield."

* * *

Itsuki peaked over a rooftop. He was currently hiding himself using a stealth skill. And he was scouting out the area around the Church.

_"You see anything unusual yet?"_ Ren quietly asked. He was pressed against the roof tiles. He didn't have a stealth skill like Itsuki.

After a moment, Itsuki slid down next to the Hero. _"It's odd. There's... no one there."_ Itsuki said.

_"What do you mean?"_

The stealth skill turned off. Revealing Itsuki again. _"I mean I've been examining it from different angles with my skills. And I'm not seeing anyone or anything powerful in there."_ Itsuki said. "_It's like it's been abandoned."_

"_Do you think the Pope is concealing himself?"_

"_If he can use my Bow, then maybe he'd be able to use that stealth skill on himself too. But he'd need a lot of mana to do that. There aren't enough people around here to supply it."_

_"Damn,"_ Ren grumbled. On the bright side, the absence of followers definitely meant the Pope wasn't here. On the downside, it meant they'd have to sneak through the more _defended_ parts of town. _"Hopefully, Naofumi figures it out from Motoyasu."_ He made to slide off the roof towards the ground.

_"Ren, I was thinking."_

Ren stopped. _"Thinking what?"_

Itsuki twiddled his fingers nervously. _"I know we need to take down the Pope… but I think we need something to help convince the people that the Church has been lying to them."_ He said. "_I think if we want to have a chance at winning, we need the people to know the Truth."_

Ren thought about it. _"Maybe… but I can't think of anything… unless we find something like that history book Wyndia read."_ Ren said. "_Maybe we could have our parties search the Church while we continue scouting the city." _He suggested.

The parties were currently hiding in the back of Filo's wagon in the supply crates. Filo had disguised herself as a normal Filolial, and Melty was dressed in long robes and a hood. "_Wouldn't it be easier if we helped them search the Church?" _Itsuki asked.

"_I… well…"_

An explosion sounded from the next street over. Itsuki and Ren immediately stood up and ran.

"You insidious, little-" Eclair stabbed her sword through the Church Shadow's gut. The Shadow gurgled, the next fire spell he'd been building up dissipated from his hands. "Go to the hellhole you belong in!" She threw the Shadow's body away from her into a stand.

Nearby, Filo's wagon was tipped over. And on fire.

"Nooooooooooo!" Filo was in her loli form. Crying over the remains of her first and favorite wagon. It had been a miracle. It had still been in the bushes where she'd hidden it with everything inside! Now, it was destroyed and on fire!

Nearby, the bodies of other Church Shadows littered the ground. Some of the party was outside the wagon, holding their weapons and looking around frantically. The rest were still pulling themselves from the wrecked remains of crates that had been launched out of the wagon when the ambush started.

Ren and Itsuki jumped down from a rooftop. "What happened here?" Ren asked.

"Filo was pulling the cart along when Eclair charged out from the wall!" Melty quickly started to explain as the party members pulled themselves from the wreckage. "Before we could ask why she was there, we got ambushed by these Shadows!" She pointed to the bodies. "Her quick warning gave Filo enough time to blast us out of the wagon with her wind magic before the wagon, well..." She didn't need to finish.

"But not enough time for Filo to save Filo's wagon!" Filo cried. The wagon covering collapsed in a heap of sparks. Melty started rubbing the girl's head in sympathy as she cried.

"Damn, I guess Naofumi didn't grab everyone's attention with his little stunt," Ren grunted. Filo pouted angrily at Sword Guy. Why couldn't he be sadder about her favorite possession that she'd finally been reunited with (after like, a week apart?) going up in flames?! SO MEAN! "Speaking of which, why are you here Eclair? I thought you were with Naofumi and Raphtalia?"

Eclair cleaned her sword off on one of the Shadow's bodies. "I came to inform you that the Pope is in the throne room of the Castle." She said. "Naofumi got the information out of the Spear Hero."

"That's great. Let's go get the bastard then!" Bakta yelled. Lifting his greatsword up high.

"Not so fast. Me and Itsuki have something for you all to do." Ren said calmly.

"_We did?"_ Itsuki quietly asked.

"_Yeah, we did,"_ Ren whispered back to him.

The parties looked at the two confusedly. "What do you mean? Isn't our whole goal to take the Pope out?" Aksel asked.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ren could see Wyndia glaring at him. Did she, by chance, already know what he was going to say? Ren took another calming breath. He could hear the sounds of knights marching in the distance. Coming to check and see what the disturbance was. "Me and Itsuki are going to help Naofumi defeat the Pope. But we're going to need something to convince the people that they've been lied to so they don't try to help the Pope or his Followers out."

He quickly explained to the two parties the idea of going down into the Church Archives again. To find evidence of the Church's wrongdoing and to publish it to the people during the fighting. When he'd finished, he could already see how some of them were in disagreement.

"No way. After what happened the last time we went down there." Bakta said.

"We're stronger now than we were before… but I'm not sure if this is what we should be doing." Welt said.

"It could work though. If the people knew they were lied to, they might stand up to the Church." Tersia said.

"We still don't know if Her Majesty is arriving today or not though. If she doesn't, that will be one short-lived rebellion." Farrie said.

"My Mother will arrive! She wouldn't stay in Faubley with everything going on in Melromarc!" Melty said furiously.

"How would your Mother even know what's going on in Melromarc?" Aksel asked.

"She has Shadows here to watch what's happening! They must have told her what's going on!"

"Wow, they must be really useful if we haven't even seen them yet."

Melty pouted. It looked very similar to Filo's pout. These people were so mean! How could they ever be partied with a Hero?! Then again, Naofumi himself was pretty mean. So why weren't the mean ones also in his party?! Why did he have to have cute adorable little Filo and not-

"Enough!" Ren quickly interrupted before an argument could take place. "Either way, the people are supporting the Pope because they think he's a holy pure figure with their best interests at heart! I want you all to find those documents so when we beat the Pope into the ground, the people will realize how corrupt he was and won't want to throw away their lives for a lie!"

The two parties stared at Ren, who seethed after his small speech. "This isn't some stupid game! Stop whining about it and wasting time, and get it done!"

"Yes, Sir Ren!" Ren's party immediately bowed in respect, with the exception of Wyndia, who was still looking at him coldly. Itsuki's party was more hesitant, but Itsuki sighed and nodded to them. So they also nodded and rushed off down an alleyway towards the Church to do as Ren had asked. Wyndia included.

"Come on, Filo. We have to get going too." Melty said worriedly to the little girl.

"But I don't want to leave it behind." Her wagon. All her precious shinies and memories stored inside were going up in flames!

"We have too. There are too many people counting on us. Let's go." Her mother would be arriving from the South soon. She must have marched all night so her army could go the long way around the Capital and attack from a direction they weren't expecting. They had to gather more info for her. And soon, she managed to drag Filo away from the wreckage and they ran off down the street.

Eclair was the only one remaining. She went to the hidden section of the wall, and uttered the spell that revealed the door there.

"Are you sure you want to come with us?" Ren asked.

"Are you sure you know your way through these dungeons?" Eclair calmly asked.

"..." Ren didn't have a comeback to that. So the three ran off together into the dungeons.

Sooner or later, he'd have to accept that his party wanted to help him.

* * *

"I never thought I'd see the day where the Devil of the Shield would kneel before me. Begging to be purified from the sins which he's committed against our world."

The Pope stood on the edge of the stone platform now. His hands were raised as if to praise the Gods he worshipped. "That is why you're here, is it not?"

"I'm not kneeling for anyone, including you," Naofumi said dryly.

"Oh, but what other reason would you have to be here?" The Pope asked curiously. He was dressed in his high priest robes like before. But the pope hat on his head had the insignia of a crown on it now. The rosary of the Three Heroes Church gleamed brightly on his chest. Unlike Aultcray, this old man actually radiated power and authority.

"One, I'm going to stop you." Naofumi listed off. "Two, I'm going to clear my name. Three, I'm going to keep you from wiping out any more innocents. And four, I'm going to protect the rest of the world from your evil ambitions."

…

The Pope chuckled. And then he laughed. "Oh, the Devil of the Shield thinks himself holy? Oh my, I never thought I'd see the day."

Naofumi growled. Raphtalia poised herself for an attack. The Pope stopped laughing and smiled like a happy old man. "I'm surprised you would list such accusations against me? I don't seek to harm the world. I humbly seek to fulfill God's will in protecting humanity."

"By wiping out innocents!?"

"The demis are no innocents." The Pope continued to smile. "They are a threat to humanity on every level. They are a parasite to our world. A flea infecting us with their unholy creations. They are nothing short of an abomination that deserves nothing but eradication." He held his sword to the side. "You should already know all this. After all, you're the Devil that's allied himself with them. After I'm done purifying you, I shall go forth and purify all those that stand against God!"

Naofumi didn't have to give an order. Raphtalia had already finished her incantation. "**Light Slash!**" Raphtalia's sword glowed brightly, and the spell flew out towards the Pope.

Right before it could impact against him though, a robed figure appeared as if from out of nowhere from beside Balamus. She slashed her sword of light down through Raphtalia's spell, and it dissipated. "What?" Naofumi looked shocked.

"Come now. Do you really think I'd leave myself defenseless?" The robed figure stood up. "I mean, my barriers would have done just fine blocking your pathetic spell there. But my lead disciple is very… faithful, towards God." She held two swords of light in her hands. She still wore her hood over her head. But Naofumi recognized the nun Altara, looking at him and Raphtalia with nothing short of hate in her eyes. "You must be more sinister than I thought, Devil of the Shield. Thinking you could attack the Pope, the holy saint wishing only to protect his people. I was right. Such a sinister devil must be expunged from our world. By the holy power of the Gods purifying light!"

The Pope's booming voice echoed throughout the castle. "**My Followers! The time has come! Join your mana to mine as we begin our holy crusade against the Devil of the Shield! We shall purify him, and the rest of this world from the abominations that seek to overthrow it!**"

Naofumi's eyes widened at the words. And then, yelling, zealous yelling seemed to spring forth from all around. From the windows, the walls, the floor, just about everywhere in the room. Raphtalia put her hands over her ears on her head. It was that loud.

And then, when the yelling faded out, a pool of bright lights floated into the room. From the walls, the floor, the windows. It was the mana streams of thousands of followers, concentrating into the Replica the Pope wielded.

After a few seconds, the sword glowed brightly. "Get behind me, Raphtalia!" Naofumi raised his shield.

"Be purified, Devil! **Crimson Blade!**"

An arc of flame exited the sword and slammed into Naofumi's **Chimera Viper Shield**. The force of which was so great that he almost lost his footing. His HP bar dropped from the hit. It was a significant chunk. '_Holy hell! Is that seriously what our weapons are like at a fourth of their power!?'_

If the Replica had been made at full power, Naofumi was sure he would have been annihilated from that first strike. As it was, he'd lost a good chunk of health from just that one strike.

The flames dissipated, and Naofumi's eyes widened when Altara the nun followed right behind them with her swords. "Die!"

Naofumi moved quickly, blocking her strikes with his shield. They did no damage, but the strikes had a lot of power behind them. Raphtalia tried slashing at her, but she jumped back, easily avoiding the strike. Before closing in again, slashing with a fury.

A few seconds later, Balamus waved his sword again. Altara jumped back, and Naofumi barely blocked the shockwave of power that slammed into his shield. Damaging him again and pushing him back.

"My, you seem to need more power to be purified than I thought. But how long do you think you can stand against the power of God?"

"**Fast Heal!**" Naofumi cast the spell over himself. Before Altara came in again and forced him on the defensive. He was also grateful for the armor's slight self-healing aspect.

He was quick to realize that her strikes weren't powerful enough to damage him. But he was forced to defend against her since she would be more than capable of hurting Raphtalia, his only form of offense besides the **Cursed Series**. Raphtalia jumped in front of Naofumi after he blocked a series of strikes, and gave a series of her own strikes against Altara.

"**Fast Guard!**" Naofumi used the spell on her to help boost her overall defense.

Eclair had been teaching her well. Naofumi was amazed at how fluid her movements were. She was going fast. Really fast. Yet Altara was more than holding her own. Blocking each strike deftly, or moving parts of her body to dodge specific strikes.

Raphtalia went for a side slash, but her eyes widened as Altara's swords suddenly moved. Instead of blocking they were about to thrust through the Tanuki girl.

"**Air Strike Shield!**"

The light swords bounced off the skill, and Altara growled as she jumped back again. Raphtalia still looked surprised as Naofumi took point again. Right as the Pope finished charging up his next skill. "**Eagle Blade.**"

A slash in the form of a large bird flew through the air at Naofumi. It plowed into his Shield with great force. His HP bar dropped again from the hit. And he was pushed back by the force of the skill.

'_Alright, we need to restrain that nun long enough for us to hit the smug bastard!'_ The Pope was obviously strong enough to hurt Naofumi, unlike Altara. He still had a large array of mana coming from all around, traveling into the weapon he was holding. But it looked like it took awhile for him to charge up each attack. So if he could stop Altara.

After the skill dissipated, Altara charged in for another attack.

"**Shield Prison!**"

Altara yelped as the green ball of plates and chains surrounded her. Naofumi and Raphtalia immediately dashed around it, charging for the Pope.

Yes, there was nothing that could stop them now! They were so going to kick his-

Raphtalia's sword slammed into a barrier, bouncing off. The barrier glowed a light yellow, just like the weapon. "How predictable." The Pope said, smiling the same smile as ever.

Crap! He'd forgotten that the Pope had mentioned having barriers! Stupid stupid!

Raphtalia moved to slash again, but Naofumi saw something blur beside her. His eyes widened drastically as he quickly faced her. "**Royal Shield!**"

Raphtalia turned as Altara's blades slammed into the barrier. It easily cracked and broke under the power of her twin strike, but it slowed it down just enough that Raphtalia was able to move her sword and deflect the strike.

Naofumi looked over at the **Shield Prison**. It was still active and everything. How had Altara tricked him into thinking she'd been captured?!

"Eyes on the prize, Devil of the Shield."

Naofumi turned as the Pope released a charged up shockwave of power. Yet it slammed into him with the force of a semi, and without being braced, he was sent flying into one of the columns of the throne room by the attack.

"Naofumi!" Raphtalia jumped far back from Altara to try and separate. But Altara immediately closed the distance again.

The nun was going in for the kill. Now that the Shield Devil was down.

"Hmmph! Urgh! Ack!" Raphtalia grunted as she blocked and sidestepped strike after strike. It was taking everything she had not to receive a fatal blow. Yet she was still receiving small cuts and gashes.

It was almost like fighting Eclair. Except this nun actually wanted to kill her!

'_Remember Eclair's advice. Look for patterns in your opponent's form. Find a weakness to exploit.'_

Altara fought with twin blades made of light magic. Her form was solid. She wasn't experienced enough to find a weakness there. Yet her raised hood made her blind to attacks from the side. If she could just daze her for long enough-

"**First Light!**" Raphtalia instinctively closed her eyes as she summoned a ball of light right between them.

"Gah!" Altara backed away, putting a hand over her eyes.

Raphtalia moved in from the side. Swinging her sword in a wide slash. '_Yes! I have her now! I-_'

"Raphtalia! On your left!"

Raphtalia saw Altara's figure blur. And eyes widening, she pivoted and blocked the first strike from the nun. The illusion she'd been about to strike disappeared. '_But how-'_ The second strike was traveling under her sword. It was going to slice her-

"NOOOOO!" Naofumi slammed into the nun, using his shoulder as a battering ram. It didn't do any damage, but it surprised her. Long enough that she didn't react in time to Raphtalia striking her blades with enough power to send her flying back.

"Are you okay?" Naofumi quickly checked Raphtalia over. The Tanuki girl still looked shell shocked. There was a slight gash under her chest where the second strike had cut through her armor. She'd come so close to dying. Her breathing was quick, almost panicked.

After using Fast Heal, Naofumi turned, anger burning in his eyes. "Just who the hell do you think you are?!"

Altara got back up. Her hood was still over her head. Her robes still hugged her tight. She looked surprised though that she still hadn't managed to land a decisive blow against the Devil of the Shield or his companion.

"Altara. Your strikes are doing nothing to the Devil of the Shield. Is this how much your service is worth to our great Gods?" Balamus asked. Was that condescension in his voice?

Altara growled in frustration. For some reason, Naofumi almost pictured her teeth having sharp canines. "No, I will prove my worth! As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature! Pierce my target with a ray of light and illuminate the soul hiding within! Shine brightly as the light of day!"

Naofumi prepared his Shield. The Pope watched, his weapon charging its next attack.

Finally, Altara had her spell ready. "**Drifa, Light's Piercing Ray!**"

Naofumi was prepared to block a strike. He could have sworn he was ready. But the ray of light that came from Altara's palms went right through his Shield. Piercing into his shoulder. "Ahhhh!" He screamed. It felt like the flesh there was burning. It hurt, way more than when the Orthrus Dog Monster had bit on his shoulder.

How had it hurt?! His defense stat was supposed to be too high for Altara's other attacks?! So why had this one hurt!

The Pope waved his sword again, unleashing another shockwave of power while he was down. Crap, he could barely raise his arm. It hurt too much. He just needed to use a Healing Spell, but there was no time. He-

Raphtalia jumped in front of him. Her incantation finished. "**Zweite Light Slash!**" Her spell slammed into the Pope's attack. But the Pope's attack overtook it. Yet she stood in front of Naofumi, protecting him from the blast.

"**Air Strike Shield!**" He summoned the Shield to try and block the attack, but it shattered. The rest of the Pope's attack slammed into Raphtalia. Completely protecting him.

"No."

Raphtalia was sent flying over him, as if in slow motion.

"No."

Her body rolled. Her head rested against the floor.

He got on his hands and knees. "Raphtalia…" He got onto one knee. "Raphtalia… no..."

She didn't react to the sound of his voice. Just like before...

…

"AHHH**HHHHHHHHHHHHH!**" Somewhere mid-scream, Naofumi switched Shield Series. A burning, raging fire erupted from his Shield's gemstone. The Shield itself changed until he was holding the **Shield of Rage II** in both hands.

"At last. The Devil of the Shield is showing his true colors." The Pope said, his smile shifting to a smirk. Altara stood back next to him, watching Naofumi's transformation unfold.

The armor on Naofumi's right side started to transform. Turning into black scales, and having spikes form on the shoulders. Cursed Fire was only coming from the gemstone, but the rest of the Shield would soon be covered as Naofumi glared fiercely at them.

_Naofumi was angry. No, he was beyond angry. Nothing they had was good enough. They were too weak to face the Pope. They were too low in levels! Raphtalia never had her Class Upgrade! And Naofumi just felt so __USELESS trying to protect her and keeping Balamus stuck to the Throne Room!_

_He couldn't attack! He couldn't help! All he could do was stand there and take hit after hit! And even then, he couldn't defend it all! The Pope's attacks hurt! The nun's light magic had also hurt him! He was incapable of doing nothing except watch his Sword get beaten down in front of him!_

**_They were all vermin! They were all scum! They-_**

_He shook his head. No, he couldn't let this anger consume him. If he started going free fire, Raphtalia could be harmed. Others could be harmed. Innocents-_

_**What innocents?**_ _He was in the middle of a town of vermin. A whole city of thieves and the lowest of the low. They were all vile scum that didn't give a damn about him or his companions. Nobody here liked him. They hated him. Was it fair for them to walk all over him? To hurt him and all those he loved?_

_But Raphtalia was right behind him! She'd just taken a lot of damage! He needed to heal her injuries, or-_

_Or the Pope and nun would attack while he was weak! If he didn't use this power, she was already as good as dead! He had to deal with them! He had to make them pay! __**He had to make them all pay!**_

He growled again. The fire started to spread from the gemstone to the rest of the shield. And the Pope just stood there. Smirking widely in victory.

It was true. Naofumi was nothing but a lowly devil. He'd been right. He'd been right all along. He laughed in glorious delight.

'_**That smirk. That laugh. I'll wipe it out. I'll wipe them all out if it's the last thing I-!'**_

_..._

*Gasp*

Like rising from the surface of an ocean, Naofumi came to his senses.

_What the hell was he doing?_

The fire over his Shield disappeared entirely. The Pope's laughing paused. "Hmmm?"

_Naofumi was able to see now. That same dark world that surrounded him every time he entered this state. He could see through it._

"No, this isn't right," Naofumi spoke.

_Screens with memories on them played around him. He could almost imagine the background music playing in the background._

'_... This anger… didn't I promise not to use it?'_

_He saw that day. Looking down at Raphtalia's burned body with tears in his eyes. He'd hurt her. He couldn't control his anger, and he'd hurt so many because of it._

'_Didn't I promise not to let it define me… didn't I promise not to let it control my life?'_

_He saw Raphtalia smiling gently at him. He remembered it being days before Motoyasu captured him. When he'd made the accessory for her. That same smile rested on her face in that bed. And on the morning after he'd healed her. As well as the night before he'd met Fitoria._

'_Not just for her sake. But for the sake of all those I care about?'_

_Images of others appeared on different screens. He saw Filo, the cute little angel girl, smiling up at him after bringing him an Amber with the proudest look on her face. He saw Melty, the annoying second princess, risking her life to confront her sister in the Capital so she could convince the Knights who was really in the wrong. Eclair, sad and broken, looking down at the floor of a cell. Thinking she'd been all but forgotten by the world._

_Ren and Itsuki. Their parties. Van Reichnott. Erhard. Fitoria. And every other nice person he'd ever met._

On a cliffside far away, Fitoria was preparing to use her Transport skill again to move her flock within the distance of the coming Wave. But then, she looked in the direction of the Castle sadly. She put a hand over her chest. "Please… Shield Hero…" She couldn't do it all. At the end of the day, she was only one person.

_Wasn't he fighting so he could protect them all?! If so, why was he pulling out this Shield when he couldn't control it!? Why was he willing to risk harming Raphtalia and everyone else!? Was this what it meant to be a Hero?!_

_**No, what was he doing?! He had to make them pay! They all had to pay-**_

Naofumi took a deep, shuddering breath. Almost with reluctance, he switched out of the **Shield of Rage II** to the **Chimera Viper Shield**. The voice, that angry, spiteful, vengeful voice… his voice was silenced.

It seemed he still had more work to do before he'd be ready to wield that particular Shield.

"Hmmm?" The Pope looked curious at that.

Naofumi's transformation disappeared. His armor went back to normal. His right shoulder still bled from where Altara's spell had struck it. But the look of anger and hate had left his features. "I've said it before." He spoke dryly. "And I'll say it again." He looked up, looking at the Pope. "I'm no Devil. And I'm not going to allow your prejudice to turn me into one. Not today. Not ever."

Raphtalia smiled weakly where she laid. '_Naofumi…'_ She felt so proud of him. He'd confronted his own inner darkness by himself, and he'd managed to overcome it this time around without her help. She felt happy...

…

"Ha… haha… hahahahahahahahaha!" Pope Balamus chuckled, and then he laughed, and then he laughed some more. "To think, the Shield thinks to make God look like the villain of this world!" It was ironic. Now, more than ever, the Pope looked like the villain. Naofumi had access to a dark power but turned it down so he wouldn't hurt innocents. Yet the Pope wielded all that power, and he planned to hurt _**how many **_people with it?

It became all the clearer who the real Hero was here.

Naofumi muttered a quick **Fast Heal** under his breath. Healing the wound in his shoulder. He then glanced back worriedly at Raphtalia. She struggled to move, but she was still moving. He heaved a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness he'd gotten ahold of himself in time. Who knew what stupidity he would have unleashed by using that Shield now.

The Pope was still chuckling as his Sword glowed bright again. "You've put on quite the amusing farce. But I believe this has gone on for long enough." Instead of releasing a skill, his Replica Sword changed forms.

One moment, he'd been holding a sword. The next, he was wielding a spear that looked like Motoyasu's. The Pope's smile was wide, wider than it should have been.

Naofumi had forgotten Melty mentioning that the Replica was capable of changing forms. '_... meep.'_ It was sad how his mind also brought up a trope for the situation. He couldn't remember its name exactly, but it was something along the lines of the boss becoming more powerful mid-fight all of a sudden.

Yeah, that's what he was thinking now. The Pope had just taken a step up in terms of power.

"Your presence has been a scourge upon our world long enough. The very Gods are offended by your presence in their holy domain. You are a Devil, an infection that needs to be scourged by the merciful cleansing of God's holy fire." The Pope's spear glowed brightly with more power as he charged up the next skill. Altara watched, eyes wide with glee.

Naofumi braced himself. Preparing to switch to the **Shield of Hope II **if he had to. Even if it meant cutting into the limited amount of time he'd be able to wield the shield. He'd do it if it meant being able to protect Raphtalia long enough for the others to arrive, and so he could protect everyone else he cared about, he'd do anything.

Odd, why did that seem to ring with him?

"I'll provide that cleansing right now. Be glad, Devil of the Shield, for God himself shall grant this mercy upon you. The mercy of being able to be received into his holy embrace after your whole soul is cleansed by-"

A shout interrupted his villain speech. "**Meteor Thrust!**"

"Wha-" A blue portal formed over the Pope. His eyes widened in shock. "No!" A blue shot of energy came down from it directly over him. He quickly formed a barrier over himself.

"Your Holi-" **BOOM!** The explosion of energy sent Altara flying into a wall. The barrier hadn't protected her.

Naofumi lowered his Shield in surprise. "Wait… that skill!" He turned around. "Motoyasu!"

Motoyasu ran through the doorway. Naofumi was beyond surprised. And also beyond amazed. Motoyasu had just had the most soul-crushing thing happen to him in his life, and yet he'd still chosen to fight!?

He almost couldn't believe it, and then Motoyasu chucked an elixir to Naofumi. He recognized it as the same one Bitch drank during their duel. "Give that to Raphtalia! I'll buy you both some time to recover!" Motoyasu yelled before charging by Naofumi towards the Pope.

Naofumi smiled widely as he caught it. He'd come. He'd actually come! And he wanted to help!

Who was this guy, and what the hell had he done to Motoyasu!?

Pope Balamus reemerged from the cloud of smoke that had surrounded him. The Pope barely spared his most faithful nun a glance, before looking at Motoyasu with a grimace on his face.

"What's this? Is the last Cardinal Hero also a false savior of the people?" He condescendingly asked. Thrusting the Replica Spear forward.

Motoyasu's spear locked with the Pope's. "No, you're wrong! I wasn't a Hero before! But I'll choose to be a Hero now!"

"Then you choose your own grave!"

Motoyasu jumped back, dodging the small shockwave of power that came out of the spear. "**Chaos Spear!**" His spear glowed black, and he thrust repeatedly at the Pope. Each strike was so quick that the eye could hardly follow.

Balamus raised a hand, and the skill slammed into a glowing yellow barrier. The two both charged up their next skills.

"**Lightning Spear!**"

The Pope's own skill finished charging up. "**Lightning Spear!**"

The two skills, one formed of SP, and the other of MP from countless followers, charged up and then slammed into each other in the center. A large electrical explosion filled the room, blowing out the various windows. Raining glass down below.

Motoyasu yipped in fright, jumping out of the way of the Pope's skill, which **far** exceeded the power of his own. The area he had been standing in was blasted to kingdom come.

"You fight against God! You will be purified!" The Pope yelled, charging up another skill.

In the middle of the chaos, Naofumi helped Raphtalia drink the elixir. A glow surrounded her body, and the burns and cuts she'd received over the course of the fight healed over. She coughed. It tasted more bitter than she'd imagined. But it worked. Her HP and MP bars were back to full. All her wounds healed over.

"Thank goodness!" Naofumi hugged her tight. "Don't you dare do something that stupid again, you hear me?" He said, worry and relief filling his voice. The Pope's weapon was insanely powerful. If it hadn't been for her magic, his **Fast Guard** spell, and the **Air Strike Shield** taking the brunt of the attack, the skill would have easily killed her!

Raphtalia smiled, hugging him back. "I only did what you'd do for me."

He helped her back up. Naofumi looked at the fight. Motoyasu's surprise attack was quickly losing its effectiveness. The blonde guy yelped as he jumped behind a statue to avoid the Pope's next **Lightning Spear** attack. Which he luckily had enough time to do so, since he needed a few seconds to charge it up.

"**Air Strike Javelin!**" A green, translucent spear of energy flew out from Motoyasu's spear, slamming into another barrier. He ran into the smoke to avoid the Pope's next attack when it charged up.

While it looked like they had the disadvantage of a cooldown on their skills, the Replica did not. Meaning the Pope only had to worry about charging the skill up to attack.

"That damn bastard…" The smoke cleared from the side. Altara had gotten back up. For once, her hood had fallen back. She had long, light brown hair. It spilled out over her back. As he was following it towards her head though, she gasped and pulled her hood back over her head. She got up, stuffing her hair back in as she looked at Naofumi with the most hateful expression anyone had ever given him. Besides Bitch.

"Devil! I'll kill you!" She rushed Naofumi. Her two light swords appeared in her hands.

Before Naofumi could stop her, Raphtalia met her attack. Blocking both strikes with her sword. "I'll kill you! I'll kill both of you!" Once again, the nun blurred.

Raphtalia swiftly turned, roundhouse kicking what looked like thin air to Naofumi. But instead, her foot connected solidly with Altara's face. Surprised, she was launched out of the illusion she'd hid in between two columns and out into a different hallway.

"Don't worry. I can fight her now." Raphtalia said determinedly. Naofumi's mouth hanged open from the **awesome** display! Raphtalia had never looked so bad*** before in her life!

She'd finally figured out why Altara's movements were so bizarre and hard to track. The nun wasn't just fighting with her light swords. She was using illusion magic. Advanced illusion magic.

Which meant she also had an affinity for Shadow Magic.

Naofumi recovered from his slackjawedness. "Are you sure?" He worriedly asked.

She bore her fangs. "I'll make sure she doesn't interfere with your fight again." Now that she knew that the nun was fighting dirty, she knew what to watch out for. She wouldn't allow herself to be fooled by Altara's magic again.

He wanted to stop her. But he sighed, sensing that she wouldn't listen. "How can you be so hopeful when you almost died just now?"

She looked at him and gave him a smile. "Because I'm with you. You give me hope, Naofumi."

With that, she took off running down the hallway she'd launched Altara into. Seconds later, the sounds of more clashing echoed down from the hallway.

Naofumi looked at the hallway in disbelief, and then pride. A small part of him wanted to make sure his Companion would stay okay. But somehow, he _knew_ she'd be alright without him this time.

Besides, someone else needed his protection wayyyyyyy more than she did.

Motoyasu jumped back, landing next to Naofumi. The poor guy was already breathing heavily. His blue-hued armor was damaged in several different places. Some _very _close calls with some of the Pope's skills. "Damn, this guy's tough." He took out a Soul Healing Potion and started drinking from it. The elixir he'd given Naofumi had been the last one he had.

"Yeah. Not only can he use all of your skills. But his attacks exceed my defense. He can change weapons too, and he's protected by barriers. Who knows what else he has up his sleeve?" Naofumi said dryly. If one of those skills hit Motoyasu as he was head-on, he was a dead man.

The Pope stood in front of where the thrones had been. Hopefully, her Majesty would forgive them for destroying them. Not that she ever used them in his opinion. Again, he'd never met her. "We're going to need to work together if we want to get through those barriers. We won't be able to scratch him otherwise."

"I'll try my best… Naofumi." At Motoyasu's tone of voice, he turned and faced the Spear Hero.

Motoyasu grimaced. "I'm sorry... For everything, I did in the past. I, I should have listened to you." He said sadly, looking down at the floor.

He felt ashamed. To think he'd called himself a Hero, and yet he'd allowed such terrible things to happen. He'd trusted that Malty was his friend. He'd trusted her with everything. Well, almost everything. But regardless, he'd trusted her. But she'd used that trust against him. Using him only to accomplish her own ends.

"Motoyasu… now isn't the time to apologize." Naofumi faced the Pope. "I'd appreciate it of course, after all the bull **** you put me through. But save it for _after_ we beat his Excellency's ***! Not before!"

Motoyasu was surprised. But then he held his spear more firmly as he smirked. "Yeah, let's take down this old geezer." Why had he hated Naofumi before? He actually seemed like a pretty chill guy.

The Pope was scowling now. "So all Three Heroes are abandoning the light to side with the Devil?!" His weapon glowed a brighter yellow. "All my followers are around this castle now! Praying for my success! Praying for **God's** success! You are doomed! My indignation, God's indignation shall fall upon you! You both shall be as dust before his glorious might! Prepare to be purified in the name of God-!"

"Yeah, just shut up already, old-timer!" Feeling motivated, Motoyasu switched to the **Spear of Jealousy I**. "**Meteor Thrust!**" Cooldown over, Motoyasu launched another powerful ball of energy at the Pope. Powered up with his Cursed Weapon.

Motoyasu and Naofumi faced down the Pope together.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**This morning, this chapter was only five pages long. Looking at it now, I'm surprised how much I was able to write today when I told writer's block to duck itself and kicked it out to the curb, I kicked it far out there. Hope that you all enjoyed the chapter. **

**Also, the Hero Clip below holds canon information. It is stuff I learned since the chapter where the Pope used the Replica against Ren.**

**Also, RedFist. Happy birthday!**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**Lessons on the Replica**

* * *

"As you can see here, the Replica is a weapon of ancient origin."

The Pope was dressed in a teacher's outfit. His students were the four Heroes. Oddly enough, he was still wearing his pope hat- "It's a mitre, fool!" The Pope shouted at the ceiling.

"Ummmm… okay?" The other Heroes said confusedly.

"Anyway, the Replica is a weapon that can change into the four holy…" Pope Balamus frowned and then crossed the word out in his notes. "Three, holy weapons. And one devilish weapon." He corrected. "And is capable of using most of their strongest skills."

"By strong, do you mean the ones we've unlocked, or-"

"I mean **your strongest skills.** Mr. Naofumi." The Pope said, giving his trouble student a look of contempt.

"Yippee," Naofumi muttered dryly. This was boring.

"The Replica holds the base power equivalent of a level 216 person (not hero) without strengthening methods. Plus my levels and any buffs I'm under." The Pope added.

"Wait, what!?" The Heroes yelled.

"There also isn't equipment bonuses or anything like that added in. So be glad about that. Now to power it, well… that varies between the light novel and anime."

Three of the Heroes were still blinking from that shocking piece of information. He had a base power level of WHAT?! Even if it wasn't based on Hero stats, 216 WAS A BIG NUMBER! BIG PP POWER THERE!

"Um, Mr. Balamus, Isn't that a little too meta-" Itsuki tried to ask.

"Hush now Bow Hero." The Pope silenced Itsuki. "There are differences between them both, my child. Allow me to explain."

Itsuki grumbled but didn't speak up. "You see, in the Light Novels, it was shown that the weapon was actually powered by the mana of ancient followers who'd stored their mana inside over centuries. Not by the mana of Followers already present. Of course, they did that in the anime to make the battle more climatic and probably as a way of explaining why so many were needed there, but that isn't how it works at all."

...

"Isn't that how the fight went down this chapter though?" Motoyasu asked curiously. There were literally thousands of mana streams going into the weapon! THOUSANDS OF FOLLOWERS DONATING THEIR PP POWER FOR HIS ROYAL RELIGIOUS PP EXCELLENCY!?

"Indeed. It appears the Replica in this story here might borrow qualities from both the Light Novel and the anime!" The Pope said happily.

"... What do you mean by that Mr. Balamus?" Ren asked worriedly.

"It means my weapon might be powered by the mana of all followers present! Or it might mean I'm using the mana of centuries of followers! Maybe if I'm lucky, I'm using BOTH!" The Pope spun happily in his chair.

"Ohhhhhhh... joy…" Naofumi muttered.

"Oh, and normally, it's supposed to take me a lot longer to charge up the Replica's skills. But the author saw that and decided to say fetch it and increased the charge rate a little more quickly by having an overabundance of mana, which isn't how it actually works, but he's doing it anyway so God can have a chance at victory!"

So basically, they were facing the equivalent of a level 200+ person (luckily, without strengthening methods, equipment bonuses, or hero bonuses) who had enough mana to annihilate them several times over. He also had an increased charge rate for using skills, no cooldown timer on using them, he could use skills they hadn't unlocked yet which were far more powerful… oh, and they had no idea if knocking out all the Followers would stop the Pope's attacks or not. Along with possible usage of the "Rule of Cool" trope.

"Well, the replicated skills are supposed to be weaker than the originals… but with all that power, you can't really tell at your low levels." Balamus said with a smile.

What fun.

"Now, for the next part-" He was adjusting his Pope hat on his head, and immediately yelled up at the ceiling again. "YOU DAMN HERETIC! IT IS A MITRE I'M WEARING! NOT A POPE HAT!" His Pope hat fell off his head from the yelling. "OKAY! GET THAT WRONG ONE MORE TIME AND I'LL POP OUT OF THIS STORY AND USE MY GOD POWERS TO BEAT YOUR ***Beep* *Beep* *Beepity bleep bleep beeeeeeeeeeeeeee*!**"

The other Heroes groaned and rested their heads against their desks.

How the hell were they going to beat this?

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	52. 52: Liberation of Melromarc, Part Two

**Thanks again to those who update the TVTropes page. I'm expecting a bit of upheaval on some stuff after this chapter. I also want to give thanks to the nice people who PM'ed and reviewed since the last chapter. It's been a while since I've said that. You guys are the real MVP's for keeping motivation going.**

**Also, to the people who ask me to stop censoring words, do know I censor them because I don't say them in real life. And trying to say them causes me physical pain. I don't care if it interrupts the story flow or not. I'd rather not cause myself pain trying to write out the F-word or S-word or whatever. If I say it myself, I won't censor it. Stop reviewing about that please.**

* * *

**Since Last Time: **_74 more favorites, 60 more Followers (Total: 1764 Favorites, 1955 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _July 27th, 2020 5:00 P.M._

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Two:** _Liberation of Melromarc, Part Two: Illusion Broken_

* * *

"Hah!"

"Ahhhhhh!" A random knight was sent flying down a random hallway by Ren's kick.

'_They just never end, do they?'_ Itsuki formed a normal energy attack arrow on his bow and launched it at a knight that ran past the fallen knight. The arrow struck his chest and disappeared. The knight collapsed to the ground. His HP was dangerously low from the simple attack.

Itsuki and Ren were making good progress through the dungeon labyrinth. The knights they were encountering weren't faring well. Ren and Itsuki were having to hold back to keep from slaughtering all the knights they came across.

However, what those two were accomplishing was nothing like the living nightmare ahead of them.

"Gah!"

Eclair cut a gash into the knight's hand, causing him to yell out and drop his sword in pain. Then immediately after, she deflected another knight's sword into a wall sconce and trapped it into the metal framework that was holding the torch. Continuing to push forward with her advantage, Eclair grabbed the first knight's head with her free hand and bashed it against the second, making both knights collapse on the floor. Without even stopping to catch her breath, she jumped over their bodies to bring her sword down upon the last unlucky knight, who had been backing away in fear from the display.

Eclair was a machine. Blazing ahead of them. Taking out knights, avoiding magic attacks, and other various things as her mind was set to battle mode. Her level wasn't as high as theirs. But her swordsmanship, abilities, and combat experience more than made up the difference.

It was scary to watch.

"_You're planning on taking lessons from her, right?"_ Itsuki asked.

"_No… maybe?"_

Her training regiment might be a little too much for Ren's liking. But she'd already beaten him once despite the large difference in their levels. And she'd made a comment to him about his swordplay being on the level of an untrained peasant.

That was a low blow. Even for him. He so needed to improve after this mess was over. Would he have time to improve? He really hoped he would.

The three continued on. They finally had a short reprieve from the knights. But they could still hear their footsteps and yelling echoing in the dungeons around them.

Finally, they turned a corner. Standing down the hall was a knight larger than the others they'd seen. He was tall, sturdy, and bulky, covered in a custom armor similar to Eclair's. His level also looked fairly decent. He obviously wasn't a lowly knight like the rest. He planted his feet and pulled out two great swords from sheaths on his back.

"Ah, Sebastian. Finally, I'll have a challenge." Eclair held out her hands, popping them as a battle crazy smile appeared on her face. "Sir Heroes, take the hallway on the right here, and then two after that, make a left. That should give you a straight shot into the castle. I'm sure you know your way to the throne room from there."

"Wait." "What?" Both of them said at the same time.

"Sebastian and I go way back. I'd prefer it if you let me have a one on one chat with him." Eclair looked back at the two heroes. Her eyes looked a little crazier than they remembered. Was it because of all the fighting she'd done today? Was it because she was finally going to fight someone that could challenge her abilities? Or was it because she'd finally lost it?

"Why are you just standing there?! Go!"

It would be so much simpler for the two powered-up heroes to attack the knight with the Legendary Weapons and bring him down. But they got the feeling they'd earn Eclair's eternal wrath if they did so. So they shakily nodded and ran down the hallway Eclair had indicated to them.

Oddly enough, Sebastian made no move to follow. Eclair looked at the large swordsman. One she'd sparred with plenty of times before in training. "All that time in the dungeon, and you never once visited me," Eclair said lowly.

"My loyalty to the Church comes first." He muttered gruffly.

"Yet you allowed two false heroes to run right past you just now. Does that mean you also hold loyalty to our Queen? Or is it something else?"

"..."

She brandished her sword in a fighting stance. "Either way, I'll consider this my lucky day. None of the others I've fought so far have answered me. Maybe you'll have an idea as to what happened to my Father."

The large knight took up a defensive stance. "If you want answers. You'll have to beat them out of me first."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

Eclair charged forward, and sword met against sword.

* * *

**Boom!**

A section of the floor blew up. Motoyasu had fortunately moved quickly enough behind Naofumi to avoid being deep-fried. Naofumi braced, tanking the large attack again. He used **Fast Heal** on himself as Motoyasu charged forward. Black mist trailing off his spear.

"**Chaos Spear!**"

The series of powerful attacks slammed into the Pope's barrier once more. No matter how much speed and force he put behind it though, the barrier refused to crack.

"Come on! **Spiral Thrust!**" His spear glowed as he launched forward into the barrier surrounding the Pope once more. The barrier still didn't crack, and he jumped away.

_'Motoyasu's attacks aren't doing anything to that barrier... Then again, Raphtalia's attack hardly did anything to the Pope's attack either.'_ Naofumi remembered Raphtalia's spell hitting the Pope's skill, hardly doing anything to it. There was also Motoyasu's Lightning Spear attack. When it collided with the Pope's Lightning Spear, it wasn't strong enough and got overwhelmed.

It stood to reason they needed more firepower than they had if they wanted to break the barrier surrounding him. Which, everything they'd tried so far hadn't worked.

"Damn it! Why is his spear so much more powerful than mine!" Motoyasu said, jumping back behind Naofumi as the Pope's Spear flashed brightly. It was a brighter flare than anything else they'd seen yet.

"It's probably because that Replica he's holding is supposed to have a fourth of the power that our weapons are capable of," Naofumi answered. And, to be frank, Motoyasu was nowhere close to that potential where he stood now.

"You pitiful fools. You fight against the might of God himself. You have always been doomed to fail! Now be purified!" The Spear Replica glowed brightly with mana.

"**Brionac!**"

"WHAT?!"

"**Air Strike Shield! Shield Prison!**" Naofumi quickly used both skills. The powerful spear skill slammed into the **Air Strike Shield** first, and then the **Shield Prison**. Both of which shattered before he took the rest of the attack on his Shield. Naofumi quickly switched to the **Shield of Hope II**. The transforming glow surrounded him. However, despite the extra cushioning from the large boost in defense, he still took a significant chunk of damage!

He gasped from the exertion of blocking it. The Shield glowed brightly in his hands, fueling his emotions with more positivity. But a timer also appeared in the corner of his vision.

**5:00, 4:59, 4:58...**

"**Fast Heal!**" Naofumi's healing spell washed over himself. Thanks to **Hope Springs Eternal**, it received a boost in its efficacy, healing him completely. He then switched back to his **Awakened Chimera Viper Shield**.

Just the short stint in the **Hopeful Series** left his emotions reeling.

"No fair! I still haven't found the Spear that unlocks that skill for me!" Motoyasu yelled. Maybe it was because of the Spear he had equipped, but he sounded very envious of the Pope for accessing one of the most powerful Spear skills he knew of.

"Less talking, and more barrier smashing," Naofumi muttered.

"**Crimson Thrust!**" Flames covered Motoyasu's spear as he charged in again. The attack slammed into the barrier. "**Zweite Fireball!**" The spell also slammed into the Pope's barrier. The Pope smiled, as if in amusement.

"Oh. If only that skill didn't cost so much to charge up." Pope Balamus murmured. He swiped his Spear, Motoyasu dodged and struck at the barrier again with his spear. It did nothing.

"Damn it! Break already!"

The False Hero and Devil had survived longer than he had anticipated. He'd expected Brionac to be enough to finish them. But it hadn't been. The Devil's tricks had protected them once again.

The streams of mana around him were still thick. But who knew how long that would be the case. These two had to be dealt with, now.

"**Bishop. Prepare the ritual spell**." Balamus amplified his voice outside down below to the Bishop. Who led the efforts around the castle with the thousands of robed followers from the Three Heroes Church, who'd gathered from all over the Kingdom.

"Of course, your Excellency." The Bishop started making the preparations amongst the Followers.

Balamus knocked Motoyasu away with a wave of the spear again. He focused his attention on the false hero and the Shield Devil. The Devil was the one blocking his strikes. But Motoyasu's weapon was especially worrisome. With the cursed mist emitting from its gem. As well as the fact that the wounds his simple strike had inflicted on the Spear Hero were already healing thanks to that cursed spear. He was fortunate to have a holy buff from his followers protecting him from the mist's status effect. Stat down.

It was evil. The irredeemable Devil of the Shield had fully corrupted the Spear Hero and twisted him into being his servant. He'd thought that Naofumi wouldn't be much of a threat if everything was torn from him in the beginning. But Naofumi not only escaped, but he grew in power and corrupted those around him. Including the other Holy Heroes.

He had no choice. It was his **duty** to purify them both!

"Try this on for size! **Meteor Thrust!**" Once again, with his cooldown timer finished, Motoyasu tried the skill on the Pope once more.

"That has long since been a feeble effort on your part, false Spear Hero." The barrier flashed brightly as the ball of energy appeared from the side. And it exploded against it. The barrier still didn't crack.

'_His level's still as high as ever… so how is Motoyasu not strong enough to break that barrier?'_ Naofumi thought. Was he weak despite his high level?

"You think to lay a scratch on God himself? That is an irredeemable mistake. One of many that merit God's holy Judgment to fall upon you." The Pope released a shockwave of power at the two, which Naofumi tanked once more. Motoyasu growled in frustration behind Naofumi. And though the Pope hid it behind a calm smile, he was also growing frustrated with this Devil blocking his every attack.

"Do you have anything stronger than that spear?" Naofumi asked.

"If I did I'd be using it! Why don't you try something?!" Motoyasu angrily asked.

...

Naofumi literally deadpanned as he pointed at the Shield. "... Oh, right." Motoyasu had the nerve to look sheepish.

He would be using **Hope Asunder** like crazy if he could. But earlier, he'd used **Air Strike Shield** on the Pope in an attempt to set up the combo chain skill for the **Shield of Hope II**. However, the barrier broke the shield. And he couldn't summon the Shield inside the barrier while it was active. It had to be broken first.

Unless Motoyasu got a boost in strength, he'd be tanking attacks until Ren and Itsuki arrived. If they arrived.

"Unless you destroy that barrier. The best I'll be able to do is protect your *** from being blown up." Naofumi said dryly.

"Hey, don't judge me!" Motoyasu said enviously.

_'Actually, now that I think about it, what if he had the others' power-up methods? Some of the passive ones could strengthen him, right?'_ It wouldn't hurt to try at least. "Actually, I know how you can get stronger-" He tried to say.

"Stop judging me! I'm strong enough! I can break through that damn barrier without your help!" Motoyasu's spear flared with more cursed black mist, and he gave a war cry as he charged and jumped, aiming his spear down at the Pope. "**Chaos Spear!**" The attack slammed into the Pope's barrier again and again. It seemed like he was putting his all into it. But the Pope merely smirked as the Cursed Mist brushed off the auto-barrier. Motoyasu jumped back off the barrier, snarling frustratedly as Naofumi used **Air Strike Shield** to help cushion the retaliatory attack.

"I'm not judging you Motoyasu."

"Yes you are! You all are!"

"I'm just saying anything to judge you! Would you just listen-"

"Screw you!" Motoyasu snarled.

Naofumi groaned. Was Motoyasu's Spear starting to affect him more severely now! "I just want to help-" Naofumi stopped. Realizing something.

"What?! What is it?!" Motoyasu demanded. The Pope charged up for his next attack.

"Get jealous."

"WHAT?!"

The Pope calmly smiled as he launched another attack from the platform he stood on. Naofumi braced once more, blocking with his Shield. Motoyasu had the **Spear of Jealousy** equipped right now. The gem was a swampy green color. The rest of the spear was black, with a tinge of grey along the tip of the spear.

Naofumi didn't have the time to talk and explain the methods. And in Motoyasu's deteriorating state, he likely wouldn't believe him if he tried (one of the requirements for using the power-up methods). But that wasn't the only way to power up. And Motoyasu was already getting more jealous the longer the fight dragged on.

"The Cursed Series grows stronger the more you feed its emotion into it. That spear comes from jealousy, right? So get jealous!" Of course, it also ran the risk of Motoyasu being consumed by the Curse Series. But how did the saying go? Desperate times called for desperate measures. And somehow, Motoyasu was handling the first tier of the Cursed Series just fine. Albeit, with some side effects. He could _probably_ handle Tier Two.

Hopefully. They were screwed otherwise.

"That makes no sense!"

"Arguing while facing your demise. You two are truly in need of purification. Be purged from this world!" The Pope said with the authority of God, before unleashing another skill at Naofumi and Motoyasu.

"**Fast Heal!**" Naofumi tanked the attack again with the **Shield of Hope II**, healed himself, and changed to a different shield. He was starting to feel the effects of blocking so many attacks as well as the effects of changing in and out of the **Hopeful Blessed Series**. '_If this keeps up, I doubt even the potions will help me stay on my feet.'_ And he needed to save the **Shield of Hope II **for if Motoyasu broke through the barrier. If he used that Shield only when necessary, he ran the least risk of running into issues, as well as finding out if he would fall into the Cursed Series or not when the timer reaches zero.

"Do you really want to help me, or not?!" He demanded Motoyasu. "If you want to help me, then just get jealous, damn it!"

"Be purified!" The Pope continued to smile. He charged up another attack and fired.

* * *

"Sir Ren and Itsuki were right."

"Nobody's here at all."

"There weren't even any guards protecting this place."

"Fuehhh…"

Both groups walked down the stairs leading down into the Archives. Farrie walked in the front, holding a flame over her hands to light the way down. None of the sconces on the sides of the wall were lit. Wyndia walked in the back of the group, also holding a flame. She appeared calm. However, if one were to look, they would have seen her clenched frustrated fists at her sides. Rishia stood in the middle of the group, holding a flame that looked weak compared to the other two.

"Bakta, you'll guard our way back up."

"Why do I have to do guard duty?!"

"Because you can't read."

"..." Bakta grumbled, not even trying to argue it. When they finally arrived at the bottom, he stood guard near the exit to the Archives as the others walked in.

Ren's party members recognized the secret library from their last visit. Though Itsuki's party members, and more specifically Rachel, took a little time to stare around in surprise. There were a lot of books… and a lot of damage all around.

"What happened over there?" Aksel asked, pointing at an area in the corner that was destroyed. There was also a large hole in the wall in the process of being repaired.

"That was from when we escaped from the Church," Tersia said. "Wyndia blew a hole through that wall so we could escape."

"Whoa…" Aksel looked at the dog-girl in awe. She ignored him and walked over to a bookshelf to start looking through the books that were intact.

"This… this is a disaster! This is a catastrophe! How could they do this to all these books?!" Itsuki's party was surprised. Rachel was kneeling in front of a destroyed bookshelf. The normally calm mage was openly crying over a destroyed grimoire. "Why are they so evillllllll!?"

"Uhhhh… did anyone else know she was a fan of books?" Aksel asked.

"I think she stayed in Van's library a lot when we weren't training or visiting nobles," Karn said. He hadn't realized how much of a fan of books she was. As commoners, they didn't have much access to no more than a few books.

"I think he was too busy watching over me to notice." Maya teased.

Aksel sputtered and hustled to a more intact bookshelf to search. Maya giggled as she followed along right behind the knight. "Search somewhere else!" He complained to the party Gadfly.

"But I want to search with you."

"Fuehhh…" It was good to note Rishia also cried alongside Rachel. To see such a large library ruined was truly a catastrophe beyond proportions.

The groups separated, looking through the Archives. However, between all the damage and destroyed texts, some of which they realized had been destroyed recently, they weren't finding anything.

"This was the bookshelf Wyndia found that one book on, right?" Welt asked.

"Yeah. I remember this one. This bookshelf held many different versions of history books on it when I trained as a nun." Tersia said with a frown. The bookshelf was still intact. But many of the books had been destroyed. Many of which she hadn't been allowed to read since she wasn't an official nun at the time.

What remained she opened and flipped through. They were mostly books written by past Cardinal Heroes. Some summoned during the Waves. Others when they were summoned to deal with one crisis or another. A lot of them were weird, with the Heroes boastfully detailing their deeds, their harems, their grudges against certain Heroes, it was like reading their own personal fanfic diary.

Although, for some reason, one that she picked up read more like smutty third-person fanfic than actual history books. It was about one of the past Bow Heroes, Slugalante, who was addicted to adding catgirls to his harem. There was a note written in at the end. "He decided to forsake his duty as a hero in favor of gathering a harem of cat-women. He met his untimely end at the hand of yanderes, and his soul still burns in hell to this day."

… yeah, she put it back on the shelf.

However, in all these history books, pages were missing.

"I guess the Church decided to destroy evidence that would incriminate them after we managed to infiltrate this place last time," Welt said sadly.

"... I guess." Tersia calmly put the books back. If they had time later, she'd give the books a more thorough look over to see what exactly was missing.

Though reading about some past horny edgy Hero's sexual adventures in great, overexaggerated detail was not something she'd look forward to.

Farrie looked around at one of the desks that had survived before. The others gathered from different parts of the Archive. "Did anyone find anything?" Karn asked.

"Fuehhh… not really." Rishia said sadly.

The others shook their heads. "This whole venture was a waste of time," Wyndia muttered lowly. "Our time would have been better spent with Sirs Ren and Itsuki."

"Maybe. But it was worth checking anyway." Aksel said.

"Since we finally got some alone time." Maya teased.

"Just stop. Please." Aksel groaned. This girl was going to make him go insane.

Wyndia scowled. She wanted to say what was likely on everyone's minds. That it was nothing but an excuse to put them out of danger. But then, Farrie gave a triumphant shout. "Aha!"

She'd opened a compartment to the desk she'd studied at before. And from the back underneath a tray of papers, she pulled out a worn book. "I knew keeping this here would be a good idea!"

"Keep what where?" Rachel asked. She looked calm again, but she was also pissed about the destruction of so many books.

"Back when I was in my rebellious phase training here, I searched through the Archives at night for books that looked important and hid them to frustrate the nuns. My other hiding spots were destroyed. But this one was still intact." She said happily, prancing towards them before handing the completely intact book to Tersia.

Tersia quickly skimmed the contents. It wasn't a perfect history like the one Wyndia found before.

But it was enough. "Good job, Farrie." The mage gave her fellow mage a smile.

"I knew my rebellious days would come in handy," Farrie said happily.

"Let's get going then."

The groups ran back out the exit.

* * *

"Quick! Stop them!"

"**Fast Aqua Shot!**"

The Church Knight was launched screaming off the wall and into the filled moat by Melty's spell. She clung to Filo's back as the large bird ran along the outer wall.

"**Fast Tornado!**" Filo summoned a tornado. Another ballistae set on the wall was sent flying, as well as the few Church Knights who had been charging at them from it.

"Wow, they're incredibly weak," Filo commented. "Are all knights this weak?"

"Don't underestimate them. We're almost done clearing the southern wall's defenses, but they might have a surprise or two waiting for us." She and Filo had finished their task with scouting the area around the castle. As she'd thought, the majority of the defenses were positioned in the north, east, and west. She hoped her Mother's Shadows, scouts, or whoever she had observing the city would realize she was trying to open a path for them. If it was actually them marching close to the city.

Up a flight of stairs, more knights came charging out. Behind them, ballistae manned by other knights took aim at them.

"Watch out Filo!" Melty exclaimed.

The ballistae fired a large bolt over the charging knights at them.

"Don't worry Mel!" **Poof!**

"Whoaaa!" Melty fell in a poof of feathers. The bolt flew well over and on into a guard tower behind them.

"**Haikuiku!**" Filo in her little girl form sped forward into the midst of the knights.

"Huh-" Filo jumped up quickly past one. Her fist slammed into the knight's face, launching him away.

"What is that-" "Stand and-" Two more knights were launched off the wall. Filo curved herself midair, dodging a slash from a sword. And her foot slammed into the offending knight's chest. Launching him through the air past Melty as she continued on.

"It's a demon child!"

"Run for your lives!"

"AHHHHHHHH!" The knight's charge disintegrated into chaos and fear.

"No way… did she learn to fight like this because of that fight with Fitoria?" Melty said in awe. Filo was being awesome!

A weak, high pitched squeak came from a knight who fell to the ground. Filo's fist had just slammed into his crotch with enough force to end his family lineage.

Melty's face blanched at that. That was most definitely not from Fitoria. Who would be cruel enough to teach Filo to strike someone there?

She pouted. Naofumi immediately came to mind. She didn't know why, but she could easily picture the rude Hero teaching Filo to do something like that. How dare he ruin innocent Filo like that?!

A knight crashed into the side of the ballistae. "What are you waiting for?! Fire that damn thing already!" He yelled up to the knights in fear.

"We're trying!" They had the drawstring cranked back. They were trying to set the next bolt in place-

In a poof of feathers, Filo reappeared towering over the contraption. "You're finished!" She cocked her large foot back.

They didn't even have time to say: "Mommy."

Her foot slammed upwards into the ballistae. The knights and the contraption were all sent screaming off the wall and into the moat.

"Filo! That was amazing!" Melty yelled, stars in her eyes.

Overall, Filo was the coolest!

Filo set her foot down, looking curiously around her. These knights were pathetically weak. They should really reconsider their life choices before doing something that would get them killed- "Mel! Behind you!"

Melty turned around in surprise. One of the Church Knights Filo had knocked behind her had gotten back up. "Ahhhhhhh!" He charged to slash her with his sword. Melty instinctively raised her hands to protect herself. The weak pathetic knight suddenly didn't look so weak and pathetic-

An icicle impaled his chest from behind. The knight gurgled blood as he flew to the side of Melty. Not hitting her.

Never mind. They were still weak and pathetic.

"Wha-" Melty lowered her hands in surprise, and then her eyes widened in happiness. "Mother!"

"Melty." Her mother stood on the wall behind her. She was adorned in her royal armor. Complete with robes matching the color of her hair, and the crown of Queen on her head. "Thank the Gods you're safe." She also looked down at her youngest daughter in relief.

Filo disappeared in a poof of feathers, reappearing beside Melty as a little girl. "Who's that Mel?" She asked curiously.

"It's, it's my Mother. The Queen!" Melty said. Tears of happiness coming down her face.

She was right! Her mother had been close by! Looking out over the plains now, she saw an army coming out of the forest. They bore the purple banners of the Crown of Melromarc. She had been right! SHE HAD BEEN RIGHT!

TAKE THAT NAOFUMI!

"Melty, dear. This next part may get a little messy. Would you mind waiting up there where it's safe to direct our forces?" Mirellia asked her nicely. Pointing to the top of a guard tower.

"Um… sure?" Was there no happy 'glad you're alive dealeo' or at least a hug? But then Mirellia dropped the smile as she turned to face her army.

Oh crap. Melty realized it. Her mother was pissed! But fortunately, it wasn't at her.

"You have your orders! We will clear our fair streets of this parasite once and for all!"

"Yahhhhhhhhh!" The army let out a loud roar of approval. A roar that echoed throughout the city. Almost as if like clockwork, the South Gates opened wide. Mirellia's army raced across the plains. On foot, on horseback, on Filolial, or whatever it was they were riding on. Melty sighed, it looked like her private reunion with Mother would have to come later.

For now, it was time for them to retake the Capital from the Pope.

* * *

Naofumi blocked another shockwave of power from the Pope. Pope Balamus frowned. "Stop resisting. You must be purified from our world!"

"Never!" Naofumi took another hit on his shield and pushed it to the side where it exploded against a wall.

'_Get jealous…'_ Motoyasu stood. Thinking over what Naofumi had said.

He first unlocked the Curse Series after the fiasco at Lute. He'd felt so guilty about what had happened. But that wasn't the only thing, was it? Something had sparked his jealousy there in that village, culminating into the **Spear of Jealousy**.

What was he jealous about? Was he jealous of Naofumi? The other two Heroes? The fact that he had the rotten luck of trusting a red-headed yandere Bitch? But that was a recent event.

Naofumi used **Shield Prison**, encasing them both and protecting them from another attack. He then switched to the **Shield of Hope II**, tanking the rest of it before using a healing spell and switching to a different shield. His jealousy flared, looking at Naofumi. Was he jealous of him then? But hadn't Naofumi been on the short end of the stick since coming to this world…

Motoyasu sent an **Air Strike Javelin** at the Pope. And Naofumi tanked another attack. And seeing the look of strain on his face, Motoyasu finally realized it.

Even though he was tired, Naofumi tanked the attack with determination. Even though he was sore, he pushed on. He didn't care how badly he got hurt. He'd go the extra step if it meant stopping this bad guy. If it meant protecting innocent people he didn't even know. Or maybe didn't even like. Hell, he was working with him, the guy who had helped Myne to ruin his life.

Naofumi was a true hero, unlike him, who'd allowed his loyalty to his friends to blind him into hurting others. Who allowed the words of those who worshipped him to make him do horrible things. To hurt innocent fair maidens. To attack Naofumi time and time again. That was why he was jealous of Naofumi. Despite all his trials, Naofumi still chose to be a Hero. Motoyasu's trials had shown just how far he was from being a Hero.

Along with that realization, came one other thing.

IF HE WAS BEING HONEST, HE WAS JEALOUS THAT NAOFUMI HAD RAPHTALIA AS HIS CONFIDENT INSTEAD OF THAT RED HAIRED YANDERE HE'D LEFT TIED UP IN THAT PRISON CELL! STUPID MYNE! WHY DID HE HAVE TO SUFFER UNDER HER INSTEAD OF THE OTHER HEROES! WHY COULDN'T SHE HAVE STAYED WITH NAOFUMI IN THE BEGINNING!? WHY DID SHE HAVE TO WORK WITH THE CHURCH TO MAKE SURE SHE GOT IN GOOD WITH HIM?!

"I'm going to make you pay for making me a False Hero, Pope Balamus!" Motoyasu yelled in envy.

**...**

**...**

**C̶̡̢̛̬͈̝̪͈̼̪̜͓̝̥̓̒̆̀͒́͂͋͋̏͜ͅȕ̴͔̤̤̔̍̔͝͝r̴̡̤̔ͅs̸̭̭͙̎͛̅̎́̇͂̏̋͘͠ͅę̷̺̰͎͈̪̻̬̻̟̟̬̟̙̓̇̿̉̎ ̵̧͔̫͈̮̰̝̪͎̙̝͜͜͠S̴̡̹̲̣̹͉̪̍̓͐e̶͖̦̮͙̞̋͆̃̚͜ȓ̴̫̺̺̮͚̲̙̬͈͎̰̓̅̃̂̎̎͑̕͜͜͝i̸̜͈͔̹͍͚̺͔̯̯͛͌̆͛͌̇̕͘ě̷̹̰̍̂̈̅̊̂̔ş̷̡̡̬͕̩̲̠͓̲͋̒̐̀̆̈̽̓:̵̨̖͌͋̇̓̀͗̾̒̇́͛́̐͝ ̷̨̪̫̺̬͚̟̮̻͉̥̌Š̵̨̢̡͉̲̺͚̼̋̈́̂̽̍̃̉̈́̚̚͘p̸̢͖̱̻͇̘͚͓̙̳̠̈́̿͑̀̕̚e̷̢̗͙͈͇̟̫̖̺̳̱̞͔͔̅̾̓̌̽͘͜ą̵̡̢̹͈̠̼̲̣͔̟̿̔̋̍̽̏̀͛́̚͠r̶̳̤̲̦̝̠͙̠̖͔̼͚̎̊͊̀̏̐̐̏̋̐̋͛̿͠ͅ ̵̧͚̭̗̣̖̠̪̮̖͙̏́̆̐̉̔͊̏͆̇̀̾̋͠o̵̢̯̣̘̱̼̪̺͊̾̄̄̽̈́̈́̽̊̀̀̿͐͜f̴̧̛̝̟̼̳̪̭̙͚̜̭̘̑͗̽̅̀́̅̀̇̅͆͘͝ͅͅͅ ̶̬͍̬̣͓̻̺̠́͆̑̐̂̃̅̈̚J̵̧͇̰̖͉̬͕̜̝̞̮̻̲͛͛͒̄̂ẻ̴̟͖̩̤̠͔̼̠͔̯͍̐͒̇̀͘͜͝͠ä̵͍̙̹́͌͗̏l̷̨̰̼̖̥̻̜̠̝̱̈́̀ͅo̴͍̗̤͎͑̓̑̄͋̔̎̿̓̍̈́̃̕ų̷̻̰̱̥̯͇͂͗͂̄̌̄͌̌̓̈́̽́͂ş̶̫͌y̴̛̥̐͋͌̌̈̾ ̸̨͉͈̲̖͖̙̲̦́̄̉͊͊̃̀̂́͌̕͘̕͝͠A̷̛̼̺̜̦̠͔̼̖͙̹͈̎͆͑̋͑͊̿̓͠b̴̡̢̧̫̮̖̤̻̳̯͈̻̠̗̈́̀̿̃̾̒̂̈̓̽͊̕i̴͙̜̙͖̖̺͖̮͖̥̫̹̓̽̍̀̌͐͂͠ļ̶̛̫͙͙̘̠̥̩̲̲̻̬͊ͅi̵̼͛͂̊͗̏̈́̈́̈́͘͜t̴̛̞́͂̀͋̋̄͊̈́̈́̊͠į̴͕̣̟̯͈̣͇̙̟̮̰̯͉̆͐̿̓̎͋̄͜ȩ̷̧̨̢̻͔̬̹̣̠̰͉̈́͌̾̾̇̆̂̅͋̏͘͝s̸̢̧̢̛̫̩̠͖̜͖̻̝̙͉̞̿͗̎̌̏̀̿̀̀̈́̿͝͝ ̸̧͆͐̈̉̀́̃̎̓̎̾͊̀̚i̶̧̨̢̧̦̣͔̖̗͙̹͕͙̫̿̇͊̏̉̐̄̍̀̚͝͠ͅn̴̨̺̼̘͎̗̟̖̘͓̮̻̍̾̒̊̐̐ͅͅc̵̡̩̖̭̗̞͖̠̫̯̮̦̳̽̑̓̕͝ͅͅr̴̺͖̟͖̯̹̔͗͑̿̓̉̾̄̑͆̇̅͜͝ë̶̛͖͙͔̓͑̀͌̓̓ạ̶̲̪͍̾̆͑̓̈́̽̉̆͘̚͜͝ͅs̷̹̦̘̜͚̫̹̪̣̀̐̆̑̾͋͐̕͝ͅe̴͇̤̠͓͙̿̊̇͗̾ͅd̸̹̤̪̮̳̻͈̠̹̙̐̉̾̾̊̌̒!̶̧̨̘͎̪̳͙̝̙̼̀͆̿̓͗̅̓̆͐̏̋̄͜͝͝**

**...**

**Ś̴͇̆̋̉̈́̎̈̕p̵̨̬͍̫̓͌̃̆͋͆̌̓̐͂̏͋̾͘è̶̪̠̥̺̮̝̣͉̰̲̪̜ͅâ̴̢͕̠͍̺̗͇̞͕͔̟̭̤̿̏͒͜͝r̶̢̦͇͕̳̟͉̳̯̩͆͝ ̵̛̭͔̳͓̪̹̪͉͍̗̞͒̐ͅǫ̴̯̻͉̙̦̰̠͕̺̲̹̜̰͑́͛̐̀̒͋̀́͜͠f̸̲̮͂̾́͆̀̽͠ ̶͙͓̼̻̩̊̌̋͑̚͝J̶̢̻̰͇̝̞̘̊͑̋̿̋̄e̷̝̤̯̕a̶̧̻̰͔̱̯͚͂͋̌͑͆͒͝l̷̡̥͔̜̩̝̩̹͖̺̘͒̅̈́̀͂͋̔͒͌͆̚ő̸͔̲̫̖̼̼̩̞̺͕̲̂̔͌ů̷̯̪͔̬̰̭́̾͌̅͋̈́̑̓̄͘s̷̛̛̠͒͐̐̂̓͆͗̕ͅy̶̦̳̯͖̮̘̖̺͙̟̏̀͑̂̃̂̀͌̋̓͌̌͘͜͝͝ ̸̛̼̖͚̦̖̰͇̻̥̹̠̥̈́̌̋͗̆̅̋͌̒̑̒̌̆͝I̴̡̛̻͔͎̝͎̝̐͑̃͛̓̚͝Ì̵̡̘͈͚̭̥̺̤̃͗̄͋͆̚ ̸̟̼͚̒̋͌̾̓͘̕͝͝ŭ̸͎̻͌͊̍͝͝n̷̦̂́̈́̃̏͐͐̾̔̓͆͌̄̀l̵̠̤̣̦͙̫̦̳͕̪̋̇͜õ̶̺͇͓̳͇̰̠̟̙̼̠͈̺c̸̡̨͉͍̣̺͎̆̏̎͛k̶̼̭̹͈̺͔̠͓͈̘̱̪͎̼̊̿̾̒́͘͝͝e̴̯̓̾͊̈̈́̃̍̄̈́̽̚͘͠͝ͅd̷͈̹̘̹̼͚̳͕͖͓̳̗͐̒͆̋̋̕͘͜!̶̪̌̈́̒̆́͆͗̎͠**

**.̶̨̰͉̱̖͔̠̜̈́͐̾̔̿̉̀̆̓͆͗͛̍͘͜..**

Wow, it was almost sad how it was actually because of Bitch that he unlocked the next tier.

The spear transformed. The black spear tip became longer, the front of it straighter. The green Jewel became slightly murkier than before. A small coil coiled slightly down from the jewel onto the long striped hilt of the spear. The bottom part had two small prongs extending from it. And the spear itself dripped more black mist of jealousy. With his transformation, the light black mist covered the floor around Motoyasu.

"Motoyasu. You still in control?" Naofumi asked. The Pope paused, observing Motoyasu's sudden transformation.

"... Of course… of course, I am! I'm no weakling like you!" Motoyasu yelled, tone more filled with jealousy. Fortunately, he didn't charge for Naofumi. Instead, he charged for the Pope. The black mist spread out from him at every step.

"**Chaos Spear!**"

He tried the attack once more. And it slammed into the barrier the Pope created again and again. "Please, that hasn't worked before, why would it-" He paused, cracks were appearing on the barrier itself. But how-

Motoyasu jumped back. Balamus twirled the spear in preparation for another attack. But it felt slower, weaker than before. _'What?' _He then saw that some of Motoyasu's cursed mist had gotten through the cracks of the barrier. And it rested around him. '_No! Don't tell me!' _He opened his HUD, and sure enough, Motoyasu's cursed mist was more powerful than the holy buff he was under. His stats had all dropped.

"**Lightning, Spear!**" Motoyasu's spear charged up with lightning, before unleashing the attack on the Pope. Unlike the blue it was before though, it was now dark murky green.

"**Lightn-**" The Pope tried to retaliate, but then the barrier around him shattered. He raised the Spear, using it to take the brunt of the attack.

"**Crimson Thrust!**" Flames covering his Spear once more, Motoyasu charged in. His spear slammed into the Pope's gut, who coughed up blood. Surprised at the force of the attack. And then flames surged up around him. Burning him.

"Quickly! The Pope is in need of our aid!" The Bishop yelled to the Followers. "We must cast the ritual magic now!"

The followers all around the castle began to murmur in hushed voices.

"Now!" Motoyasu jerked back. It was taking everything he had not to give in. His attacks had only shattered the barrier and wounded the Pope.

The flames disappeared. But the coughing Balamus only saw Motoyasu in front of him. Where was the Shield-

"**Air Strike Shield!**"

He turned to the side in surprise. Naofumi had used Motoyasu's attacks as a cover, allowing him to sneak close to Balamus. Balamus backed away and hit the Shield that formed behind him.

"**Change Shield! Lasso!**" Rope burst out from the shield, tying Balamus to it.

"You fools!" The old man struggled to free himself. He formed the barrier again, but having the shield already inside, it didn't destroy it. Naofumi finally switched to the **Shield of Hope II **to use its skill instead of to defend.

"FOOLISH MORTAL! YOU STAND CONDEMNED FOR YOUR UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENTS HERE TODAY! I DISPENSE MY JUSTICE ON YOU, AND STRIP YOU OF THAT WHICH PROTECTS YOU MOST! I CAST MY WORDS TO THE HEAVENS! NOW SUFFER!"

Light shone brightly outside the windows. At the same time, Naofumi finished choosing the effects of the skill.

"**Hope Asunder!**"

At the same time, Motoyasu attacked. "**Meteor Thrust!**"

The shield inside the barrier shattered in a burst of blue mist. Then, the burst of blue energy, covered in Motoyasu's black mist, exploded against the barrier, shattering it before slamming into the Pope. Both Heroes raised their arms, protecting their eyes as they jumped back from the mega explosion and shockwave that occurred.

...

Motoyasu switched out from the Cursed Weapon. He groaned tiredly as he rested a knee on the ground. His head was pounding. And, oddly enough, he felt strands of jealousy lingering on his consciousness. "Did… did that work?" Motoyasu asked weakly.

"Not sure." Naofumi had set Hope Asunder to lower Balamus's defense by a fair amount. But not enough so that he'd go into the negatives in SP again. He also grimaced, seeing his stats had gone down a little bit. Some of Motoyasu's cursed mist had gotten onto him. The same thing had happened to Motoyasu's stats.

**2:39, 2:38, 2:37...**

…

"Haha… hahahahahaha!" The blue cursed mist thinned, and Balamus reappeared. Still standing in his spot. Completely unscathed. "I must admit. To see the Shield using a blessed attack while the Spear used a Cursed attack. My forefathers must be rolling in their graves right now!"

Looking at their HUD's, both Heroes saw that Balamus hadn't been debuffed. The barrier had broke from Motoyasu's attack, but his Cursed Mist hadn't harmed his Excellency like before. In fact, what damage he'd caused had already been healed over by his Followers.

"What, but how?!" Naofumi said in shock.

"We are standing on holy ground, blessed by God himself. Do you even realize that you are in the midst of one of the greatest spells of all? Look out the windows! Behold, his might! His Majesty which surrounds us!" He indicated to the broken windows behind him. "**Sanctuary!**"

Outside, the bright light that had appeared became more apparent. It was a bright green, like his Air Strike Shield. Had he been given an outside perspective, he would have seen the whole castle was surrounded by a large Cathedral like structure. Many around the Capital stared, from Mirellia's army to the people cowering in their homes.

"But… how?" Naofumi said in shock.

The Pope leveled his Spear and a shockwave of power came from it. Motoyasu, who was stunned at seeing Naofumi's skill not work, almost got hit. Naofumi raced in front just in time, taking the blast head-on. The force of it launched him back into Motoyasu, and they both went flying back away from the stone platform.

The Pope laughed. "Foolish Devil. No curse can ever be allowed to stain God's holy domain. It is forbidden. The tricks of the devil hold no power here! We are in God's divine house! Your struggles are that of an ant against God!" The Pope said, a happy smirk on his face.

Indeed, looking at his stats again now, Naofumi saw Motoyasu's cursed touch had already disappeared, and his stats were back to normal. Same as Motoyasu. "But Hope Asunder isn't a cursed attack-" Naofumi started to yell.

"Indeed, it is not!" Balamus said with a laugh. "To think, the Devil of the Shield would ever be allowed to wield a Blessed Weapon! But alas, your trick is in vain! As God protects his Followers from being Cursed, so too does he protect them from the 'blessings' of others!" He spread his hands wide in absolute glory. "Behold! This is the power of God! This is the power that shall purge you from this world now and forever! You will never be allowed to defile it with your vile presence again!"

"Damn it…" His ace up his sleeve. His Chekhov's Skill. It was useless. He couldn't do a damn thing.

**1:59, 1:42, 1:25.**

The Shield on his arm dimmed in brightness. The robes that came with the transformation also began to dim. His SP, which had been regenerating more quickly than normal, began to slow in regeneration.

"Urgh, you think we'll just take this sitting down!" Motoyasu yelled angrily as he forced himself to stand back up. "**Air Strike Javelin!"**

The ethereal javelin slammed into the Pope's Barrier. But it didn't do a thing to it. Motoyasu grimaced tiredly, and almost fell over from the weight of that simple attack.

"I believe the time of purification has come." The Pope raised his spear high above his head. It glowed brightly again. He smiled widely.

"Come on, Naofumi! There has to be something else we can try!" Motoyasu exclaimed, shaking Naofumi by the shoulder. Naofumi didn't stir.

**0:43, 0:32, 0:25.**

"Naofumi!" Motoyasu shook the Shield Hero again. His eyes were faint though.

'_We failed… we never even stood a chance.' _He'd thought this would go like every other encounter. If the enemy was too strong, **Hope Asunder **had always been able to pull them through. But not this time. The Pope had been ready for him to use the Blessed Skill. The shock of seeing it not work had sent his fragile emotional state reeling.

Why have Hope? It was too easily extinguished. It was better like this. They were doomed. His Shield's glow was but a glimmer. His robes had already disappeared. It was better to give up. Wouldn't it be better to just give up?

**0:15, 0:13.**

"At last, you shall be cleansed by the Power of God's Divine Judgement. Completely, and thoroughly." He raised his spear up, charging it with more mana from his followers outside. His glasses glowed from the light of all the mana surrounding him. "Farewell, Devil of the-"

"**Meteor Arrow!" "Meteor Slash!"**

The Pope's eyes widened. "No!" The two skills slammed into the barrier. The first one destroyed it. The second one slammed into the weapon. But it was still with enough force that it sent him flying back into a wall.

It was Motoyasu's turn to turn in surprise. He recognized those skills! "Ren, Itsuki!" He exclaimed tiredly.

The two Heroes ran into the room. They didn't look too worse for wear. They'd encountered a few more knights in the Castle.

Seriously, being an offensive Hero with power-ups was like, the best. Ever. "Seriously, Naofumi. You started without us?" Ren asked calmly. The Throne Room was an absolute mess. Holes cratered the walls. The windows were broken. The thrones were debris. One of the Church flags was on fire.

Naofumi looked at them in surprise. Then the timer froze at **0:05**. It was like it had been locked, and his mind was cleared of the turmoil it had been going through at the end of the timer. **'**_Holy hell!' _He quickly switched out from the **Shield of Hope II**.

_'Thank you Fitoria! Damn!'_ Fitoria's gift had come in handy there. It had just saved his life. What the hell had he been thinking?! He should have switched out after seeing **Hope Asunder **fail! Damn him! "Glad you two could finally make it. Do you know the hell we've been going through facing him by ourselves?" Naofumi dryly joked.

"Probably, but still. This act of coming in and saving you at the last second is getting old." Itsuki said. The blonde kid looked happy though. Naofumi was okay. "Didn't we learn from Ren not to charge into a situation recklessly?"

"Hey, that was different!" Ren complained.

"Yo! You guys are okay!" Motoyasu said happily.

"Also. What's Motoyasu doing here?" Itsuki asked.

"I'm helping Naofumi take down the Pope!"

The two raised their eyebrows at him. "You mean he's actually being helpful for once?"

"Hey!"

"HOW DARE YOU! YOU THINK YOU CAN STRIKE A GOD AND GET AWAY WITH IT?!"

The Pope reappeared standing from the crater in the wall. He held a glowing Sword in his hands.

"Does he think he's a God now?" Itsuki asked.

"That's pretty heretical if you asked me," Ren said dryly.

"**Phoenix Blade!"**

A large, fiery Phoenix erupted from his Blade. Ren's eyes widened in surprise. That wasn't a skill he could unlock for a LONG while!

"**Shield Prison!" **Naofumi formed the ball of chains in front of them. Blocking the skill for long enough that he got in position at point before the ball shattered, allowing him to block the rest with his Shield.

"Alright. Down to business. Cursed Skills won't work on the Bastard while this ritual spell is in effect." Naofumi dryly explained, pointing at the Cathedral outside. "**Hope Asunder **didn't work either since this ritual spell also keeps my Blessed skills from working somehow." Total bull **** in his opinion.

"So we'll have to take him down the hard way." Ren said, his sword flashing as he changed swords.

"Seems like it." Itsuki's bow flashed as he changed to a stronger Bow.

"Hey," Motoyasu grimaced as he forced himself to stand upright. "Don't think you can just hog all the glory!"

"Think you can keep up with us?" Itsuki teased.

Naofumi frowned, looking over the **Shield of Hope II **in his HUD. There was still the second Blessed skill he had as of yet to use. **Hope Asunder **had been unlocked with the first Tier. But **Pandora's Box **had been unlocked with the second Tier…

"We'll all work together to stop him. No arguing. No apologies. No questions." Naofumi said, looking back over the three Heroes. "Can we do that?"

…

All three nodded. "Then let's take him down."

The three took up positions around Naofumi. The Pope frowned, seeing the Three Cardinal Heroes of legend standing with the Devil. "I have no choice then…" If there had been a chance at redemption before, it was gone for all the Heroes. "You all shall be purified in the name of God." His weapon glowed bright, and he sent a blast at Naofumi.

"**Air Strike Shield!"**

The green shield appeared, but it was diagonally curved to the side. Pope Balamus chuckled, seeing the skill again. That trick was about as useless as- his eyes widened.

The attack hit the shield, but instead of breaking through it, it deflected to the side by Ren! Naofumi had finally wised up a little more. He shouldn't try blocking all the attacks head-on. Why do that when you could simply change the angle enough to reflect the attack sideways in a different direction?

Ren's skill finished charging, and he prepped it like he was holding a bat."**Reflect, Sword!" **He hit the blast with the flat of a mirror-like blade. It didn't get the whole thing, but a fair majority of the attack was hit right back at the Pope.

The Pope's barrier reappeared, but it shattered from the force of the attack. The Pope raised his robes, protecting himself from the smoke of the attack.

Itsuki appeared running from the side. "**Air Strike Spread!" **A series of red arrows rained from his Bow all around the Pope. He moved and dodged most of them, but doing so finally forced him off the platform. He scowled as a **Meteor Thrust **from Motoyasu came from above, slamming down by him. He then blocked a strike from Ren before sending the swordsman flying back. Naofumi jumped in front of Ren though, blocking the next shockwave of power from the Pope.

The fight continued in earnest.

* * *

"Huah!"

Raphtalia's blade clashed with Altara's. The two separated for a sec, and then rushed each other again. Their blades a frenzy that was hard to keep track of.

"Why won't you die?!" Altara yelled.

Raphtalia blocked four various strikes, shuffling from position to position. Then she ducked under one of Altara's slashes, her leg reaching out to trip the nun.

Her foot went through nothing but air. But Raphtalia's movement didn't stop. Her leg raised up, slamming into the nun's side beside her.

Altara flew back, landing on her feet. Raphtalia finished spinning and settled herself in a defensive stance. The nun breathed in and out, gripping tightly to her light blades. **'**_How is she seeing through my illusions?! How many illusions can she see!?' _**"**How did you know I used illusion magic?!" She demanded.

Did she know her secret?!

Raphtalia breathed in and out heavily herself. She shuffled forward, still holding a defensive stance Eclair had taught her. "During the fight. You kept on blurring in and out with your attacks. I thought it was because you were moving quickly. But I've seen what that looks like." Filo's Haikuiku made her incredibly fast. "And that wasn't what you were doing."

Altara growled, but for the moment, she wasn't attacking. "I tried to figure it out. But it wasn't until I was lying on the ground that I realized it. Seeing the way the light refracted around you... You fight with a layer of illusion magic surrounding you. Just like some monsters I fought in a dungeon." She was referring to the Voice Gengars, who'd fought her, Filo, and Naofumi while encasing them in illusion magic. "In that kind of illusion, you weave whatever it is you want your opponent to see. But you can't fool those that truly see."

Raphtalia blocked sideways, stopping Altara's blades. The nun in front of her disappeared, Altara reappeared once more. "Your tricks won't work on me."

"Urgh!" Altara jumped back in frustration. Raphtalia followed with a flurry of her own attacks down the hallway. Forcing the nun on the defensive.

"You underestimate me girl!"

"**Zweite Light!**" Raphtalia summoned a bright ball of light. Altara instinctively turned her head and turned away from it. "Huah!" Her punch struck home at last. Altara was sent flying through the air down the hallway.

Raphtalia rushed in to slash and finish the nun while she was down, but her sword caught on something, much to her surprise. "What?!"

Altara shakily got up, laughing to herself. "I told you not to underestimate me. In fact, I have you right where I want you!"

Around Raphtalia, various illusions vanished. The nun herself disappeared into another illusion. The illusion she'd been surrounded by finally disappeared.

Raphtalia was surprised to find their fighting had taken them into a dead-end intersection. Raphtalia thought she'd been fighting Altara in a long hallway. But in reality, she had just cornered herself. **'**_She tricked me?!'_ Maybe she wasn't as great at seeing through illusions as she'd thought.

"**Zweite Light's Ray!" **Altara raised a hand above her and brought it down. A strong ray of light burst from the ceiling above her.

Raphtalia jumped back behind a statue, avoiding the majority of the blast. The Light Spell blew up a fair portion of the hallway.

"**Zweite Shadow Ball**!" Balls of shadow appeared around Altara. She thrust them forward, one after the other.

Raphtalia weaved and dodged. She sliced one with her sword, but another left a small gash on her leg. Altara with her blades was deadly. With her magic, even more so.

"I will destroy you! I will destroy all the demi-humans!" Altara yelled triumphantly. "I will-"

"Hurghhh!"

She looked to the side, but then a large statue slammed into her. She flew surprised down the intersection to the left, her hood and robe launching off of her.

"What?" Raphtalia looked in the direction the statue had come from confusedly. "Who's there?" She got in an offensive stance.

"... Relax, Tanuki girl."

From down the hallway, a tall figure appeared. Broad-shouldered, still in his therianthrope form. The white tiger Dou-Lon approached Raphtalia. As he approached, his form changed, until he was the familiar Hakuko Raphtalia remembered from the village she and Naofumi had fled from.

His instincts had led him here.

"You're the one that was going to take Naofumi away from me!" She said angrily.

"That is a misunderstanding. One I will rectify later. For now, should we not worry about the nun that killed my friends over there?" He asked.

Raphtalia growled. Why was he there?! Had he come to try and take Naofumi away again?!

However, Altara stood up, facing both of them. She squeaked in surprise, reaching back for her hood, only to find it was gone.

Without her robe on, she still wore the official clothes of a nun. White, pure, and clean, besides the grime sustained from the heat of battle. Her long, light brown hair fell to her back.

And, much to their surprise, she had animal ears on her head. **Raccoon** (There is a difference between **Raccoons** and **Tanukis**) ears to be exact.

"... wait, that nun." Dou-Lon said in shock.

Altara snarled. She had no tail behind her. But her fangs, while not as pronounced, were now noticeable. Her ears flicked irritably on her head.

There was no mistaking it.

Altara the nun was, in fact, a demi-human like them.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Here are the stats on the Spear of Jealousy II:**

**Spear of Jealousy II:**

**Equip Bonus/Skill: "Change Spear (attack)" and "Sky Burial"**

**Special Effect: Self Curse stat drain, HP Regeneration Up, Jealousy's Surge, Emerald Lightning (Lightning Spear upgrade), Bitterness**

**So crap is hitting the fan harder than the Author predicted. Writing this all put somewhat coherently is taking a lot of effort. My original outline for all this lacks a lot of details I'm covering. And after a full year updating every week, I'm sad to say to now expect an update for Hope and Shield Kid every two weeks for the foreseeable future.**

**Still, I'm glad to finally have certain events happen. Including this one at the end. Yes, Altara is a Raccoon demi-human. As to her back story, well, you'll be getting it soon enough. I've been dropping various hints for a while.**

**Also, I almost didn't have an idea for an omake. And then I found a reviewer provided one for me. Thank you EvanderAdvent :)**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**One Shot**

* * *

"Yes! The Four Heroes are together at last!" Motoyasu said excitedly.

"Yippee," Naofumi said dryly.

"It only took what, fifty-two chapters?" Ren asked.

"Are you metaing again Ren?" Itsuki asked.

"When aren't we metaing Itsuki?" Ren asked back.

"... fair point."

The Pope stood on the platform, staring down with religious hatred at the four of them. He adjusted his pope hat- The Pope glared at the ceiling.

Okay, mitre on his head. Sorry.

"Definitely metaing."

"How should we go about it this time?" Ren asked.

"I mean, I'm really good at pissing people off. Maybe I could call him a heretic or insult his religion and get him to overreact next round." Naofumi suggested.

"Do you really think that would work? I doubt the old geezer actually believes his own religion." Motoyasu asked.

"Maybe. I don't know. I haven't exactly talked with the Bastard before." Naofumi dryly answered.

"How about we all combine our skills for one mega attack," Itsuki suggested.

"That could work. But Naofumi can't attack." Ren pointed out.

"And we risk the Pope using a skill to reflect it back on us too," Naofumi said.

"Then the three of us could attack and give Naofumi an opening for using his other skill on him."

"Why should Naofumi get all the glory?!" Motoyasu complained. "Come on, give the rest of us a chance! I finally redeemed myself for this moment!"

"You're not realistically strong enough to take him down. You're weak without the power-up methods." Ren said. "Also, it still sounds like you have some faults to overcome."

"Oh don't give me that crap about sharing power-up methods actually working again!" Motoyasu said angrily. "If I were to guess, you all got strong because you cheated like-"

"Eh-hem."

They looked over. Fitoria yawned into her hand. The Pope was nothing but a bloody smear on the wall. "Is this really what you've been struggling to beat the last two chapters?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

All four Heroes stared in shock at the bird girl. Who sighed to herself. "A fourth the power of the Cardinal Heroes is still not enough to avoid being one-shotted by me. Call me again when an actual world-ending event is occuring." She said boredly, before leaving the room.

...

The four heroes looked between each other. "Why can't we just have these anti-climactic endings?" Ren asked.

"Why can't we just have her help for everything going forward?" Naofumi grumbled.

"Why can't she just save the world in our place?" Motoyasu asked.

"Because she'd one-shot us all if she had to do all our work for us," Itsuki answered with a sigh. All of them sighed sadly with the boy.

Why did being a Hero have to be so hard? It'd be so much more simple if the actual power figures could help.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	53. 53: Liberation of Melromarc, Part Three

**Does anyone else hear Boss Music, or is it just me?**

**Here we are. Fair warning, a LOT is happening here. Thanks for the reviews. They helped me know what to keep track of here. I appreciated some people guessing parts of the plot. The cake goes to shados960. Great job in regards to Altara.**

**Also, thank you Rage for helping me with the details of this skill. It turned out a lot better than how I'd originally planned it. I hope you all enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _60 more Favorites, 60 more Followers (Total: 1824 Favorites, 2015 Followers) Passed the 2k mark! WOOHOO!_

* * *

**Updated:** _August 10th, 2020 6:00 P.M._

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Three: **_Liberation of Melromarc, Part Three: Pandora's Box_

* * *

_Ten Years Ago_

People bustled down a busy street. The sound of a blacksmith's hammer hitting against metal rung like clockwork. The clatter of wagons and the heavy footfalls of Filolials, dragon riders, and other animals intermingled with the pounding hammer. With the talk and gossip of those going about their day...

A lone, frail, Raccoon demi-human woman sat on the side of the road. Away from any market stand or front door. She looked forlornly down at the ground. She had on nothing but old torn stinky rags. Her hair and tail were a mess. Her eyes were gaunt. Above all, she stank. Everyone avoided her. No one spoke with her.

How long had it been since she last bathed? Months. When was the last time she had a decent meal? Longer. When was the last time she had a nice interaction with another person? Longer yet. When was the last time she'd felt worthy of worshipping her great God, the Shield Hero...

She couldn't remember. It'd been so long...

"Oof!" Someone didn't see her, and she fell over. "Hey, get out of the way, demi!" The knight that had accidentally stumbled into her yelled at her angrily.

She didn't respond. She responded to no one anymore. She laid on the ground, waiting for her end to happen.

"Eh, just leave her be. She looks like she'll keel over any day now." The other knight with him said with disgust.

"... You're right. It wouldn't be worth the effort of drawing my sword." The knight said with a sneer, covering his nose to protect it from the odor. Not to mention, if they killed a demi in the streets, they'd get in severe trouble with the Queen.

The two knights continued on, leaving her be. Besides a few glances from nearby people who had heard the commotion, nothing happened.

She sat back up. She wished they would try to move her. That they, in anger, would cut her down so that she would finally be allowed to leave this miserable world. But she wouldn't be so lucky. It was never her luck. Why?

A single tear formed in her eye. She missed her husband. Her sweet, loving husband. She missed their children. Their beautiful, small innocent children. They had been too young. Far too young to be taken so quickly. How old would they be if they were still alive? The second, probably around eight. The first, maybe twelve. But they, and her husband, had been ripped away before her very eyes...

Had it really been that long since she'd lost everything? Why was she still alive? How was she still alive? How had she managed to wander here? Why did no one help her? Why couldn't she remember her journey to this city? What had brought her here? Why wasn't she dead? Why couldn't she be allowed to die? Why didn't the Siltvelt Council kill her alongside her family? Why had their great Shield God not appeared to fix the great wrongs in her country? Why had she been abandoned in her time of need?

Why did she have so many questions that couldn't be answered without someone's help...

A lone figure stopped in front of her. She paid him no mind. She didn't care for her questions anymore. She only wished to die...

…

"Balamus. What are you doing staring at that demi? We need to return to the Church."

…

After a moment, she felt a hand lift her chin. She looked up for what felt like the first time into someone's eyes. They were like the eyes of a guardian angel.

"My dear child." He was dressed in black priest robes. A rosary of the Three Heroes Church hung around his neck. "You look like you could use some help," Balamus said. A small smile on his face.

She stared at him. Her first instinct was to distrust the man. She had grown up being taught never to trust a Three Heroes Priest. But was it a trick? Was it a trap? Was this how it would all end?

Regardless, she didn't have the will or the strength to resist anymore. As he helped her up. As he led her alongside an astonished priest down the road. Past people and knights and adventurers alike until she stepped into a large building. The building that would become her new home.

Her new life.

* * *

Before her eyes, her rags were taken. Fresh clothes were given to her. Wounds were treated. She was given food to eat. A warm bed to sleep. For the first time in years, she was helped.

Was this a dream? No. It was real. Too real to be such a thing.

The nuns didn't talk to her. The priests didn't say a word. Yet, silently, they helped her. Under the watchful eyes and guidance of the priest who had taken her off the street. They helped her.

That first night, she cried herself to sleep. Astonished at the first act of genuine kindness that had been shown to her ever since her exile from Siltvelt.

* * *

After a long while of recovery. After what felt like months or a few weeks, that kind priest came to her room to check on her again.

"Have my people taken good care of you, dear child?"

She didn't speak. She only stared at him. Unsure of what to do. Unsure of what to say.

"Oh, where are my manners." He was still smiling. "My name is Balamus. I am a humble priest here. Can you tell me your name?"

"I... I'm..." She… Should she use her name?... should she tell him what her previous life was?… …

No. Her old life was dead. She had died on that street. No, she had died in that Council room. The moment they killed her husband and children in front of her, she had died. So instead of her name, she used the name of her husband's mother.

"Al… Altara." She said hoarsely. It was the first time she'd talked since being helped. Altara, that would be her new name from now on.

"Altara…"

She looked up at him. At one of the people she'd been taught for years was her enemy. After so long of being broken. After finally being helped, a burning fire lit her eyes. "Tell me… priest… why did you help me?"

Balamus looked caught off guard. "Why did I help you?"

"I know what your Church thinks of us demis. So why would you reach out and help one?"

"Hmmm... perhaps it's because I saw a spark of humanity in your eyes," Balamus said, still smiling that same, calming smile.

Altara stared. Balamus's smile didn't waver. And then, she looked down again. Had what she learned about the Three Heroes Church been wrong? Had she grown up in the wrong religion... "Then tell me... can I… will I ever... be worthy of seeing my family again?" She asked softly.

"Worthy?"

At last, despite Balamus being a priest, she explained some of her story to him. She included some of her questions and left out key details she'd rather forget about. But it had been the first time since her exile that she'd told anyone her story. About what had happened to her. About what had happened to her family. She coughed, throat hoarse from misuse. Yet Balamus gave her water and sat patiently as she explained.

After she was done, Balamus nodded in understanding. "I've always known that the Siltvelt Council was a bunch of brutes, but to hear of the sins and atrocities they've committed to you… they must truly be monsters, my dear child."

"Please, priest, tell me there's a way for me to be with my family again," Altara begged.

"I have empathy for you, my child. But I am unsure if the Gods would stoop so low as to allow a demi-human into their Great Halls alongside humans…"

Altara gulped. "I will do... anything they ask... Anything." Her once-proud voice could do nothing but plead. Plead for once last chance at redeeming herself. To take back what had been ripped away from her at the end of the war.

Balamus thought about it more…

…

...

"Devote yourself to the true Gods. Reject the Shield Hero. Use your power in the service of the Spear, Bow, and Sword. And should you purify yourself as best as you're able… you'll find the answers to your questions. And I promise that I'll do what it takes to help you meet your family again." That was all he could offer her.

...

Altara stared for a moment and then nodded.

She had nothing left to lose. And so, she did what Balamus said. Not only had her life changed. But now, her fate had changed too.

* * *

After that day, she shed her former identity as a demi. She used a file to wear down her fangs. She cut off her own tail and kept it from healing back. She could do nothing for her ears since she had no human ears on the sides of her head to listen with, so she always wore a hood to hide them. Her greatest shame. It hurt. Having to hide her identity from everyone, grinding away at her fangs, cutting off her tail; such a vital part of her, but none of it hurt as much as the memory of her family's death.

She bore her trials and learned to live without her tail and fangs. To live with her head always covered. To live as a human among humans. So she did it. And eventually, she was able to live with it.

She spent long months following that day poring over the sacred texts of the Three Heroes Church. Years and years of former worship and knowledge were gradually replaced with the 'true' knowledge of the world. Of the true Gods that deserved all her worship. As well as all the sins and abominations that had been committed by the demis. She saw the human's side of the story at last. And it was a **marvel** to behold.

She ate it up like a child thirsty for milk. Filling that void in her heart with that and whatever Balamus handed to her. After years of agony, after years of questions, she was finally finding answers. She knew why the great Shield God hadn't appeared to correct Siltvelt. She knew why they had been capable of committing such an evil act. It was because there was no great Shield God. He was but a lowly devil, who'd trained his people to be devils. Why would he make an appearance to correct what he'd taught his people to do?

After learning the truth and recovering, she trained anew to recover her former strength. To use her fighting prowess in service of the True Gods instead of the late Claw King and the blasphemous lying Devil of the Shield.

Within two years of her rescue and recovery, Balamus started secretly ordering her to hunt and kill certain individuals in secret. Many of which were influential demi-humans. At first, despite everything she'd learned, it was hard. Going against her own people and former beliefs. But, gradually, it became easier to do. She only had to remember how they'd thrown her out and abandoned her. How she had been left all alone after they'd taken everything from her. Her home. Her family. Her right to go to heaven with them.

And then, the killing became easy. In fact, it became thrilling. It was like she was avenging herself. Avenging the lives of her family with their deaths. She began to see it more like a correction that was needed, instead of murder and slaughter.

Did she regret what had happened before? Yes. Did she regret that it'd be a while yet before she died and met her husband again face to face? Absolutely. But did she ever doubt Balamus and his words? Never. Not even once. Not when he became the High Priest. Not when she became one of his head nuns. No, she never doubted him.

His words and kind actions that day had saved her. Had redeemed her and made her worthy to see her husband and their children once more. She knew why she'd been spared now. She knew why she hadn't died that day on that street. And she knew why she had to live now.

She promised she'd serve him and the Great Gods until the end of her days. She would shed her abominable identity. She would never lose the place she'd worked so hard to grab for herself in the heavens. With her husband, and their son and daughter.

No one would ever take that from her again.

**No one. Ever. Again.**

* * *

_Present_

"You…" Altara seethed in rage. Without her hood, there was no way to cover the objects of her shame. Dou-Lon and Raphtalia both saw what she really was clear as day.

"...**DAMN** HAKUKO!"

"But… but why would a demi be a nun for the Three Heroes Church?" Dou-Lon said in shock. He hadn't imagined his instincts would not only carry him to the Shield Hero's companion, but to the nun that killed his friends. But to learn the nun was a demi like them...

Raphtalia also looked stunned. But it was because it made a lot more sense now why Altara was so advanced at illusion magic.

"I'm no demi! I refuse to be an abomination like you!" Altara's blades flashed, but then they disappeared. She growled in frustration and pulled out several Mana Recovery Potions. Hastily beginning to drink them down.

"You, you killed my friends." Dou-Lon's fists clenched. "You killed them right in front of me for being demis. And you're a demi yourself?! How could you?!" Raphtalia was taking the moment to drink a couple of Mana Recovery Potions herself. "How could you work for an institution as diabolical as the Three Heroes Church?! How could you betray your own kind like this!? How could you betray the great Shield Hero?!"

"BECAUSE IT WAS THE DEMIS WHO BETRAYED ME!" Altara was enraged. "YOUR COUNCIL TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME! MY POSITION! MY WEALTH! MY HUSBAND AND CHILDREN! THEY KILLED THEM BEFORE MY VERY EYES!"

Dou-Lon paused in surprise. He knew the Raccoons had been the scapegoats of the war. That the nobles had been exiled. The commoners enslaved. But he hadn't heard of any that had their families killed. Her Majesty would have never allowed such an act to happen with the peace treaty that took in the refugees and allowed Siltvelt to keep the slaves.

"THEY TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME! NOW IT'S MY TURN TO TAKE EVERYTHING FROM YOU! NOW DIEEEEEEEEE!" Altara finished with drinking her potions and then she sped forward, careening for the two of them.

_'So quick!'_

**Boom!**

It was only because of their reflexes that the two jumped back in time to avoid the explosive crater Altara made when she slammed down into the ground in a burst of light and shadow magic. Had they not dodged it, they would have died from the powerful attack.

When she stood, light and shadow poured off her in waves. Her face was twisted. It wasn't just a scowl. She looked at them both with pure and utter fury, breathing in and out heavily.

"What the hell." Dou-Lon looked genuinely shocked at the power Altara was boasting. At the amount of rage, she was expressing.

She couldn't have just been a noble from Siltvelt. There were few from Siltvelt who were strong enough to boast this kind of strength. And to harbor such hatred. Just what kind of betrayal had she suffered from?!

Altara sent a blast of light and shadow at both of them. They ducked the attack, and the wall behind then impacted outwards from the resulting explosion. She was no longer focusing any efforts into illusion magic. No, she was going to kill these two. No matter how much magic force it took.

"Damn it. I can't allow her to get in the way of Naofumi and the other Cardinal Heroes." Raphtalia took a defensive stance. "You better not think of double-crossing me, Hakuko." She didn't have much choice in the matter. If any of those attacks connected now, it'd be game over. She'd work with the Hakuko for now to stop the nun. But afterward, she'd have to wait and see.

Dou-Lon transformed into his therianthrope form. He donned a pair of magic Steel gauntlets. His normal weapon of choice was a long lance, but it had gone missing after his capture at Bellona Village. "Don't worry. I never shared my friend's views about Raccoons or their distant Tanuki cousins anyways."

His instincts had led him here to the Capital. Sneaking through sewer tunnels past Church Knights and Followers alike until he arrived at the Castle. And now, he was face to face with the woman that had killed his friends. He had a chance to finally help his Great God and his trusted companion. He couldn't fail now.

"I'LL KILL, EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!" Altara charged forward. A blade of light in one hand, and a blade of shadow in the other.

Her blade of light met Raphtalia's sword, and her blade of Shadow met Dou-Lon's gauntleted fists. And so, their fight began.

* * *

**Boom!**

"Ahhh!" A ball of fire slipped through the shield wall and slammed into the forward vanguard. Several of the knights collapsed screaming in pain. They were quickly dragged to safety as other knights surged forward in their place. Shields raised, and pikes peaking out as they marched for the Church's position on the South Street of the city.

"Archers, fire!" A Captain gave a hand signal, and the Church archers released a wave of arrows onto Mirellia's vanguard. The Queen herself sat on a large warhorse, near the center of her forces.

"**Zweite Ice Wall!**" She spread both her hands, forming a wall of ice in front of the center part of the street. Many of the arrows hit it, those that flew around it or over bounced off her knight's upraised shields.

"Return fire!" A line of archers behind Mirellia unleashed a volley of arrows over the ice wall on the Church position. Because of distance, fortifications, and the Church forces being positioned uphill, they didn't do much.

"Decipher the laws of nature! Cleanse our targets in a ball of fire! **Zweite Fireball!**" The church mages launched another volley on the advancing knights. Mirellia's ice wall melted under the barrage. But this time, their raised shields managed to block the remaining fire spells launched at them. They continued slowly marching forward.

"Don't fall to the blasphemous devils! We are more than a match for the entire world!" The Captain encouraged his men. None of which were armed with a single shield. "If you die here today! You shall die with the reward of sitting in the great halls of our Gods!"

They all gave a loud cheer, and more fireballs and arrows were launched at the advancing army. The knights in front, taking cover behind various wagons and such, readied their swords for a retaliatory charge while archers and mages provided cover fire.

Mirellia calmly observed from her steed. Around, as her army marched into various other streets, chaos ensued. The Church was scrambling with the major hole in their defenses thanks to Melty's efforts (she really wished she could have had time to hug her precious daughter because of how proud she was of her, but she couldn't afford to waste a second). This was the first real show of resistance the Church had managed against her army thus far. And it was annoying, to say the least.

However, the civilians had it the worst. With the sudden invasion, panic and anarchy were more of a threat than the defenders themselves. Mirellia's army was being forced to slow all around in an effort to direct civilians out of harm's way. But everywhere in the city could be in harm's way. As the chaos allowed for enemy soldiers to sneak up from behind and ambush her forces even at the southern entrance of the city.

Why was it whenever disaster struck, civilians ran into the line of fire and not away from it?

After a brutal onslaught of arrows and spells, some of the Church soldiers began charging from behind the wagons they'd taken cover behind to charge her army. Her archers fired arrows. She fired a few lower tier ice spells herself. Still, too many managed to reach the shield wall. Those that got past the pikes and shields inflicted heavy wounds on her own soldiers before finally being brought down. Mirellia summoned another thick ice wall, pouring more MP into it to buy her loyal soldiers a reprieve.

"Why have we not outflanked them yet?" She asked one of her knights.

"There are civilians being evacuated on the east and west of this street. We can't proceed forward without fear of ambush until they're out of the way, your Majesty." A knight informed her.

Mirellia frowned. Then another knight ran past archers and mages behind her up to her. These mages were busy treating the wounded. "Your Majesty, we finished discussions with the Second Princess in regards to the Church's defenses in the city."

"And?"

"According to Princess Melty, this is their only major line of defense in the Southern section. The other areas have the Church forces set closer to the walls. They're scrambling to respond, but if we break them now, their reinforcements won't be prepared for our approach on the castle."

Mirellia looked at the Church's defensive position and the Cathedral surrounding her castle beyond them. So she could reach the glowing green cathedral surrounding her home if they broke this defensive line? Yet they were having a hard time doing it. Her forces also couldn't surround them from behind because of the panicking populace in the way. Which hid its own dangers as well as the possibility of alerting the enemy of her plan of attack. Had the positions been turned, she would make it a war of attrition. Slowly retreating, pelting the advancing army from a safe distance. Buying time until reinforcements arrived to help batter down the enemy soldiers even more.

She frowned, expressing with the simple movement of her mouth how angry she felt. She was hoping to save more of her energy for the retaking of the Castle. She was hoping not to resort to such extremes. But this was taking too long. Her loyal army was suffering too many casualties. Too many civilians were in disarray over what was going on. About who to support or where to flee. Her husband, no matter idiotic he was, was in danger of execution. And the Pope was preparing a crusade that would put Siltvelt's former conquests to shame. And these idiots wanted to help him do it!

She had to _end_ this madness in her country once and for all!

"Then I shall break them myself." Mirellia breathed calmly as she stood up in her mounts. Some of the knights looked at their Queen.

"As source of thy power and as the Queen of Melromarc, I order thee!" Her voice boomed. The next wave of Church Knights paused in their tracks. "Decipher the laws of nature." She continued. "Rain down a storm upon my enemies. Pierce them with my wrath! With the sharpest ice in creation; make this area be their graves forevermore!" Her voice rang out loud and clear. Blue energy surrounded her hands before she raised them to the sky.

The Captain's eyes widened. "Take cover! Knights, take-" The Church mages were stunned at what came next.

"**Drifa Icicle Rain!**"

A storm cloud rapidly formed overhead. The Church Knights stared up in surprise. And then from it, long sharp spikes of ice rained down upon them.

"AHHHHH!"

Without shields to protect them, many of the exposed Church Knights perished instantly. The ice spikes were also strong enough that they pierced the wood and stone of wagons, buildings, and other structures that the Church forces hid behind. The Church mages tried their best with more fire spells to defend themselves, but there were too many ice spikes. Some of the weaker ones perished.

Mirellia's army watched in silent awe and horror as their Queen personally unleashed her icy wrath upon the traitors before them.

After her spell had finished, the area of the street in front of them was covered in ice spikes. The Captain and those few with him that had survived fled in terror towards the castle. Screaming in fear at the ungodly scene they had just witnessed.

Mirellia grimaced, not only from the amount of drain she felt from the spell. But because of all the experience notifications that came in from all the people she'd just killed.

"Are you alright, your Majesty?"

"Yes, I'll be fine." Mirellia forced a recomposure of herself. "Soldiers, our enemy is broken! Advance on the castle!"

Her knights under her cheered, and without civilians in the way down the main street, the majority of her army continued energetically in their march on the castle. The few stragglers that had survived the ice barrage either fell to her soldiers' pikes or surrendered. Laying down their arms and begging for their lives.

Mirellia's eyes did their best to not stare at the ice all around. To tune out the moans of the dying. The screams of the wounded. To not stare at the bloodstained carcasses that littered the ground under them as they marched on.

There was a reason she tried so hard to avoid war. The scene of carnage it left behind. The bitter taste that filled her nose and mouth. It was far more gruesome than any Wave she'd seen yet.

* * *

"Sir!"

"What?!" The royal mustached bastard commander yelled. "What bad news are you bringing me now?!"

"Um… Captain Donathan's forces in the south of the city just got annihilated."

"... WHAT?! BY WHO!?" The commander's shrill voice made the messenger cower in fear.

"By the Queen. She unleashed a rain of ice that killed everyone in its path. The southern section of the city is lost."

The commander flipped his command table over in his rage. "Get the rest of our forces positioned at the Southern portion of the Castle! We can't allow that royal Bitch to interrupt our Excellency's crusade against the False Heroes and the abominable demis!"

"But they won't be able to move fast enough-"

"DO IT!"

The messenger eeped and ran off to fulfill the Commander's impossible orders.

"Hmmph. Looks like you chose the wrong side, old friend."

The mustached Commander glared behind him. The knights, the traitor Captain, and the Foolish King were on their knees. The area they were in was the arena in the Castle Gardens. A platform with several nooses had been set up in the center of the area. Their wrists were bound behind them with rope. Only a couple of guards stood watch at the entrances. The rest were either at the castle walls or protecting the Followers sacrificing their mana for the Replica.

"What did you say to me?!"

"You chose the wrong side. Don't you see it? You've already lost." The Captain, despite what he'd gone through, looked up at his former superior with a smirk. "You're going to be in so much trouble when her Majesty gets here."

The Commander drew out his sword. "Be careful with what you say. It's only because of this attack that you and the other traitors haven't been executed on schedule." He growled out. Everything had all been prepared. But then the fight in the Castle, as well as the sudden appearance of Mirellia and her army had sent everyone scrambling on what to do. Thus, the execution had been delayed.

"... To think there was a time I followed your orders and protected you from danger." The Captain let out a weary sigh. "I knew I shouldn't have stopped the Shield Hero's party member in Lute Village." He said. Remembering how he had protected the bastard from Raphtalia in the Lute Wave. "It would have saved us all a **lot** of trouble had I let her sword cut off your head."

"Why you!" The Royal Commander backhanded the Captain, knocking him onto his back. "I don't care anymore! You are vile, blasphemous scum! If we can't do it properly in front of a crowd, I'll just execute you myself right now!"

The Captain coughed up blood. And then spat it into the Commander's face. "You... can go to hell." He spat. "For your actions against all four Holy Heroes, you deserve nothing less." If he died now, at least he'd die knowing he would walk the halls of the Great Gods. And not this filthy cowardly man before him.

The Commander fumed. And raised his sword to strike down the Captain. The Captain huddled in, preparing for death.

"You."

The icy voice made the Commander pause. "What is it now-" He turned, and stopped in surprise.

Eclair approached. There was no sign of the guards who had been standing watch at that entrance. However, trails of blood led away from their posts. Her sword glistened white.

"Who are you?! What are you doing here-"

"You led the squad that killed my Father," Eclair said slowly. She stopped just a few feet in front of the Commander, leveling her sword at his chest. She had a nasty gash on one of her arms from her fight with the knight Sebastian, but she didn't look any less frightening.

She hadn't killed him since, while he'd been part of the squad that ambushed her Father, he hadn't raised his sword against him. He only raised it against the monsters that came into the manor after them. However, after beating the information of who had led that squad out of him, he wouldn't be awake for quite a while.

…

The Commander's eyes widened in recognition and fear, but then he smirked. Hiding the fear he very much felt inside himself. "Ah, yes. I remember you now. The sniveling girl that came in wanting to see her precious daddy."

Eclair growled. Behind his back, the Commander's hand signaled to the guards at the other entrance. They snuck off to the sides, moving into the shadows of the walls to avoid detection while the Commander took up Eclair's full attention.

"So you admit it!" Eclair readied her sword. Sebastian had told her the truth!

"Ah ah ah. I did lead the squad that assaulted Lord Seaetto's home. But I wasn't the one lucky enough to slay him." The Commander said with a smirk. "After all, there were about ten of us vying for his life. It's hard to keep track of who did what in a fight."

Eclair growled. Ten on one in a surprise ambush. That was dishonorable in terms of any fight! But she didn't move to slay the Commander yet. "Why? Why did you kill him?" Eclair said. Her cold voice laced with sorrow. "He was a kind man! He did nothing wrong to anyone! Why did he have to die?!"

"Ah, yes, he was kind. Too kind, to those nasty vile abominations." The Commander spat. Eclair snarled. "He was in the way. He said we couldn't summon the Heroes. They had to be summoned properly by the various countries, and that Melromarc had to wait their turn. He and the Queen would have allowed our great Gods to help our enemies. To allow the abominations in Siltvelt to have their precious devil with them!"

"Who was it?! Who was the vile man that killed my Father!?"

"I wouldn't call the man that killed him vile. I'd say he did a great service for our country. For our world." The Commander smirked confidently. He could see the two knights sneaking quietly behind Eclair now. They were closing in for the kill. "With that vile blasphemer the Queen put in charge gone, his Excellency convinced the former King to allow the summoning of the Cardinal Heroes to protect our great nation. Then again, it didn't avail too much, as they turned out to be traitors too."

"Who, killed, my Father!" Eclair snapped. Pressing her sword up against his throat.

The Commander had to hold back a gulp. "Why do you want to know so badly?" The Commander asked curiously with his hands raised in surrender. The two knights prepared to ambush Eclair. Her wounded arm lightly dribbled blood onto the ground.

"It's not like you'll live to learn the truth."

The two knights jumped and swung at the wounded rose haired knight.

**Slash!**

With one slash of her blade, Eclair turned and gutted both knights. Blood sprayed as they fell back. Dropping their swords and yelling in pain.

"No- gah!" The Commander drew his sword to attack, but Eclair sharply faced him again. Slashing his hand. He recoiled, shocked at the red liquid leaking from his hand. She kicked him back onto the ground. Even with her limp arm, she was still as scary as hell.

"I have no time for these games!" Eclair said, furious at the dishonor these men had fallen to. "Tell me! Who was the bastard in the squad you led that murdered my Father?!"

"I, I swear! It wasn't me!" The Commander yelled. He sounded afraid. Very afraid.

"Tell me who did it!" Eclair yelled. She pressed the tip of her sword down against his armored chest. Right over his heart. "TELL ME!"

"It wasn't me, it was-"

"He's lying. It was him."

…

Eclair looked at the Captain. The Commander also looked at him in shock. "I remember now. The day after the Wave, during a meeting, he boasted to all of us Captains. How he had personally used his sword to slay the monster in the way of our country's greatness. I thought he was lying about killing the Wave Boss. But that wasn't it, was it?" The Captain glared coldly at the mustached commander.

"You killed Lord Seaetto. You son of a bitch."

…

…

The Commander paled. And Eclair somehow became ten times more frightening. She had been seeing red since her first fight with the Church that day. And now, she saw black. Nothing but the black piece of scum before her.

"Knights! Help! HELP!" The Commander screeched. Not even hiding his fear anymore. Yet they were too far away. Preparing for the inevitable threat of the Queen. And his cries for help only cemented the Captain's words.

The Royal Knight Commander, whose duty was to protect royalty and those put in charge by royalty, had been the one to slay Lord Seaetto in a cold-blooded ambush during a Wave of Catastrophe.

"You shouldn't have thought only a few knights would be needed to keep you safe," Eclair said, making sure her sword's blade was sharp with the tip of her finger. The small cut it left dribbled blood onto the dirt below.

"SOMEONE! ANYONE! HELP MEEEEEE!" The former Royal Knight mustached Commander bastard, unnamed, not worthy of being named, yelled in fear. Eclair glared down. Raised her sword.

And then, he was silenced.

...

One slash.

One last disbursement of justice.

That was all it took to send the Commander's head, mouth agape, face frozen in fear, rolling bloodily across the ground, and for his headless carcass to fall still.

That was all it took for Eclair to avenge her Father.

* * *

"**Brionac!**"

The Pope released a massive skill.

"**Air Strike Shield!**"

Positioning the shield just right, Naofumi managed to deflect the majority of the attack away from Motoyasu. Who jumped out of the way before the Shield broke and the rest of the attack hit the area he'd been standing in.

"Thanks, Naofumi!"

"No problem!"

Pope Balamus frowned. But Ren was already upon him again. "**Crimson Sword!**" The Legendary sword, covered in flames, slammed down onto his auto barrier, cracking it in the process.

Again, sharing the power-up methods really showed the difference in strength between Motoyasu and the other heroes.

"You fools-"

"**Lightning Arrow!**" The Pope turned around at being interrupted but was too late to dodge Itsuki's attack. The arrow destroyed the barrier around him and struck his arm.

"Urgh!" The Pope fell to one knee. Gripping the bleeding wound as electricity coursed through his body.

"You will be purified!" He sent a blast of light back at Itsuki.

"**Shield Prison!**" A ball of chains and plates appeared in front of Itsuki. The Pope's attack slammed into it, but it gave Itsuki enough time to get clear before the attack destroyed the skill.

"**Air Strike Javelin!**" Motoyasu chucked the translucent green javelin skill before the Pope's barrier reformed. It slammed into his gut, doubling him over in pain. Even if Motoyasu had none of the other strengthening methods, his attacks hurt when a barrier wasn't protecting his Excellency.

"This cannot be! I am an Apostle of God! I hold the power of the Almighty in my grasp!" The Pope yelled, struggling to stand up on the Spear.

Outside, the Bishop led some of the Followers to chant healing magic. Healing over his wounds. Yet hundreds had already fainted. And nervous whispering was starting to spread among others. The sounds of battle were coming closer.

Was God truly on their side?

Ren charged forward again. Sparks came off his sword as he chose his next skill. For once, he didn't look weighed down. He knew he had to give his all. None of his doubts or guilt could be allowed to get in the way when it mattered most! "**Dragon Buster!**"

The red, fiery dragon sprang forth from his blade. Slamming into the Pope's barrier once more.

"**Wind Arrow!**" Itsuki's next skill followed right as Ren cleared out of the way. The blonde boy had been through much since being summoned to this world. Twisted party members. Witness to the cruelty of the highest regard. And he held personal responsibility for not realizing his mistakes. For not realizing how his actions had consequences that affected himself and everyone else around him.

However, he wanted to change that. He wanted to fix what he had caused. Or what others had broken. And his skill helped that along. As the Pope's barrier cracked under the strength of his resolve.

The Pope retaliated with another shockwave of power. Motoyasu jumped over it, giving his spear a twirl over his head. He had a long way to go to becoming a hero. Everything he thought he'd known had all been a lie. And because he'd blindly trusted, he'd ended up hurting a lot of innocent people. He'd hurt many fair maidens without even realizing it.

But while he had a long journey ahead of him after today. His next skill was but one of many that marked his first steps towards the path of redemption. "**Chaos Spear!**"

After the force of the other attacks, the auto barrier around Balamus shattered. His Replica Spear locked with Motoyasu's skill. With the latter struggling to break through the former's guard.

"I am God! I will not fall to False Heroes like you!" The Pope yelled in Motoyasu's face.

"Some idiot God you are. You think I'm dumb enough to realize I can't overpower you by myself?!" Motoyasu yelled.

The Pope realized what he meant too late.

"**Shield Bash!**" Motoyasu jumped away right as Naofumi charged in from the side. Going behind the Pope's guard, he slammed the **Iron Shield** he had equipped right into the Pope's face. While the dismal attack stat did no damage, the skill's effect kicked in. The Pope wobbled where he stood, stunned as Naofumi jumped back out of the way.

"Your reign of tyranny ends here!" Itsuki charged up his most powerful skill.

"You won't harm my friends anymore." Ren prepared his strongest skill.

"You're going to pay for all the fair maidens you made me hurt!" Motoyasu yelled as he charged up his most powerful skill.

"You guys should really save the inspiring speeches for when it's over," Naofumi muttered with a sigh. Even after everything that happened, they still insisted on playing out every cliché in the book as heroes. Was that why the fight had dragged on so long? Geez. "But I agree. You're going down, Balamus! And you're going to pay for everything you've done." He said seriously. He wore the **Chimera Viper Shield **on his arm again.

The Three Heroes skills finished charging up.

"**Meteor Arrow!**"

"**Meteor Thrust!**"

"**Meteor Slash!**"

The three, bright glowing blue skills launched from their respective heroes. All converging on the Pope in the center of the throne room.

At last, it was ending. At last, it was over. At last, it was-

The stun effect wore off. The Pope's expression became calm as he spun his spear in front of him.

**State of Selflessness.**

The Pope's spear glowed after choosing the skill. When the combined might of the Three Heroes slammed into the glowing, twirling Replica Spear, a strange thing happened.

He wasn't blown to kingdom come.

Instead, the skills all converged into a large ball of energy in front of the Pope. Surprising the four Heroes. His spear glowed brighter. "Crap, I forgot that's another skill I can learn too!" Motoyasu said. Recognizing what the Pope was doing.

"What is it, and what does it do?" Naofumi asked.

"You all. Shall be. Purified!" The Pope answered his question. The spear was filled with light, and then he sent it and the combined attack back on the four of them. All four were quick to realize just how royally they'd just screwed up. You should never underestimate a cornered animal.

_'****!'_ Naofumi quickly rushed forward in front of everyone. Whatever it was, it acted just like Ren's **Reflect Sword** skill, but worse! Ren stared in shock, his skill wasn't powerful enough to reflect that! "**Royal Shield!**" With his other skills still on cooldown, Naofumi summoned the skill in the hope that it'd somehow soften the impact.

It didn't. In fact, it was like it passed right through the barrier before slamming into his Shield.

**BOOM!**

The force of the following explosion shook the whole castle. And the throne room, weakened by the long drawn out battle, finally gave way to the explosion.

Pillars in the throne room blew out.

Walls collapsed.

Parts of the ceiling above rained down debris.

Over in the nearby hallway where they had been fighting, the explosion separated Raphtalia and Dou-Lon from Altara. The ceiling collapsed all around as well as the walls on both sides.

And the four Heroes themselves: Motoyasu was the luckiest. Being blown backward into the large throne room doors before falling to the ground. Ren and Itsuki, however, weren't so lucky. Both slammed headfirst into walls, knocking the two unconscious.

And Naofumi, he had it the worst. When the skill hit him, it was like the light was ripping him open from the inside out. Part of the collapsing ceiling then fell over him, covering most of his aching body in large debris. He was mostly covered in large stones that made even his defense stat groan.

The Pope breathed heavily from the exertion. But the mana of his followers, the faith which they put in him, reinvigorated him. He calmly smiled once more. In fact, he started to chuckle amusedly.

"As I said, your struggles are meaningless."

He had incapacitated the other Heroes.

"Urgh…" Motoyasu struggled to move, but he was hurting something bad. Naofumi also struggled, but under the weight of so much stone and with such soreness and fatigue from fighting the Pope for what felt like forever, it was hard to free himself.

Nearby, Raphtalia's leg was stuck under a large piece of ceiling. The Tanuki girl cried out in pain when it shifted.

"Urghhhhhhh!" Dou-Lon struggled with lifting the large piece of debris so Raphtalia could free herself. But the weight of the collapsed stone was far greater than the statue he had thrown, and the Hakuko's exertions weren't enough. Raphtalia tried to help lift it. But one of the falling stones had hit her on the head. She likely had a concussion. She couldn't focus on lifting the stone. Or on even distrusting the Hakuko trying desperately to help her.

Altara was similarly stuck under another piece of debris, but she was making progress in freeing herself using her magic swords to slice the collapsed ceiling around her into smaller and smaller pieces. Dou-Lon glanced over at the nun in worry. And began working harder to try and find something that'd help extract Raphtalia.

The Pope laughed. "All your struggling up to this point has been meaningless! It was preordained by the Gods that this would happen! For this to be where you all met your fates!" It had worked. Everything had lined up perfectly! He'd been able to take advantage of their one slip-up against him! He truly was a God!

"Screw you!" Motoyasu yelled angrily. "You're no God!"

"You, you haven't won yet." Naofumi groaned. He managed to free his non-shield arm from the rubble. He started pushing the stone away from his other arm.

"Oh, but I have won, Devil." The Pope pointed at the green layer of magic outside. "Now that you're the only one left. I won't have to direct mana away from God's house. Meaning the attack I've been preparing to use to purify all in his domain can come to fruition."

At his words, a lot of the mana streams that had been feeding into the Replica Spear began feeding into the Ritual Spell. Layers of light started to gradually appear on it. Glowing bright with power.

"What?"

The Pope laughed once more. "You may no doubt free yourself, devil! But do you really think you can defend yourself and your friends against a blast as wide as a castle!?"

"No, no way! You'll kill everyone in here!" Motoyasu yelled.

The Pope continued to smile. As if murdering all his knights and followers helping from inside the castle didn't bother him in the slightest. After all, if he was a God, he was certainly above the consequences of his actions. "As long as it's to purify you and the abominable demis that infiltrated this place." He said. He'd noticed his faithful nun, working on freeing herself. As well as the Hakuko and the Shield's demi-human party member. "That is a price I am willing to pay."

Naofumi began struggling anew. His Shield arm was freed. And he started working on pushing the large stones off from his chest and gut. He couldn't let this bastard win! However, a thought was creeping into his mind. What could he possibly do? The Pope had all but exhausted him. Even if he freed himself, what good could he possibly do to stop him?

"What about your knights!? What about your followers?! What about the castle servants trapped in here?! The maids! The civilians!" Motoyasu yelled. He followed the Pope's look to the side at the revealed hallway. "What about Altara?! Are you going to kill her too?!"

The Pope laughed again. Altara had finally freed herself and stood on two shaky legs. Yet she looked with absolute hatred at the Hakuko and the Raccoon/Tanuki in front of her.

Motoyasu's care for Altara surprised Naofumi. But then Balamus confessed something.

"Who am I to care for that abomination?"

...

Altara began taking steps towards the two. Her face twisted in fury. She drank down another Magic Healing potion. Her last one.

Dou-Lon growled in frustration. Nothing he was doing was working to free Raphtalia. But instead of running off, he stood back up and faced the nun. Lifting his gauntlets to face level. Even if it killed him, he wouldn't die a coward. He'd either protect the Shield Hero's companion or die trying.

"What do you mean? Don't you care about her?" Motoyasu asked. Looking genuinely surprised.

"Does a master care for the tool he hones to his use?" Balamus asked, entertaining the Spear Hero's question. The ritual spell continued to charge.

"But I thought-"

"You thought wrong, false Spear Hero," Balamus answered. "When I found her long ago, I almost didn't recognize her. But it's hard to forget a face from a battlefield. Especially when that face belongs to none other than the lost exiled representative of the Raccoon demi-humans."

Altara had been preparing to charge Dou-Lon, who took up a pose to defend Raphtalia by himself.

But at Balamus's words, she stopped. What had he just said? Dou-Lon stayed in his defensive stance. Focused only on the nun, waiting for her to make a move.

Motoyasu and Naofumi both stared at Balamus in confusion. The Pope continued. "When I recognized her for who she was, I almost wanted to leave her to die. But then, I thought, wouldn't it be such a waste? Didn't she have some use left in her?"

He'd known. But… she'd never told him. How had he known who she was? Was this the power of the Devil of the Shield?! Was he making an illusion against him!

"So I took her in. I merely experimented to see if such a powerful asset of the demis could be used against them. And it worked. All it took was a bit of false kindness, and it worked!"

It had to be an illusion! She growled, trying to clear her head. But Altara continued to stare at Pope Balamus, instead of attacking Dou-Lon. Who was becoming confused at why Altara wasn't attacking him.

"She's the worst of them all! Not only did she turn against her own kind, she actually believed that her actions could redeem her tainted soul!" Balamus shook his head in amusement. "She is merely a tool. One that has outlived its use. Her time to be purified alongside her Devil Shield and the False tainted Heroes has come."

Naofumi and Motoyasu stared. Naofumi was beyond confused at the new information. But there was enough to piece together just how much of a monster the Pope actually was.

"Demi-humans could never think to dwell with the Gods. Especially those that defiled themselves with a human. She'd be lucky if her defiled kids and husband reached the afterlife. And if they did, it'll be hell where they are waiting for her."

Dou-Lon growled. Ready for Altara's attack.

But the nun stood there. Looking stunned beyond belief as her ears caught every word Balamus said. The possibility of it being an illusion, a trick by the Shield. Those went flying away from her mind.

It couldn't be. Everything she'd done. She'd done for the Church, for the Gods, for Balamus, but above all, for her murdered family. Everything had been for them. So that she could be with them.

Had that, all been… been… …

"As the new God of this world. I will never allow such a pathetic creature nor her family to dwell in heaven."

…

It had. It had all been a lie.

One big, perfect little lie she had allowed herself to believe for all these years. A single tear fell from her eye. "No..." She whispered.

"And now! The time of your cleansing has arrived!" The Pope raised his hands high. The Cathedral around glowed with energy.

"Urgh, no." Motoyasu struggled to limp forward but fell to one knee. His injuries were too severe to allow him to continue fighting.

Ren and Itsuki were still laying on the ground. The former groaned as he came to, but the other was still unconscious.

Naofumi managed to free one of his legs. But it was no use. He'd never make it. And even if he did, what good could he do with a shield against a castle wide attack?... He hung his head. Without help, he could do nothing but protect. And that would do no good in their situation now.

The Pope smiled happily. "And now, the Devil of the Shield and his friends shall be-"

"HUAHHHHHHHH!"

The cry of anguish, heartbreak, loss, but above all, rage, came from none other than Altara. He turned, but her blades of magic slammed into his barrier.

"WHYYYYYYYY?!" Whether because of her emotions, raw wounds, or something else entirely, Altara continued uselessly slamming her blades into the barrier again and again and again. However, it took one Cardinal Hero sharing power-up methods and using powerful skills to shatter the barrier. One normal person never stood a chance.

The Pope's smile turned into a scowl, his spear glowed brightly as it turned into a sword. And then he dropped the barrier, using the Replica sword to lock Altara's next attack. "I guess I'll humor you with one last personal lesson."

Stunned, Naofumi and Motoyasu watched what happened next.

Altara fought. Pope Balamus.

Her movements were quick. Her light sword blazing like a star alongside her shadow sword as dark as the night. But while Balamus didn't use any shockwaves of power or any of his other cheap tricks, he was dominating the emotionally turmoiled nun.

_'It was a lie.'_

Balamus slashed, and she blocked. That day passed through her mind again. _She saw Balamus smiling at her, offering her his hand. She'd seen it as an act of kindness. She'd seen it as an act of mercy. But she'd failed to notice the calculating look in his eyes. __**The way he'd forced his jaw to smile to keep from sneering in contempt at her.**_

_'It was all a lie!'_

She knocked his blade back and slashed at him. Their swords traded blows. _There had been a reason why she was hardly talked to at first. __**Why the priests and nuns caring for her had only provided the basic necessities.**_

Altara blinked tears out of her eyes. As she was fighting, she was crying. _She'd been a fool. An old, damn fool to believe Balamus had wanted to help her. __**To believe that anyone had wanted to help her. How could she not have seen it?!**_

Balamus knocked her shadow blade out of her hands. It disappeared in a burst of darkness, and she backed up, forced to defend against Balamus with only her light sword, and with her MP reserves falling dangerously low again.

She defended herself. _She should have realized it. Why, even as a Head Nun, she was kept out of the loop on things. Why Balamus had sent her to meet with the First Princess on her so-called 'doubts' among other things. Why he'd sent her out to find the Devil of the Shield with only incompetent people to help her._

_**It was because she was only a tool. One he would wield until she had outlived her use. And he'd used her own weakness to make her believe it. The love she held for her family. Even after all these years.**_

Altara defended herself. Yet Balamus showed no mercy. He struck at her. Again, and again, and again. She cried, but he didn't relent.

Her blade began to flicker as her MP fell low. Until-

**Kch!**

Altara gasped and stilled. The Replica Sword poked out of her back, around her gut area. Her light sword had failed her as she tried to knock the Pope's last thrust away.

Altara had been stabbed clean through.

Her head drooped in failure. The Pope leaned his head close to one of her ears. "I'm truly sorry that it came to this. Victoria, but you must have known the truth all along." Balamus whispered to her gently. As if comforting an innocent child.

Altara's face broke. More tears poured freely from her eyes. All this time, she'd thought she had been saved for some greater purpose. She thought there had been a reason why she'd been spared by death that day. That she had been given a chance to have her place in heaven restored. But she had been used.

Balamus had even known her real name.

"I will not give you false hope. But perhaps, you will be lucky enough to rejoin your family in hell." Balamus said, smiling softly. "Your husband might be there too. After all, there aren't many crimes worse in the eyes of the Gods than that of their creations procreating with an abomination."

...

Altara's tears stopped. Despite what she'd felt. Despite learning how the past years had been a lie. She'd felt guilt for attacking Balamus. For attacking someone she had considered a dear friend who had helped her through a terrible, terrible time in her life. She'd felt guilty going against ten years of learning and brainwashing.

She looked up into his smiling face. She no longer saw that kind man. She saw the man she'd been taught to hate. A representation of the Three Heroes Church at its finest. A liar, a deceiver, a devil whose measured, honeyed words gradually led his listeners down to hell.

Maybe Siltvelt hadn't been right about everything. Maybe Siltvelt had wronged her in too many ways for her to forgive them.

"You should have…" Altara coughed up blood.

"Hmmm?" Balamus hummed curiously.

But they had been right about one thing.

**You should never trust a priest of the Three Heroes Church.**

"You should have stayed hidden behind your barrier." Her light sword reappeared in her hands, and with the last of her magic reserves sharpening the blade, Altara sliced off the hand holding the Replica Sword.

"AHHHHHHH!" Balamus screamed in surprise pain as he fell backward. Blood sprayed from the stump of his right wrist onto the floor. Altara stumbled back, Balamus's hand falling in front of her. She put distance between herself, the Replica impaling her, and Balamus.

"Stop him! Stop him, Holy Heroes!" Altara yelled desperately in pain. Without the Replica's protection, the Pope wouldn't be able to activate the ritual spell's massive attack without killing himself. There was still a chance. A chance for her to fix her mistake there today.

Naofumi heaved with all his might, and the rest of the ceiling debris on him fell to the side. He quickly stood up despite the pain.

"**Bishop! Bishop! Heal me!**" Balamus yelled down below in agony. He had picked up his severed hand, and pressed it to the bleeding stump, waiting for the healing magic to reattach it.

However, it was a different story going on down below now.

Mirellia's army had breached the walls. The Church knights were fighting desperately, but the followers on this side of the castle were being attacked. They used mana to put up a barrier between them, but Mirellia's army was fanning out, beginning to surround more of the castle grounds.

Things had only been made worse by the appearance of the Heroes' parties. With the help of the Queen and some recording crystals, they were broadcasting the information they'd found to the Followers and various parts of the Capital where resistance was still going on. The information, without going into many details, showed the hand the Church had played in Melromarc's history. Not only current but past. In regards to nobles who'd mysteriously died. Peace treaties with demi-human nations souring. And other various details that showed how the Church had played a dark hand influencing the people.

Still, at his plea, the Bishop directed the closest most loyal followers to heal the Pope's grave wound.

Naofumi grimaced. The other three Heroes still weren't ready to take down Balamus. Motoyasu tried to limp towards him but collapsed. He might have had a couple of broken bones, but it was hard to tell. Itsuki was starting to come too, but the kid was nowhere close to being ready to help. And while Ren was awake, he looked highly disconcerted. He still needed a few minutes at best to recover from the possible concussion he had received.

The flow of mana was definitely weakening. But the Cathedral was still in effect, and Balamus would soon be healthy enough to rip the sword out of the weak Altara and finish them off with the AoE attack.

The thing with Altara being a demi had his mind nagging him with other questions altogether, but those could wait.

_'But what can I do by myself!? I don't have any options left!'_ Naofumi thought.

Only, he realized, he did have one left. But if it didn't work- No, he couldn't give up! Even if he only had a shield! Even if he was alone! If he was still able to do something, then he should try it if it meant protecting Raphtalia and everyone else from this vile man in front of him!

Balamus, hand now reattached but still healing, stumbled for Altara. For the Replica still sheathed in her. But Naofumi ran into him, shoulder first. Whilst not damaging the old man, his STR stat sent the older man stumbling back. Naofumi almost stumbled himself. He felt so tired and sore from all the fighting.

"Who are you to stand in the way of God, Devil!" The Pope yelled. "Even without the Replica's protection, I am not afraid to purify us all!" Cathedral was charged. He had only to activate it!

"I'm no devil!" Naofumi yelled. He raised his shield in front of him. "I'm a ****ing Cardinal Hero! If there's any devil that needs purifying here, it's you!"

The **Shield of Hope II** reappeared.

The Shield glowed a bright blue. The gemstone in the center glowed brighter than it had before. The outline of a dove became clear as day. Oddly enough, the timer was gone. Naofumi's left side was first changed to white, and then, a long, flowing hooded robe appeared behind him. Completely covering his back and head. It wasn't just the Shield. _He_ glowed with power. The new armor he wore, **The Robe of Michael,** enhanced his SP Regeneration. Helping to refill the bar faster than he'd ever seen before.

Despite the pain she felt, Altara covered her eyes to peer at the bright light. What she saw made her eyes widen in awe and wonder.

The Devil- no, her Shield Hero, looked like an angel.

"No!" Balamus yelled. "This can't be happening! I am God! I am the Almighty! You can't possibly have his holy power!" He yelled insanely.

Naofumi was getting sick of his whole "I am God" talk. It was time for his Excellency to shut the hell up.

"**Shield Prison!**"

"Ah!" The familiar green ball of chains and plates surrounded the Pope.

A chain skill appeared on Naofumi's HUD. The next skill appeared. "**Change Shield (Expand)!**"

Naofumi's Shield Prison had always appeared as a round ball before. Using various skills, he could make needles, spikes, and other things appear inside. However, he had never managed to change the shape of the prison before.

Under the combo skill meant specifically for this situation. The Shield Prison expanded out. Until it was in the shape of a five-by-five-by-five-meter cube. The holes that had come from the round shape were sealed by the cube shape.

"You can't do this to me!" The Pope slammed his freshly healed hand against the plate. But without the Replica. He only had the strength of a man, with only a few buffs being offered by his followers struggling for their lives outside. "I am a God! I refuse to-"

"_Foolish Mortal!"_ And with those two words, the inside of the prison changed.

Suddenly, the dark space was filled with blue light. Balamus raised a hand to his eyes.

"_Let that which is good to leave unharmed! While that which is evil is sealed till the time of reckoning! Oh Great Spirit, I ask of thee, cast thy judgment upon this soul! Judge for thyself this threat to our world!_"

Balamus wasn't sure if he was hallucinating or not, but it was like something appeared in the light before him. A ball was in the center of that light. Or was it the source of the light?

He stared, not sure what it meant. When suddenly, the ball of light disappeared. As did all the light inside. "No! Don't go! Please, don't let the Devil of the Shield have me-!" He beat on the sides of the prison again.

"_You evil soul! Thy judgment has been cast! The Spirit of the Shield has been thy judge! Be sealed, until the time of reckoning! When you are released to satisfy the demands of Justice!_" A new, unfamiliar menu appeared on Naofumi's screen. It was like a timer. Without knowing what he was doing, he selected the number **1** on it. And the final words came.

"_May your evil be sealed! May you find no rest inside _**Pandora's Box!**"

The screaming inside intensified. The outer layer of the prison glowed a bright blue. Motoyasu covered his face. Ren looked away. Itsuki, who was just opening his eyes, looked away. Altara, Raphtalia, and Dou-Lon looked away. Even Naofumi, at the center of it all, looked away.

And then, the light disappeared all at once.

Naofumi collapsed to the ground. He felt weak. Very, incredibly weak. It wasn't just exhaustion. It was like Motoyasu's cursed energy decreasing all his stats, but on a much larger scale.

"Naofumi!" Raphtalia cried out in worry.

Motoyasu dragged himself across the floor. And finally, he was next to the Shield Hero. "Hey, man, are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm… I'm fine." Besides the weakness. Besides the fact that his SP and MP bars were completely empty, he wasn't harmed in any significant way. His Shield had changed back to his Starter Shield. **The Small Shield**.

At hearing his voice, Raphtalia sighed in relief. Dou-Lon slowly peeked his head out to look as well.

Naofumi forced himself to look up at the Pope. To see what the skill had done to him.

...

He stared in shock. Motoyasu followed his gaze and also stared in shock. Ren, after he caught up to what had happened, stared in stunned disbelief. As well as Itsuki, and everyone else who eventually arrived.

Without any more mana being fed into it, the Cathedral around the castle disappeared. The ritual spell hadn't been high enough to cancel out the effect of the rank two Blessed Skill.

The Pope still stood in his spot. However, his hand was raised, still beating against a wall that was no longer there. His face, his whole body, frozen for a time in fear and disbelief.

In a cold, dark layer of stone.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**And that wraps up the end of the fight in the Capital. Wow. That was a lot. I knew how I wanted the fight to start. I knew how I wanted it to end. But in between. There was so much that I wanted to capture. I hope I captured enough.**

**I wanted to confirm what someone had said before. Altara (or Victoria as I revealed) is the reverse foil to Naofumi and Raphtalia in canon. While Naofumi bought Raphtalia to treat her like a tool, she became his most trusted companion in the end. While Victoria thought Balamus had saved her out of the kindness of his heart, it had only been manipulation on his part to use her for his own goals. In the end, she was nothing more than a tool. One to be cast aside when she was no longer useful.**

**I know I stated in an earlier chapter that my original goal with her was to make Altara character as hatable as canon Bitch. And I feel I achieved that in most regards. However, my real goal was to show how she got there. How Victoria had been manipulated by someone she dearly trusted. Just like the King (in regards to daughter and others manipulating him). Just like Naofumi (in regards to Myne and the people manipulating him into losing all hope). Just like most of the other people in canon. And then reveal what would happen when she learned that she had been used the entire time. She did some terrible stuff. But it's he, Pope Balamus, in the end, that's the true scum in this story. I hope, when the time of his punishment arrives, you'll appreciate what's in store for him.**

**As for the skill, well, for those who look, pay attention to the TVTropes page for this fic. I'll make sure to add a clear description of Pandora's Box, what it does, it's drawbacks and other things there. No omake for today.**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	54. 54: Recovering Kingdom

**Alright. There is a new link on the Character's Page of TVTropes. Clicking on it will take you to a separate page that is the start for the different weapons, abilities, and spells the Heroes and other characters have used thus far (that I've managed to add). Pandora's Box in full detail is included. For those who saw it already, you have a rough approximation for how the meeting will go. For those who haven't, well, you're going to learn in part what the skill does. Anyone with questions after this should find the skill on the TVTropes page.**

**Also, no, I'm not doing a crossover idea with Soul Eater. As for why: A) I haven't seen it, and B) College is starting today. Unless you guys suggest one-shots, I'd suggest taking your ideas to different authors. I just don't have the time for any other idea besides one-shots. **

**Special thanks to norinthemanwonder. His proofreading and ideas helped this chapter a lot. I'm glad to have his help added to the help I already receive for this and later chapters. Hope you all enjoy today's chapter!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _54 more Favorites, 67 more Followers (Total: 1878 Favorites, 2082 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _August 24th, 2020 11:30 A.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Four: **_Recovering Kingdom_

* * *

Naofumi wasn't sure about everything that happened after… the... very… VERY long drawn-out fight against the Pope.

He didn't stay awake for very long afterward. Between the soreness, fatigue, pain, the empty SP and MP bars, and the 50% drop to all of his stats; he only stayed awake long enough to make sure that Raphtalia was pulled out from underneath the rubble safely. There was also another demi-human there that looked vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't quite remember from where. But after that, he was helped to an undamaged portion of the castle, where he crashed on a soft bed for the rest of the day and that night.

He was worried about the rest of his party. His daughter Filo, in particular. However, he was assured that they were okay. And his HUD's party screen showed him that she, Melty, and Eclair were still alive (with varying bars of HP). So he was able to rest peacefully, knowing his friends were still alive.

The following day, Naofumi was checked by several nurses to make sure he was okay. As he had found out, one of the Pope's attacks had given his right arm a slight hairline fracture. He couldn't use his healing magic on it, since his MP was still empty, but it was nothing the nurses couldn't fix between their healing magic and his potions.

While being treated for his injuries, he got a brief summary of what had happened yesterday from the nurses.

The fighting in the Capital had gone on for some time after the Pope's defeat. However, thanks to Ren and Itsuki's party members, a fair amount of people throughout the city who had already been on the fence about the Pope and the Church's actions surrendered or defected to the Queen's army by the time the castle was retaken. A fair majority of the more die-hard believers then proceeded to either meet their demise, got captured and thrown into prison, or managed to escape from the Capital. Among them was the ArchBishop, and the last of the Church's Shadows.

The Queen had what few knights she could spare sent out, searching for where they'd gone. The rest had to stay in the city. There was much that needed to be done. The relative quickness of the Queen's assault had limited most of the damage to the Southern quarter and the castle itself. Still, rebuilding efforts, burying the dead, cleaning the streets, calming the populace, and other such tasks would take time and manpower. Stuff that the Queen couldn't spare in the present.

Something that Naofumi would soon learn the reason for.

Beyond that, as far as the nurses knew, the other Heroes were okay. Itsuki was resting with some of his party members in another room. He'd gotten a concussion from getting slammed into a wall. Ren hadn't had any visible injuries so the nurses didn't end up treating him. Motoyasu was alone in a separate room. He had several broken ribs and a broken leg. They'd just finished treating him before coming to aid Naofumi.

As for his own party, Raphtalia and Eclair were in a separate room, receiving treatment for their own injuries with medicines and healing magic. Raphtalia had a fracture in her left leg and a mild concussion from the explosion, as well as various other wounds from her fight with Altara.

Eclair had been found in the arena, defending the executees. She had been nearly faint from blood loss, and from the loss of adrenaline that came from avenging her Father. The nasty gash on her arm had been treated and bandaged, and she was currently on ordered bed rest. And by order, it sounded like she was tied down to the bed so that she wouldn't try to get up and do anything strenuous like **sword training**.

Despite their best work, the nurses didn't want her to move anytime soon. Eclair needed time to recover. Unfortunately, the knight had many complaints about not being allowed to do her early morning training. Or her afternoon training. Or her evening training. Or her secret night training.

She should just make an all-day sword training regiment and get it over with. Or go even further and marry her sword.

And lastly was the Pope. His statue had been moved to the dungeons. Besides a timer overhead that only the other Heroes were able to see, thanks to their more unique HUD's, they couldn't tell what Naofumi had done to his Excellency. No one knew for sure, not even Naofumi himself. But since the timer had a countdown, the Pope had been placed in the deepest part of the dungeon. To wait for what would happen when the timer reached zero. Which would be sometime this morning.

There was probably a lot more that he needed to learn after that, but after being treated, Naofumi thanked the nurses, got up, and left his room.

Now, he was walking the castle corridors with the help of one of the Queen's demi-human maids to Raphtalia's room. He needed to check up on her and Eclair to make sure they were alright before heading to the dungeons to see what happened to the Pope.

"Is this too fast Shield Hero? Do you need me to slow down?" The maid asked with concern.

"No, this is fine, thank you." He answered dryly, giving her a polite nod. His left arm was resting in a sling. Even though it had healed, he was being cautious, just in case.

He still felt sore from yesterday. But he was fine. Honest. It was probably because his stats were lower.

"Are you thirsty? Hungry? Maybe I should take you to the kitchens first-"

"I'm fine," Naofumi repeated with more assertiveness. "I just need directions to my party's room. That's all."

The maid hesitated. "Oh, ok." Her ears fell flat on her head. It was kind of adorable.

_'What's her deal?'_ He thought densely. He wasn't starving or anything. He just really wanted to _see_ his friends!

The disappointed demi-human maid led the Shield Hero down several different hallways to another section of the castle. Already, after less than a day, work was being done to restore the castle. Granted, he was nowhere near the Throne room where the major destruction had occurred. But here, he could see that the Church decorum was being removed. Torn portraits were taken down. Broken statues were getting cleaned up.

Finally, the maid stopped before a door. Holding her hands together nervously. "Is there anything else that you require from me, Lord Shield Hero?"

"No, I'll be good. Thank you for helping me." He said. He was finally smiling. He was finally going to see his friends again. He was finally going to see Raphtalia again.

The maid blushed at his smile and quickly scampered off to do her duties around the castle. Naofumi didn't pay her any mind though. Especially since, as he opened the door, he was engulfed in a big, big hug! But not by the person he'd been expecting.

"Daddy!"

"Filo! Why are you- oof!" He was buried in Filo's feathers. The girl was in her Queen form. And Naofumi was just now discovering how thick her feathers were as his body almost disappeared entirely.

"Filo! Don't suffocate daddy!"

"But Filo missed daddy!"

"Ah! I-" Naofumi was buried in her plumage again, and then he barely managed to pull his face back out with his good arm. "I missed you too Filo, but I was only gone for ONE day!"

"Filo." Raphtalia put a hand to her head and sighed. "Remember that Daddy's hurt too."

"Oh, right!" Filo disappeared in a poof of feathers. And Naofumi luckily found himself hugging the adorable little girl. "Is this better?" She asked curiously.

"Immensely. Thank you." Now that it didn't feel like he was suffocating from heat and feathers, he was able to gladly hug the little angel girl with one arm. She wasn't Raphtalia. But as his daughter, she was the second person he wanted to see. "What are you doing here?"

"Mel-chan said she wanted some alone time to see her mommy and daddy! So Filo decided to see Filo's mommy too!" She said happily.

"... Is that so." He muttered dryly. So Melty had been reunited with the Queen and her idiotic husband. He wondered how that was going. The Second Princess seemed nice enough, but he was dreading to meet her Mother face to face after all the crap her Father had put him through. Hell, if the Queen was with the King right now, he almost didn't want to meet her.

It was only because of the fact that the Queen had shown up with an army, right when it was needed, that he didn't diss her outright. Hell, why hadn't the Queen shown up before?! Why go through all that crap with her stupid husband!? She'd better be torturing her husband when he met her. Otherwise, he wouldn't listen to a word she had to say...

Raphtalia was giving him a deadpan look. Crap, she must have been reading what was on his mind. Better get to something else before she called him out on his well-deserved pettiness. "Tell you what. How about you get some food for mommy while I talk to her Filo."

Filo's eyes glistened. That was a brilliant idea! Food always made Filo feel better! So maybe it'd help mommy feel better too! Should she get mommy the yummy fruits she saw in the kitchens with Mel?! Actually, she should get some for herself too! It was really, REALLY tasty! "Okay! Filo's glad to see you feeling better daddy!"

After letting her go and watching Filo race out the door to empty the Castle Kitchens, he sat at Raphtalia's bedside.

"You were thinking about something rude back there, weren't you?" She asked.

"Do I even need to answer that anymore?" He asked in turn with a tired look.

Raphtalia giggled. The way her ears flicked in amusement brought a small smile to his face. Seriously, he wondered how the hell he hadn't fallen for her sooner. "How are you feeling?" He asked. Rubbing her hand softly.

"The nurses healed me the best they could. But it sounds like I'll be on bed rest for now." She said with a sigh.

He couldn't use healing magic at the moment, but... "Hmmm… well luckily your boyfriend." He pulled a healing potion from his Shield. He then switched it to the **Shield of Hope II**. "... is the Hero of the Shield." He had more than one way to heal a person.

Raphtalia drank the potion from Naofumi. Her body glowed brightly as the Shield's special effect boosted the potion's efficacy. She sighed in relief as a low throbbing pain from her leg disappeared. The Queen's nurses had healed most of her injuries with Zweite level magic. But her leg had… been pretty hard for them to heal. "You know I'll still have to be on bed rest for the rest of the day, right?" She asked. Even with the miracle healing, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"I know. I just wanted to help. I don't like seeing you in pain." He said, switching to a different shield. The timer had appeared on the **Shield of Hope II** again. It looked like whatever had happened yesterday that boosted it had worn off. '_How did I manage to pull that off yesterday?'_ He'd gone from having a timer with five seconds on it to the feeling of being able to push on to the bitter end. It was so strange.

"... Thank you," Raphtalia whispered, blushing slightly at what he'd said. "You were amazing yesterday." She couldn't have been prouder of him, even with all his flaws. "You saved so many people."

He planted a peck to her forehead and held one of her hands. He'd think over that question sometime after this. "You're welcome." He smiled softly for her. For now, he'd rather stay in this moment.

The two continued to stare like a couple of dopes at each other. Cheeks steadily fill with color. And just when they were starting to feel brave enough to lean forward to kiss, Eclair groaned on her bed. "Sir Naofumi. Would you please give me one of those damn potions too?!"

The two blushed. They'd forgotten Eclair was there! "Sorry, be right there!" He settled for laying a quick peck on the Tanuki girl's cheek, and with cheeks ablaze, he came over to the rose haired knight to help her out.

The poor Tanuki girl. She was once again turned into a blushing mess. They were just about to have another sweet moment! And then she'd felt something rising in her! An emotion that she was steadily becoming more familiar with, whenever Naofumi was around. Why did it make her want to jump Naofumi so badly!? What would happen if she followed that line of thought and jumped Naofumi?! Why did Eclair have to ruin their moment?!

Why did mother and father have to tell her kissing was what made you pregnant!? She didn't know anything anymore!

Eclair sighed in relief after drinking the healing potion from Naofumi. Under her bandages, the rest of her nasty wound healed. The flesh of her arm spread out, blood vessels and ligaments reassembled themselves, until only a faint scar remained.

"Thank you, Sir Naofumi."

"No problem." Naofumi switched out of the **Shield** **of Hope II **once more. While it left his mind reeling a little bit, he felt it was something he could probably get used to. Maybe he should spend more time training with switching in and out of it? And maybe the** Shield of Rage II** too. If Motoyasu and Itsuki were any indicators, a probable reason why they could somewhat retain control while equipping their Cursed Weapons while he couldn't was because they'd had experience equipping them again and again.

Granted, he'd gone straight from the **Shield of Rage I** to the **Shield of Rage II** within minutes of him first using it thanks to Bitch, but again, these were thoughts for another time.

Looking over the bed, Naofumi found that Eclair was indeed strapped down to it. He'd honestly thought the nurses were exaggerating a little bit. But it turned out that they weren't. Eclair was strapped down by her legs, over her waist, and just under her chest. "Now, if you'd be kind enough to release me-" Eclair started to say.

"Not happening." He quickly interrupted. "After what happened, you're both resting until further notice. The last thing I need is for you to overwork yourself training."

"But I'm almost back to where I was at before!" Eclair looked heartbroken at being told not to train. "If I just train a little longer-"

"It's only been a week! A day of rest won't kill you!"

"Why are you being so cruel Naofumi!?" Eclair wasn't normally a whiner. But she was being kept from training! From being kept from finding solace in her true companion! Her beloved sword!

"You get used to it," Raphtalia said, sweat dropping as she chuckled. That was her Naofumi alright. Worrying about those he was responsible for.

"I'm not joking. You better not get out of that bed until I say you can!" Naofumi said.

"Hmmph." Was Eclair pouting about not getting her way now? He never thought the mature knight would be one to throw a tantrum over something so trivial. "_Gods, she reminds me of Raphtalia as a teenager."_ He muttered under his breath.

"I was not like that!" Raphtalia whined.

Crap, had she heard that? Where was Filo to distract mommy when he needed her!? Wasn't their daughter getting food for her?! Had she been sidetracked by all the tasty yummies in the kitchen!? "Um, anyway, I'll be going now. I have other things to do." He said awkwardly. "Rest well you two!"

"Naofumi!" Both of them yelled at the same time. They weren't done with him yet! But he quickly noped out of the room. Leaving them resting in their beds.

It was silent for a moment. Both girls were staring at the door.

"How can you love such a… a… jerk such as him?" Eclair groaned. Was it her fault that she wanted to return to her top form so badly?! Sebastian would have never wounded her so seriously if she'd had more time to train beforehand!

Raphtalia sighed. "Sometimes, he can be a little rough." She said. And then she sighed dreamily. "And then, other times, he just has the purest heart."

Eclair scoffed. "Yeah, pure." She knew of no pure person that would keep someone from their love of sword training.

Raphtalia blissfully fell back to sleep. Dreaming pure thoughts about her Hero. While Eclair fumed in her bed, refusing to close her eyes and rest. Her sword rested in its scabbard, staring at her from the corner of her eye. She'd find a way to undo these restraints and get out of here, even if it was the last thing she did.

For Raphtalia, it was easier to understand what Rifana had meant now, talking about love before the Wave of Catastrophe hit. Even with his flaws, and even when she could tell that he was thinking rude things about her or someone else, she still loved him in a way that was different from the love that she held for her parents. It was hard to put into words.

Now if she could only figure out what her damn emotions wanted her to do whenever she was near him...

* * *

Naofumi entered the dungeons, leaving the door open behind him. Several knights stood on guard at the sides, but at Naofumi's entrance, they saluted him.

It was odd. Naofumi was more used to knights trying to kill him. But he gave them a nod as he walked past, and they stood at attention once more. Keeping guard over the hallway.

Was this the treatment he was supposed to have? Before the rape accusation and everything else?

As he walked by a familiar door, he stopped. The door was slightly ajar. He pushed it open, revealing a familiar interrogation room.

Sitting in a chair, facing an empty cell, was Motoyasu. His chest was bandaged, and his leg was in a cast.

"What are you doing here?" Naofumi asked, walking in.

Motoyasu stared at the cell. "Haven't you heard?" His voice sounded broken.

"Heard what?"

…

Motoyasu simply pointed at the cell in front of him. Naofumi looked more closely, and then he saw a pair of chains, partly melted away, lying on the floor. After that, it took him only a few more seconds to piece it together in his mind. '_DAMN IT!'_ He punched a wall in anger. With his lowered defense and strength stats, his hand stung.

"What the hell happened here?" Naofumi angrily directed at Motoyasu.

The poor blonde spearman's shoulders drooped with a sigh. "I don't know, Naofumi. When I decided to help you defeat the Pope, I left Myne chained in her cell. I swear I did."

Motoyasu recalled that moment in his mind. He'd been lying on the ground. Feeling so utterly worthless as a person, and as a Hero. And then, somehow, he'd found the strength to get up. He found it in himself to leave that room. To leave Myne behind. To hustle through the castle. To find and support Naofumi, and actually be a Hero.

He hadn't even thought twice about trying to free Myne. Why would he? Not only was she a Yandere, but she'd been lying to him and using him all along. And after learning about the other things she'd done, he didn't want to see the Bitch ever again. Much less, help her escape.

Naofumi forced himself to take a deep breath and calmed. Motoyasu was looking down at the ground sadly. "Do we have any idea what happened to her?" Naofumi asked.

Motoyasu shook his head. "I already talked to the Queen. She says some of her knights spotted her and another party member of mine, Lesty, towards the end of the fighting. They were fleeing through the rubble at the western gate, but they disappeared after that."

"... damn it." Naofumi uttered sadly. He'd been hoping to make the red-haired Bitch pay for her crimes alongside the Pope. But it looked like that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.

"... Naofumi, I really am sorry about what I did before." Tears touched at the corners of Motoyasu's eyes. "You were right. I should have listened to you. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt when you tried to tell me the truth..."

"Hey." Naofumi put a hand on Motoyasu's shoulder. "I can't deny that you hurt me... On more than one occasion." Motoyasu grimaced. The Sacred Duel, the ambush near Dragon Village, and other such scenarios came to mind.

"However, most of what happened wasn't your fault." He continued. "Had Bitch and that damn Church not screwed with you, I doubt you would have made the same choices as before, right?"

"Well… I was being honest when we met that I thought the Shielder class was useless." Motoyasu admitted. Naofumi glared down at him. "... but no. I don't think I would have gone out of my way to make your life miserable, Naofumi." Motoyasu said.

Well, it wasn't exactly what Naofumi had wanted to hear. But it was Motoyasu. Every baby step in the right direction helped. "So. What do you think you can do to prevent this from happening again?" Naofumi asked.

What could he do? "... … …" Motoyasu glared at the cell. "I'm going to be more careful who I trust from now on." He said, before thinking some more. "And I'm going to try harder to be a Hero. I need to make up for all the harm I've caused people." For a moment, he actually did look pretty cool and heroic in his tattered armor. It was actually kind of amazing to see it firsthand.

And then a dreamy look came over Motoyasu's face. The mental image was instantly ruined. "So I can gain the praise of all the fair maidens in this land once again!"

...

Naofumi facepalmed. Of course, even after everything that had happened, Motoyasu was still a womanizer at heart. He had no doubt the next time he saw his party, it'd be filled to the brim with women.

"Minus the Yanderes, of course." Motoyasu amended. "They're not…" He shuddered. "I'm not allowing one near me again."

Oh well. At least the blonde was going to be more careful. If he'd had a problem with Yanderes before coming to this world, he was definitely going to have problems with them now.

…

Hmmm, actually, if Motoyasu blew the Yandere Bitch sky-high next time they saw her... Yeah, that'd totally make up for his weird obsession with girls. Yeah. That'd be pretty amazing actually. If he could get Motoyasu to hate Bitch as much as he did, the two of them would get along just fine.

"By the way, Naofumi. I want to ask you something." Motoyasu said, finally turning to look at Naofumi. "How did you meet Raphtalia?"

"How did I meet her?" Naofumi asked.

Motoyasu nodded. "She has to be one of the fairest maidens I've ever met in my life. Not only is she pretty… she's dependable, kind, loyal, and willing to sacrifice herself for you." He said seriously. He might have been under the Spear of Jealousy's influence several of the last times, but he couldn't forget the way she'd acted before. Especially when he'd ambushed their wagon outside Dragon Village. "So, what did you do when you met her that made her stick with you?"

…

Naofumi chuckled. "Dude, you make it out like it's supposed to be some complicated scheme on my end or whatever."

"No! That's not what I'm, I mean, um-!" Motoyasu tried to defend himself.

"Relax. It's actually a good question from you." Naofumi stopped chuckling. "Honestly, all I did was buy a slave. Helped her to become a person. And we've protected each other ever since." He shrugged. "That's just me though. If I'm being honest, the only thing keeping me from erasing her slave crest is the fact that she wouldn't get the stat benefits from my Shield that come with it." Honestly, besides the brand, she wasn't really his slave. Honestly, at times, it felt more like he was enslaved to her and Filo.

"Hmmm…" Motoyasu was actually thinking about it? Crap, he better not get into the Slave Trade because of him. Having one corrupted hero was bad enough.

"Before I go." Naofumi switched to the **Shield of Hope II** once more. He pulled out another HP potion from the gemstone. Motoyasu drank it, and his body glowed. As soon as he'd done so, Naofumi switched back to a normal shield. His mind reeled worse than last time.

He got the feeling he really shouldn't casually switch in and out very often. The stress of battle was one thing. Doing it casually during the day was quite another. "Do you still think my Shield is useless?" Naofumi jokes. Seeing Motoyasu feel at his chest and lifting his leg in awe. The rest of the pain was gone.

"For attacking, yes." Motoyasu looked up at Naofumi with a smirk. "But I think it's useful in other ways."

Naofumi rolled his eyes. He took out one last thing from his inventory and allowed it to absorb itself into Motoyasu's spear on his back. "I'll see you later. Please don't do anything idiotic in the meantime. Or else I'll call in the person who gave me that to give you a major butt whooping." Naofumi said, leaving the room as Motoyasu's HUD flared up.

'_What does he mean- WHAT THE ****!?'_ Motoyasu stood upright. Line upon line of spears had just been unlocked on his HUD. All of them were under the **Filolial Series**. It had all been unlocked by one cowlick. "WHERE THE HELL DID YOU FIND AN ITEM LIKE-" He turned around, but Naofumi was already gone.

…

Motoyasu looked over his HUD again. A lot of the unlocked spears were pretty useless, as he remembered from his game. However, there were spears he hadn't known about in the series. Some of which required a higher level that he was close to reaching. And the stats on them were AWESOME! Especially on the one called the **Filolial Crown Spear**.

Motoyasu felt himself tearing up again in gratitude. He'd spent so long trying to find a higher-powered spear. And Naofumi had just given him several with just one item.

"_Honestly, all I did was buy a slave. Helped her to become a person. And we've protected each other ever since."_

"Thanks, Naofumi. I owe you one." Or two. Maybe three.

He got up. Feeling much more motivated than before. While he still kept the bandages on his chest, he removed his leg from the cast. And though he had a slight limp, he walked out of the Dungeons.

After talking with the Queen earlier, and now Naofumi, he knew what he had to do now...

At least, he had an idea of what to do. Baby steps.

* * *

The rest of Naofumi's trip through the dungeons went rather well. Knights standing guard at their posts gave him proper directions when asked. None of them yelled Shield Devil. None of them tried to attack him. They were mainly silent. A few gave him salutes as he went by.

Again, it was weird. He almost expected an ambush. Yet it never happened.

Finally, after about ten minutes, Naofumi walked out of the winding tunnel into the deepest part of the Dungeon. It was a decently sized underground room. But there was only one cell at the end of it. Inside the cell rested the statue of Pope Balamus.

His hand was still raised to beat against a wall that was no longer there. His face was frozen in fear and disbelief. There were also gashes in the stone, representing where his clothing had been torn before being frozen. The crown insignia on his mitre was burnt away. A consequence of Ren's **Crimson Blade** skill during the fight.

**5:00, 4:59, 4:58, 4:57...**

Over his head was a timer. In five minutes, he'd see what would happen to the Pope...

"Shield Hero."

Naofumi turned. From the Shadows, a woman appeared. She was dressed in a fancy noble's dress, and held a fan over her face. "Who are you?" Naofumi asked.

Was this the Queen of Melromarc? The woman had purple hair tied up in a bun. Her poise was perfect. Her eyes piercing behind her fan... and yet something felt off.

"You did well in your fight yesterday." The strange woman walked up beside Naofumi to inspect the Statue. "Taking down Balamus while he wielded the Replica. I daresay, that is indeed a worthy achievement."

"Daresay…" Naofumi inspected the strange woman more closely. And then he recognized it. The slight glimmer of illusion magic surrounding her. "You're not the Queen."

"Indeed. I am not." Even though the Shadow had been found out, she kept her illusion up. "Her Majesty is busy attending to other matters. I daresay though, it'd be wise if you addressed me as her Majesty if Balamus is unsealed as she theorizes."

So Motoyasu hadn't talked with the Queen. He'd only talked to a doppelganger and hadn't realized it. Though, if Motoyasu believed it, Naofumi guessed that he was seeing a depiction of what the Queen actually looked and sounded like. The Shadow's magic had even changed her voice from before. "If you really want to fool the Pope. You'll have to drop the 'I daresay' act." Naofumi said dryly.

"I said, I daresay, so you'd recognize me for who I am, Shield Hero." Though her lower face was hidden behind the fan, he could tell she wasn't lying.

Naofumi had almost forgotten about the Shadow since it'd been a while since he'd last seen her. But then again, he hadn't met anyone else who used the words "I daresay" to begin a sentence. And realizing the Shadow worked with the Queen, things she'd said before made too much sense now.

"So. Just to get things straight. You wanted me to protect the Queen's daughter, Melty?" He asked.

"Indeed. And you've done well with that duty so far, Shield Hero."

He groaned. "If you ask me, this all seems a little too convenient." He grumbled. "Especially the part with the Queen and her army showing up exactly when they were needed." Naofumi glared distrustfully at the Shadow. Without saying it, he'd raised a silent accusation that the Shadow has been spying on their activities and keeping him and the other heroes out of the loop deliberately just to set it up so all this could happen.

The Shadow nodded. "That it is a fair statement, Sir Naofumi. I was correct when I warned you of my mistress's daughter needing protection. However, if you feel this was all set up by her Majesty, that is not entirely the case."

…

Naofumi's glare softened, but the distrust on his face was still evident. "Explain it to me then."

"Her Majesty couldn't interfere in her Kingdom's affairs herself while she was abroad. What little influence she could accomplish could only be done through us Shadows. But, I daresay, there isn't much we ourselves can accomplish when we're spread thin dealing with many different matters inside the Kingdom."

"So if it all wasn't set up, why did the Queen arrive when we did?"

"That was merely a happy coincidence, Shield Hero. When her Majesty learned Balamus made his move early, she forced her army to march day and night, sometimes having them consume stamina recovery potions in place of sleep to get to the Capital as fast as possible. The hero's plans coinciding with her attack was a happy coincidence for her. As your battle with the Pope kept him and a large portion of his followers occupied while she retook her city."

That was true. Even though it'd taken them a long while to defeat Balamus, that time kept his Followers occupied with them. Instead of assisting the Church Knights with defending the city. Had even half of Balamus's followers been focused on using Support magic and ritual magic to help the knights, Mirellia would have hardly stood a chance.

Okay, he could understand a bit better now... And then he realized what the Shadow had ended with in a previous sentence. "What did you mean by so far? Are you saying I still have to protect the Second Princess?" Naofumi asked.

The Shadow looked to Naofumi. He couldn't tell if the purple eyes piercing him were actually the Shadow's, or the Queen's. "I daresay, Shield Hero, Balamus has been dealt with. His punishment if he is released from that statue has been set by her Majesty… but he isn't the only threat in our country the princess needs protection from." She looked at the statue again.

"What else is out there that she'd need protection from?" Naofumi asked in annoyance. So he was still going to have the Second Princess in his party?! Granted, that'd make Filo far happier. She could use more friends her age. But a week had been bad enough. Having the Second Princess around for the long haul? Get real!

"An invasion force from Siltvelt."

… It was Naofumi's turn to stare slack-jawed at the Shadow.

"There is also a faction of nobles out there who supported the Church. The Church forces that escaped. The possibility of more traitors to the crown hiding in the city. Her Majesty's first daughter, Malty, as well as her desire to seize the throne…" The Shadow spoke calmly. "With her Majesty's full attention being needed to clean up the mess that is her kingdom. She needs someone she can trust to protect her daughter until it's safe for her to return. And who better to protect her than one of the Cardinal Heroes?"

"Invasion force?" Naofumi muttered. He still looked hung up on that.

"... … Shield Hero. Were you not aware of the reason why the Church was gathering here?" The Shadow finally asked.

...

The stunned look on his face was all the confirmation she needed. The Shadow let out a sigh. "I daresay, this complicates matters indeed."

Naofumi was still reeling from the revelation. The Kingdom was being invaded? By Siltvelt? What the hell had happened to spark a war in the middle of the Waves? Were they STUPID?!

"I daresay, a confession is needed here, Shield Hero. After everything her people put you through, her Majesty was afraid to meet you in person because of the small chance you did all this to support Siltvelt's takeover of her country."

"No… that wasn't it at all…" How had they not known war was going on?... was this why they couldn't get any news about the eastern part of the kingdom? Had there been a war going on all this time, and the Church had been hiding it from the rest of the people?

"No matter. I will inform her Majesty of this development when she is through with her husband. I daresay, she will be relieved to know you weren't supporting Siltvelt's invasion." The Shadow said calmly, adjusting the fan over her face again.

The timer over the Pope's head had only fifteen seconds left on it. "You and the other Cardinal Heroes will be allowed to rest and do as you please for now. Should you need it, the Dragon Hourglass will be staffed for your parties' Class-Ups. Just know, in two days, Shield Hero, we will be marching in defense of our country. The Cardinal Heroes will have until then to state whether or not they'll be joining us in making peace with Siltvelt, or staying behind to prepare for the Wave of Catastrophe."

Naofumi didn't get the chance to respond. As only a couple seconds after the Shadow finished speaking, a bright blue light came off of Balamus's statue. He covered his eyes to protect from being blinded. The Shadow merely raised her fan a little higher, covering her eyes.

After a few seconds, Naofumi felt a rush of strength go through him again. On his HUD, all his stats returned to normal. His SP and MP bars began recharging again. He definitely felt more refreshed, as some of his aches and fatigue disappeared. However, he'd need time before his bars were full once again.

"AHHHH-" The still screaming Balamus's fist went forward. And he face-planted into the ground, cutting off his scream. Naofumi only saw it after uncovering his eyes. He kind of felt bad… not because an old man had tumbled to the ground. But because he hadn't been able to see it himself.

"Ah, Balamus." The Shadow's tone changed. Becoming oddly regal. Something King Trash had lacked. "I was hoping you'd stay sealed."

"What, where am I?!" Balamus looked around crazily.

"You're in the dungeons." Naofumi took a few steps back, allowing the Shadow to speak. "I had you dragged here in case your seal wasn't permanent. Seeing how it wasn't, now I'll be able to hold you prisoner until it is time for you to answer for all your crimes."

Balamus was still reeling from being sealed. But he was able to get onto his hands and knees. "You think you can hold a God captive?" He looked up, a crazed smile on his face. "You mere mortal, I never imagined you could be so naive-"

"Your followers have abandoned you." 'Mirellia' said. "Your Church shall be abolished from this land. The Cardinal Heroes you so demonized shall be compensated for all the troubles you've caused. You have lost."

"I HAVE NOT LOST!" Balamus stood up, glaring at 'Mirellia' with a crazed look in his eyes. "My holy crusade has just begun! You cannot stop me! No one can stop me! The will of the Gods can't be stopped! Not until the last of those demi-human abominations are purged from this world, along with their fake God! The Devil of the Shield!"

"How can you still think that I'm the devil here?!"

Before the Shadow could refute Balamus, Naofumi pushed up against the bars with his one good hand. "Tell me, Balamus! Who's really being the Devil here!"

"Why must you ask?!" Balamus said, his voice still crazed. "You are obviously-"

"I am not a Devil!" Naofumi yelled.

"You can't deny what you are-"

"IF I'M A DEVIL! THEN TELL ME! WHO WAS THE ONE THAT MANIPULATED REN TO KILL A DRAGON FOR A FORMER SLAVE GIRL?!" Naofumi roared.

Balamus opened his mouth to respond. "Who was the one that tried to have Itsuki killed for punishing corrupt nobles?! Who was the one that tried to kill Ren inside the Church?! Who twisted Motoyasu into doing horrible things to others! Who had the Nocturnal Doctor, who was going around helping people all over the kingdom, locked away!? Who spread false rumors about him and tried to ruin his life since the moment he set foot in this world?!" Naofumi pointed a finger at Balamus. "YOU DID THAT! YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF THAT YOU SICK BASTARD!"

"And what is your point in bringing this up, Devil." Balamus spat. "Are you trying to make me feel guilty for doing what was right?"

"HOW IS ANY OF THAT RIGHT?!" The Shield Hero bellowed. "HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY RUINING MY LIFE AND THE LIVES OF MY FRIENDS WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO SAVE _YOUR_ WORLD?!"

"Your mere existence is a blight-"

"ENOUGH OF THAT RELIGIOUS BULL CRAP!" Naofumi beat a fist against the bars of the cell, glaring at Balamus. "You claim to be a God. Yet you sunk to levels so depraved even devils would scorn you in disgust. Tell me, do Gods allow each other to lie to their neighbor, to dig a pit for good people, to steal what doesn't belong to them, to harm innocents who did NOTHING? To do evil in the name of GOOD?"

Naofumi continued to glare harshly at the Pope. Maybe the Pope was finally beginning to realize his position, noticing how he didn't even have the Replica anymore. For the first time, his face began to fill with fear. "Because if they do, that's a bunch of bull ****. Those are nothing short but the excuses of an evil man."

After glaring for a moment longer, Naofumi stepped back. 'Mirellia' nodded to the Shield Hero, before glaring harshly at Balamus. "As the Shield Hero just said, your actions against not only this kingdom, but against the crown have been nothing short of devil work."

"Wait, I only did what I did to protect humanity! To protect our world! You have to believe me-" Balamus started to yell.

"Silence, worm." 'Mirellia' raised a hand threateningly. Ice appeared over her fingertips. Naofumi knew it was only an illusion. But Balamus didn't. He cowered into a corner of his cell in fear. "You are not only responsible for the deaths of thousands in our kingdom, but for sparking a war between us and Siltvelt during the Waves of Catastrophe. Instead of helping the people stay spiritually strong, you have led them to indulge in hatred and shaming. You deposed the royal crown, and replaced those loyal to me and the Heroes with cowards bent on raising the Church to power. You will not only be punished for your sins against Melromarc, but your sins against the whole world as well."

Balamus whimpered. The sound was ultimately pathetic.

"Try to repent during these next few days if you can, Balamus." 'Mirellia' said icily. "For they shall be your last."

"No… NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!"

'Mirellia' turned around. Naofumi followed suit. The crazed religious man yelled from the corner of his cell. "I am a God! This world needs me! You can't do this! YOU CAN'T!"

Naofumi got the Shadow's underlying meaning. It was probably a statement straight from the Queen herself. Balamus was going to die for what he did. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. His fate was sealed. Yet, despite knowing that, he didn't even feel a shred of guilt.

He didn't care if this man died to the guillotine or whatever.

He held no forgiveness for him.

Not even a little bit.

"_Goodbye, Devil Balamus."_

It was time to rest. And to deliberate over what they were going to do now. The sounds of Balamus's screams followed the pair out of the dungeons.

* * *

Mirellia breathed in deeply.

She'd been awake all day and all night. Keeping a cool exterior while helping with the clean-up efforts in her kingdom. There was still so much to do. Yet she couldn't spare any more energy. She was exhausted, and she had to leave for something even more exhausting soon. A war that she needed to end as bloodlessly as possible.

But now, she faced her greatest hurdle yet. The master bedroom. Where her husband had been taken to be treated by the castle's nurses.

They reported to her that Aultcray, besides some whip marks, dehydration, and starvation; had been okay. Yet he didn't respond to anything that they asked him. Attempts at conversation had been met with nothing. And the only action they'd been able to get him to do was to eat and drink. That was only when they'd raised either to his lips for him.

Mirellia breathed in slowly again. She had to do this. After everything that her husband had done...

She raised a fan to her face. She nodded to the knights on duty, and they opened the doors. She walked in, purple robe flowing behind her.

The master bedroom, being far from the Throne Room, had escaped being damaged. It had also escaped the lecherous hands of Balamus and his Followers. Everything was as she remembered. The dressers. The mirror. The portraits lining the walls. Including a family portrait. Where she stood next to a smiling Aultcray, who held a little sleeping blue-haired baby girl in his arms. A redhead smiling girl stood next to her Mother. Only a trace of mischief in her eyes hinted at the psychological problems she was in the process of developing.

"M-Mother?" Finally, in the back of the room, sitting on their bed was her husband. Melty sat in a chair in front of him. She looked at Mirellia in surprise. But Aultcray didn't look up. He didn't move, or make any attempts to defend himself. He merely continued to look down at the ground.

"Melty, dear."

Melty immediately stood up, racing over and hugging her mom around the waist. Mirellia allowed a moment to hug the crying bluette. "Mother, I can't get Father to speak. Nothing I try works. Nothing!"

…

After a little bit, Melty released the hug. Wiping away the tears from her eyes with her arm. "Please, don't be too hard on him." She murmured quietly.

Mirellia simply gave her daughter a nod. "I will do what I must."

Still crying, the girl fled from the room. She didn't want to see what would come next.

Mirellia took another calming breath, holding her fan over her face. "Aultcray."

Her husband didn't respond to her voice. She approached him, moving the chair away so she could stand in front of him. "Your Queen is here. Speak." She said icily.

Aultcray still didn't respond…

…

**SLAP!**

She lowered the fan, backhanding Aultcray across the face. His head jerked to the side from the blow, but his expression didn't change. Without the fan covering her lower face, Mirellia's rage was plain to see. "Do you have anything to say for yourself, husband?! Do you know of all the troubles you've caused for me since I left!?"

At not getting a response, she slapped him again. "Let me tell you! My one-month diplomatic mission became nearly three, due to your foolish actions!"

Without getting a response, she slapped him again. "When it was discovered that you allowed the Church to summon all four Cardinal Heroes, almost every country tried to declare war!"

She slapped him again. Aultcray's facial expression still wasn't changing. "I had to run ragged, day and night, trying to convince everyone not to start a war while we were dealing with the Waves of Catastrophe!"

She slapped him again. "I had to keep my hands tied with diplomacy! Barely able to keep watch over anything in Melromarc!"

Aultcray still wasn't reacting, so she slapped him again, even harder than before. Aultcray's face was looking red from all the hand marks. Yet his expression still didn't change. "I bargained with the King of Faubley to support a peaceful solution! I told the other countries we would help strengthen all four Cardinal Heroes! BUT THEN YOU CONTINUED MISTREATING THE SHIELD HERO!"

She slapped him once, twice, and then thrice. Aultcray took each hit. Not offering any resistance. The Queen finally stopped, breathing in and out frantically. Her hand stung. "Do you have any idea how much it hurt?! Having to defend your foolish actions by myself! Having to deal with those that wanted me dead!... do you know how destroyed I was... the day the Siltvelt delegation came in to tell me that they were declaring war on Melromarc?! Seeing all my hard work torn to shreds before my eyes?! Do you know what that was like for me?!"

Aultcray just continued to stare silently at the floor. He knew Melty was alive. But he still looked dead inside.

As Mirellia got more frustrated, coupling with her exhaustion, the pain she felt became more apparent on her face. "You betrayed our country. But more than that," She gasped for breath. "You, you betrayed me Aultcray. You betrayed our daughter, Melty. You betrayed our family!"

She gasped again. Struggling to hold back all the hurt that she felt. He still hadn't reacted. "TELL ME! DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?!" She raised her voice.

Why, why wasn't he saying anything?

…

...

"I'm…"

Mirellia had been about to turn around. Mad, frustrated, exhausted, and hurt because of her husband. But his face lifted slightly. And his eyes, though unfocused, looked at her. "I'm… sorry." He whispered.

The former prideful king was gone. The look on his red, stung face expressed nothing but deep sorrow and genuine regret.

Mirellia gasped and quickly turned away while covering her face with her fan. She struggled to recompose herself. "Do you know how scared I was?" Her voice, though still hurt, contained a lot less anger than before. "When I learned that the Church was going to have you executed… do you know how afraid I was of losing you, Aultcray?..."

He didn't respond. And she eventually sat down on the bed next to him. Holding one of his hands in hers. "What happened to you Aultcray?" She whispered sadly, vulnerably. "You used to be so grand. So wise... Sometimes, I can't help but wonder if the man I love is still there at all."

...

Tears came from Aultcray's eyes, seeing how devastated his love was. Yet he didn't, or couldn't respond. He knew he'd messed up terribly. He'd done what he thought was best for his family. But he'd been wrong, so, so wrong. And the worst part was that he felt there was nothing he could do to make up for it.

All Mirellia could do was hold Aultcray's hand. Wondering how the hell she'd be able to bring herself to punish a man when he'd already been punished to the point of losing his pride and hope.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Crap, I wasn't expecting this last scene to make me cry. Now I feel bad for the Melromarc family. They're being torn apart because of the actions of one foolish man. A man who has come to realize just how foolish he was.**

**If you expected Bitch to just stay in her cell after being betrayed (in her mind) by Motoyasu, I was just as disappointed as you. So no, the Trial is not happening now, or soon. However, silver lining, we will get Balamus's execution. Just... likely after the last of this plot arc is dealt with (if you expected the Church to be the end of the plot arc, you thought wrong, Siltvelt still has to be dealt with). I'll be looking forward to that.**

**Enjoy the omake!**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**Training Montage: Cursed Shield edition**

* * *

"Alright, take one."

Naofumi switched to the **Shield of Rage II**. He grimaced as he tried to hold it. "You doing okay, Naofumi?!" Ren yelled.

"Yeah... I think- **AHHHHHHHHH!**" Naofumi was suddenly covered in Cursed Flames, and he slammed the Shield into a target dummy, incinerating it and the others behind it.

"Crap, get him out get him out get him OUT!"

...

"Alright, take two." A more tired-looking Motoyasu said.

Naofumi switched to the Cursed Shield again. "Remember, try to hold onto a memory while using it. That normally helps me." Itsuki suggested.

"Urgh..." Naofumi groaned. Flames slowly spread out over the large shield from the red gemstone. But his memory of making out with Raphtalia at Van's estate helped him to stay in control.

"There we go, you're doing great!" Itsuki yelled encouragingly.

"Just stick to it, you got this-" Ren was saying.

"**I'LL KILL** **YOU!**" Ren speaking reminded Naofumi of what had interrupted that awesome moment. Covered in cursed flames once more, he ran for Ren.

"AHHHHH!" The three Heroes freaked out as they once again had to get Naofumi out of the Cursed Shield.

...

_Several... dozen tries later..._

"Okay... I think I've got it now."

"Are you sure about that?" A very tired, burned Motoyasu groaned. He'd lost track of how many attempts they'd made at this point.

"Yeah... I'm sure." Naofumi not only had the Cursed Flames contained to his Shield. But he was also in the awesome black spiked armor too. Besides the red aura surrounding him, he still looked... kind of in control.

"I don't think gripping Ren by the neck sounds 'in control' Naofumi."

Oh yeah, Ren was also being held up in the air by one hand, being choked by Naofumi. "What... did... I... do... now?" The poor boy choked out.

"I'm not burning him this time, am I?" Naofumi asked Motoyasu with a calm glare.

"No, not at all!" Motoyasu immediately reassured Naofumi. Naofumi was still only one step away from going full demon all over again. Plus, if Naofumi was angry at Ren over one small incident over a dozen chapters ago, who knew the horror that'd be unleashed on Motoyasu if he tried to interfere and remind Naofumi of all the crap he put him through. Naofumi nodded and focused on his captive again.

"So, um, I think I'd call this a success," Motoyasu said to a tired and burned Itsuki.

"Yeah, besides Ren, he's staying... somewhat in control." Itsuki agreed.

"Now that I think about it, you never apologized for ruining that moment, didn't you?" Naofumi's hand squeezed harder, and Ren literally started to choke in his grasp. Unable to speak... his face turned a shade of blue.

"Alright, it's your turn to stop him this time." Motoyasu sighed.

Itsuki groaned but got up to do so.

The two of them _really_ hoped Naofumi got the hang of the **Cursed Series** soon...

Or learn to rely on the **Blessed Series **entirely. At least _that_ didn't make him want to go full murderhobo on people.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	55. 55: Other Matters

_**Words cannot describe how happy I am to hear about Season 2 of Shield Hero coming out next year. Who knows, maybe by the time it comes out, I'll have gotten to writing in S2's zone of plot. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Happy Labor Day!**_

* * *

_**Since Last Time:** 55 more Favorites, 55 more Followers (Total: 1933 Favorites, 2137 Followers)_

* * *

_**Updated:**_ _September 7th, 2020 11:00 A.M._

* * *

_**Chapter Fifty-Five:**_ _Other Matters_

* * *

_Present (Four Days Before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

"Ughhhh…"

Itsuki groaned as he woke up. The sun's rays were too bright against his eyelids. Didn't the sun know that it was rude to wake people up? He rolled over, putting his soft pillow over his head to block it out...

It was no use. Between the sun's rays, the smell of something good, and the sound of someone softly snoring, he was unable to go back to sleep.

…

Wait, who was snoring if he wasn't asleep?! He was supposed to have this room all to himself!

He took the pillow off his head, blinking away the sudden brightness of waking up. He then pulled out his bow and changed it to one of his strongest weapons, glancing around the room for his sleeping intruder. After all that's happened in the past, he wasn't about to let his guard down. Especially now that he was in the Capital.

After a few seconds, his eyes focused, and... "... Rishia?"

The green-haired girl was asleep in a chair next to his bed, snoring softly. Her head bobbed in her sleep like she was fishing. Looking around, he saw she was the only one in the room with him. That was unfair! Why couldn't she share her luck of being asleep with him?

Itsuki shook his head with a sigh. He changed his bow to a very small weapon the size of a bracelet, before placing it on top of his wrist. He then gently reached out, shaking the dark green-haired girl by the knee. "Hey, Rishia."

Rishia stirred, blinked slowly… "Wha-" And then she jumped in her seat. "Fueh!" She awoke with her signature cry of surprise. "Fue- S-Sir Itsuki?! You're awake!"

"Yeah. Where's everyone else? How long has it been since the fight?" Itsuki asked.

"Every- FUEH!" Rishia cried out in shock. The last time she'd checked, Karn had been in the room too! And wasn't it the middle of the night?! How was it already midday! And above all that, she was alone with Sir Itsuki!

...

"... Rishia?"

"Fuehhhh!"

Itsuki sighed. The poor girl looked so confused and scared. He pulled up his HUD, and fortunately, his party members were all still alive, and in good health. The Dragon Hourglass in the corner was ticking down from four days. Meaning it had only been a little over a day since their fight with Balamus. How was that old villain doing? Was he still frozen in that statue? At least he thought that was how Naofumi had defeated him. Where had he learned a skill like that?

"Um, fue... Karn was here last night." Rishia finally said meekly.

"Only Karn?" Itsuki asked.

Rishia nodded nervously. "Fueh… the others checked in from time to time… they're either helping out in the city or looking through the records that the Church left behind. There's… so much that needs to be done."

Itsuki sighed again, this time in relief. It was good to know that his party was alive and well and that they were already doing something to help the city and its people. Though the despondent look on Rishia's face didn't sit well with him.

Itsuki then studied Rishia more carefully. There were normally certain cues in a person's face and posture that indicated despondency. And while Rishia had a few, mainly a slouch and a downturned gaze, she had other things that didn't belong. Eyes struggling to stay open. A side to side bob of her head, like she was still asleep.

He finally deduced that it wasn't a despondent look she had. "Did you… stay up all night?" Itsuki asked. She was tired.

Her eyes went wide. "FUEH!" He took her cry of surprise as a yes. He felt a little bad waking up the girl now. "Is, is that a bad thing?" Despite everything going on, she'd only wanted to make sure that Sir Itsuki was alright! She was so worried, even after the nurses had treated his injuries! He'd looked really hurt yesterday!

"No no no, of course not! It's not a bad thing at all!" He strongly reassured the girl, since she was lacking in self-confidence. It comforted Itsuki, seeing how one of his party- no, his friend had stayed by his bedside to make sure that he was alright.

Now that he'd confirmed the status of his allies and helped Rishia calm down somewhat. His attention was brought back to the captivating and slightly nostalgic smell that he'd sensed earlier. Finally, after his curiosity got the better of him, he turned his head and noticed a medium-sized bowl on the nightstand. When he saw its contents, his mouth instantly watered, and that sense of nostalgia hit him like a freight train. "Is that… Napolitan?!"

Rishia cried in surprise again. The poor girl was going to be crying a lot, apparently, as Itsuki reached for the bowl. Rishia quickly grabbed his arm, stopping him. "N-No! The nurses said you need to rest, Sir Itsuki!"

"But… The food…!" His stomach growled loudly. Rishia cried in surprise, and Itsuki chuckled nervously. "Sorry. I haven't eaten since yesterday morning."

"Fueh… Sorry... Well… let me heat it up for you at least." Rishia murmured quietly. She'd made it for the party yesterday evening, and saved some for Itsuki in case he woke up. It was likely very cold.

Rishia held the bowl in her hands. "**Healing Warmth.**" A red aura appeared under her hands. The fire spell heated the bowl of spaghetti. Itsuki observed as she held the spell for a minute. He realized he hadn't seen her use magic very often. The few times he had watched, she'd used a couple of Wind spells. As well as a Water spell. Now she was using a fire spell. Did she have more than two affinities?

His observations were cut short when the Napolitan dish started steaming. The smell hit his nostrils anew.

HOLY MOLY! It was even more heavenly than before! He could feel his senses singing praises and he hadn't even tasted it! Did he miss this kind of food that much?!

Rishia scooted her chair closer to the head of Itsuki's bed. Itsuki sat up in preparation to grab it, but he suddenly got dizzy and fell back on his pillow. No! He had to eat! Why was his body betraying him like this?!

"Maybe I should feed you while you're recovering, Sir Itsuki?" Rishia said without thinking about it at first...

Itsuki stared at her. And then she realized what she'd just said. Her face instantly took on a crimson sheen. "FUEH! I, I mean, um, uh, I'm sorry, I-I was only offering, FUEH-" She stammered.

"No, it's fine if you feed me. Thank you." Itsuki more carefully sat up.

"Fueh… oh, okay," Rishia said unsurely. She looked so timid. Yet Itsuki nodded, silently saying it was alright to go ahead.

She hesitantly fed him a bite… and after tasting it, it took almost everything he had not to grab the bowl from Rishia and chow through the meal. The sauce was different but had a similar taste to what his mom made back home. The spaghetti noodles were soft. And the meat and vegetables mixed so well with the pasta… he swore, this food wouldn't look out of place on one of heaven's dining tables.

"I didn't know you could cook, Rishia," Itsuki said. Barely managing to contain the amount of joy and euphoria he was feeling at that moment.

"Fueh… does it taste good?" She meekly asked.

"Good, this tastes great! You could give Naofumi a run for his money!"

"Re-... Really?" Rishia's face brightened just a little bit at the compliment.

"Yeah, this is actually my favorite dish! Thank you for making this Rishia!" She fed him another bite, and his heart and stomach melted. He could not only feel the taste but the warmth of Rishia's care that went into the wonderful Napolitan spaghetti.

"Fueh! Um, uh!" A very flustered looking Rishia gradually started to smile. "Th-Thank you, Sir Itsuki!" Rishia said happily. The girl was finally smiling brightly. Being told she was a better cook than Naofumi was an incredible compliment, if not a monumental achievement. It was like a temporary boost had been given to her self-esteem.

Her smile looked good on her. Itsuki smiled too. He was happy to see the girl happy.

Then, midbite, he felt a knife twist in his heart.

He realized. Rishia had stayed with him… all night… just like he'd done for her when he accidentally cursed her. Only, she hadn't been responsible for his injuries. Yet she still stayed by his side to make sure that he was okay. She even made sure to have food on hand for when he woke up. And was feeding him with great care...

He felt great shame at that moment. To think he'd thought of Rishia as nothing more than a useless NPC only two weeks ago. Made only to serve as a constant reminder of his past. And here she was, making sure his injuries were okay, and serving him his favorite meal. Even if she still had that pitiful annoying whine...

"Sir, Sir Itsuki?" Rishia noticed the sad look on his face when he stopped eating. "Is something wrong?"

…

...

"I'm sorry. Thank you, Rishia." He gave her a genuine smile. He didn't indicate what he was apologizing for. He wasn't ready to tell her it was for the bad way that he'd treated her in the past. But he was ready to apologize.

"Wh-Wh-WH-" Rishia stuttered badly. At Itsuki's bright smile, her face flushed a deep crimson. What was the great Itsuki even apologizing to **her** for?!

Itsuki had Rishia set the God-Tier dish aside, and then he took hold of one of her hands. "I promise. I'm going to do my best to help you and the others become stronger from now on, Rishia."

His indecision in the past had not only cost the life of Marx but the life of his best friend. He needed, no, he had to take responsibility. He'd already promised before to become a better Hero. But at that moment, he swore it to himself upon his heart that he'd do it. He'd take things more seriously. He'd deliver justice, defend the innocent, and help his allies, his friends, to grow stronger. Especially Rishia.

The poor girl reminded him too much of what he'd been like before coming to this world. And he'd treated her too harshly for it. Now, instead of wanting to push her away, he wanted to help her. He wanted to be there for her. He wanted to help her self-confidence grow, and help her to grow as strong as possible. This would become his new goal in life.

...

"FUUUUEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Itsuki sweatdropped. Rishia might need some convincing about it first…

* * *

_Later that day_

A hooded form, the Sword Hero, walked along one of the city's many streets with a melancholic look on his face. He went unnoticed, undetected, by the common eye.

Ren had been the most fortunate of the four Heroes, escaping the battle with Balamus uninjured. Ever since he'd taken to exploring the city in secret. To see the things that he hadn't noticed before.

As he was in the northern section, the one least damaged from all the fighting, he watched the people going about their business. Closing down their shops for the evening. Vendors secured their goods before heading to an inn. Taverns opened their doors wide for tonight's patrons. The only source of tension was fear. Fear of the coming Wave, fear of the Siltvelt invasion, fear of the fate of their kingdom. Yet, they still tried to live their lives.

It was comforting, in a way. Even with all the chaos going on in the world, things could still look normal, if only for a moment.

"Good sir, would you like to try my specialty Raggout Rabbit Stew?."

Ren turned, keeping a calm look on his face. Fortunately, with his Sword sheathed on his back under his cloak, the vendor didn't recognize the Sword Hero. He looked like he was trying to get one last sale before he closed shop. Ren looked over the dish he was being offered. It reminded him very much of a dish his best friend had made for him in one of their VR games. It even smelled like it too.

"I'm sorry. I don't have any money on hand." Ren murmured. Hiding sadness from seeing a familiar dish here.

"Gosh darn it." The vendor cackled. "Maybe next time."

"Yeah, maybe." Ren continued on. Leaving the weird vendor behind.

"Hope to see you soon!" Ren didn't respond.

...

"Hey, have you seen a brooding tall young man?" Ren paused at a corner, recognizing the voice. "He wears black and grey armor, and he tends to keep to himself."

He glanced around and saw Welt and Bakta talking to someone. The two were dressed in casual clothes. It was especially weird to see Bakta out in public without any armor on.

"No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen anybody like that around here." The woman said.

"Oh, okay. Thanks for helping us." Welt said sadly as the woman walked off.

The two looked at each other. Both released sighs of disappointment at the same time. "I don't get it. Where did Sir Ren go?" Bakta asked. He and Welt walked off in a different direction.

"I don't know... Let's keep looking." Welt responded. Soon, they were out of earshot. Ren didn't hear what Welt whispered to Bakta. "_I'm worried about him."_

…

Ren opened his party HUD. It showed that everyone in the party was fine. It showed he was fine too. So why were they out looking for him?...

After a moment, he continued on. Lost in his own thoughts and observations. As more time passed, there were fewer people walking the streets. And soon, he realized he was recognizing places he'd already walked past. There was less and less for him to explore.

Eventually, as the sun was setting, he finally headed back to the castle.

At the gates, he showed his Legendary Sword, and the knights let him in. Still, despite the lateness of the evening, he wandered some more after that. Down hallways. Outside in the gardens. The stands of the Duel Arena.

Soon, he found himself resting against a stone railing. Looking out from a very familiar portion of the castle wall.

If he remembered correctly, this was where he'd found Naofumi and Raphtalia that day. After he and Itsuki had collected their rewards from Aultcray.

He hadn't realized it, but that was probably the day his experiences in this world truly began to change. After that talk with Naofumi, things started to become less like a game, and more… real.

Had he gotten that blanket back from Naofumi? He couldn't remember. So much had happened since then, and it'd only been a month and a half ago...

* * *

"_Sword Hero. I can see how you've already faced rough challenges since being summoned to this world. But you must persevere if you want to survive what's coming." Fitoria said._

"_P-Persevere?" Ren was still reeling from the revelation Fitoria had given him about his Cursed Series. And now she was saying things would only continue to get harder?!_

"_The Heroes will soon face a choice. Whether to save the world. Or the people in it. The past heroes always hoped their predecessors would be able to work together to choose the latter. Though it'd be the much harder path to walk."_

"_But… but if things are going to get harder…" Ren was scared._

_Fitoria gave him a sympathetic look. "The heroes of old had to make great sacrifices to save our world, Sword Hero. I may not remember their names, but I still recall the pain and anguish they waded through. It'll be easier for this batch of Heroes, seeing how you're already working together this early on. But I cannot guarantee that you nor your friends won't have to make sacrifices."_

_Ren stared. Fitoria looked him in the eyes. "When the time comes, do not fall into Despair, Sword Hero. Please, choose to not walk that dark path. It'll only lead you to greater pain... Just like the others, you will be needed if our world is to survive the calamities ahead."_

* * *

Remembering his conversation with Fitoria, he pulled up his party HUD worriedly again. Once more, it showed all his party members were in good health.

Still, he couldn't help but worry. How long would that last for? Fitoria had all but confirmed that the coming challenges would only become harder. Itsuki had already lost one friend. They'd had some close calls recently just dealing with current non-wave problems.

Could he be strong enough to face future problems that'd arise against them? Could he grow strong enough to defeat the coming Waves? To face the Guardian Beasts that would awake sometime during the Waves? Could he protect his friends? Should he even bring them along for the challenges ahead when the chances of dying would be drastically high?...

He just felt so overwhelmed. He swore he wouldn't go back to being a loner. That he'd work harder to rely on his party. But he was just… just… … ...

"There you are."

He turned in surprise.

Of course, out of all of his party members, Wyndia was the best at tracking him down. And at a bad time too. She was already glaring at him angrily. "Congratulations on your victory. I'm glad you were able to beat my former owner while the rest of us were busy book diving." She said sarcastically.

Ren swallowed a nervous gulp. "I… I was only having you do what I thought would best help the city." He said, looking down at the ground. Indeed, it had worked. Wyndia's efforts as well as everyone else's had contributed to Mirellia's quick victory. But they both knew that wasn't the reason he'd sent them down into the Church.

"Don't give me that bull crap. We both know that isn't why you asked us to do that." Wyndia's tone was laced with anger. Ren stared down at the wall guiltily. "You could have bothered to at least check up on us after the battle."

"But, I have been. I've been checking my HUD constantly, making sure the party was alright." Ren said.

"... I meant personally, see us." Wyndia was definitely angrier. He'd messed up, again.

"But I don't need to do that when the Status Magic can-" Ren tried to say.

"Do you even know how worried Bakta and Welt are, Sir Ren?" Wyndia snapped. "Ever since they saw how Sirs Itsuki and Naofumi had fared from the battle, they've been searching the city, worried sick about you. Did your Status Magic tell you that? And don't even get me started on Farrie and Tersia. If they weren't stuck in the Church studying the records that survived, they'd be looking for you too. You could have at least told us that you were uninjured before disappearing on us. Just seeing you would have eased many of our worries."

"I-" He realized trying to defend behind his weak pathetic excuse about Status Magic wouldn't help. "I'm sorry. I just wanted some time alone-" Ren tried to say a different excuse.

"Do you even care about the rest of us, Sir Ren?!" A dog's growl built up in Wyndia's throat. "You want to be alone?! What about the others?! What about me?! Didn't we deserve to know that you're safe?! It's been over a day since the battle! What if you'd been injured!? What if you'd wandered too far from the Capital!? What if you'd been kidnapped, or killed?!"

"But, you have status magic too." Ren felt frustration building up in him. "You should have been able to see that I'm alright." Forget excuses, why was Wyndia bothering him with this?!

"I don't want some stupid magic telling me that!" Wyndia sounded more frustrated. "Are you dense, or stupid! Do you think none of us have noticed how you're keeping us from helping you in fights anymore!" Wyndia was too prideful to admit how his orders had led to a lot of success. She was too angry with Ren at that moment for not allowing her to face her former master. "That's why you had us go book diving, isn't it?!"

"No, that isn't it-" Ren grabbed at his head in frustration. Why couldn't Wyndia understand? He had only been trying to protect them from danger. To give them a task so that they wouldn't have to risk their lives by facing the Pope and the Replica Weapon. Raphtalia had barely survived it. What would have happened if his party had been there?! They weren't as strong as that demi-girl!

"What happened to letting us fight side by side with you? What about your promise to help us all grow strong!?" Wyndia yelled. "What happened to the _damn_ Hero who surpassed my Father and-"

"JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"

…

…

Wyndia stared, shocked at Ren's words. He had never yelled at her. Not once. But his frustration had finally boiled over. He just wanted to be left alone. Why couldn't Wyndia see that!? Why couldn't his party see that?! Why did she have to reopen the wound that was one of his greatest mistakes!? Did she really hate him that much?!

He glared harshly at her. "Why are you even here?! What do you want?!" It sounded incredibly rude and hurtful, but he was genuinely confused. "I'm just trying to do what I can to keep everyone alive! Why can't you and the others see that!? I'm trying to keep you safe! I'm trying to protect you!" He was also being sincere. But more than that, he was frustrated, angry, and hurt. And unfortunately, those bitter, ugly emotions that he'd desperately tried to bottle up were now far more apparent than his sincerity.

"S-Sir Ren-"

"Don't Sir Ren me! Don't you realize that I'm just some highschooler who was chosen by a sword! I'm not some God or a person of legend or whatever everyone says I am because of this stupid sword! I'm just a teenager! A teenager who is way over his head and needs time for himself so he doesn't get overwhelmed by everything that is going on! OKAY?!"

He paused, taking several long, shaky breaths. But he was still very, very angry and emotional. Wyndia could only stare. "If you don't have any reason to be here, then go! Tell the others that I'm alright! Tell them to do whatever! Just leave me the hell alone! I don't need you or anyone to check up on me! I'm FINE!"

…

...

He took several more deep breaths. Despite yelling, he still felt angry and frustrated. He just wanted to be left alone. He didn't want to deal with anybody!... But then a tear leaked from Wyndia's brown eye. The look of hurt on her face reminded him of the day he killed Gaelion.

All the anger and frustration drained away. Replaced by a feeling of immense guilt.

She turned away. Scowling fiercely. "Fine. If that's what you want."

"Wait, Wyndia, I-" Ren reached out towards her, but she smacked his hand away.

"Don't, touch, me!" She snarled out. She was angry, but beyond that, more tears were leaking from her eyes. He'd hurt her. Her HP bar didn't show it, but he'd hurt her badly.

"Please, wait-!" She ran off. Leaving him standing alone on the wall.

He stared. Completely alone. Just like he'd asked for.

Even more immense guilt and sorrow hammered down on his soul. He took a step. He knew that he should chase after her fleeing figure. That he should apologize for hurting her… but cowardice kept his step from becoming a hundred, a thousand, however many it took to catch up to the dog girl. Cowardice, fear, and above all, guilt, drove into him like nails.

Ren instead slammed his fist into the wall. "DAMN ITTTTTT!" Ren's scream of pain and frustration echoed throughout the city. The city he'd given his all to save.

* * *

Away from everyone else, once she had thrown herself inside a random room in the castle, with Ren's scream of pain still sounding in her ears, Wyndia finally allowed herself to break down and start sobbing.

The Sword Hero was truly an idiot. He didn't realize how much they cared for him. How much she had cared for him. Seeing him give his all to grow stronger. Bravely facing his enemies like the Tyrant Dragon Rex and the Pope.

She cried, not only because of that… but because she hadn't wanted him to leave her alone. He'd wanted her to chase after her. To comfort her and embrace her even though she'd openly refuse…

She hated him. Hated that he'd done this to her… hated that he'd hurt her...

But maybe it was because of her fast growth. Maybe it was because her father had taught her to value strength. Maybe it was because she'd grown to respect him for being strong enough to surpass her Father. Or maybe it was because of the care he'd shown as he helped her grow big and strong. The better side to him that she'd seen on days when he wasn't so consumed by his mistakes… but she didn't really hate him.

She… she… … ...

She continued to cry. Wishing for her brave, stupid Sword Hero to come rescue her heart… Or was he right?

Maybe he really was only a young, naive, stupid teenager… … ...

Just like her.

* * *

A familiar Hakuko stood before a large wooden door awkwardly.

The last day had been one of the most bizarre in his life. And he'd been taken care of by an old woman that spoke in broken Siltveltian for the past weeks.

After the battle, he'd been escorted by several shadows to Queen Mirellia. For obvious reasons, she'd found it suspicious for a random Hakuko to be at the battle. However, after explaining why he'd been there, she granted him some level of trust. She had a Shadow stay with him. So she could get back to cleaning up her city, and so he could learn what had happened in the last few weeks.

Needless to say, there had been much he'd missed. He'd been surprised by a lot of it… and he'd been horrified to learn about his country's invasion.

Granted, he'd seen for himself how the country was mistreating the Shield Hero. But to go to war while the Waves of Catastrophe were happening?!

He was conflicted about many things. And wandering aimlessly around the castle had barely helped to ease his mind.

Now, after receiving directions from a castle maid, he stood in front of a door. Behind it was where the Shield Hero, his Great God, was supposed to be resting for the evening. Behind it was the answers to his questions.

He gulped nervously. He was not only mustering up the courage to knock, but he was trying to think of what to say. What questions should he ask? How should he act? How did his God want to be treated? Would he mind if he openly prayed to him?

He didn't remember much about his Great Uncle, the Claw King Tai-Lon. He'd been killed by the Wise King when he was only a toddler. However, what he did remember was the passion in which he taught his family about the Shield Hero. Despite all the changes he'd grown up with, the one thing that had remained constant was that, the worship of the being who had saved the lives of demi-humans many years ago.

Even after his great Uncle's death, and as the Hakuko lost their standing after the War, he was raised with the importance of trusting his God. To go into battle for his sake. To sharpen his claws and to prepare his fangs for the day the Shield Hero called for his aid. Even though the Hakuko had lost all their political power, he still wished to serve the Shield Hero to the best of his physical abilities.

It wasn't only that though. More than anything, he wanted to "know" the Shield Hero. Know what he was really like. Most of what he'd been taught had been that the Shield Hero taught Siltvelt how to live. Unfortunately, it involved too much war.

The last war between Siltvelt and Melromarc had only been the cornerstone of a series of other wars and bloody feuds between Siltvelt and other nations. Which stretched back centuries.

He wanted to know if the Shield Hero really was like that. Did he want war? Did he want demi-humans to rule the world? Above that, had he approved of the class system Siltvelt now had? Did he approve of the treatment of the Raccoons and other lesser demi-human species? Did he approve of demi-humans enslaving other demi-humans and humans?

He just really wanted to know if the Shield Hero was a good person, or if he was just some cruel being that wanted everyone to suffer.

Because as Hakuko, he was also mistreated. Not as openly as Raccoons, but the discrimination was there, nonetheless. Especially from members of the Siltvelt Council like Jaralis.

He and his friends had only gotten into the royal guard because of the kind, old Genmu representative. Had they not had his backing, they would have had to turn to mercenary work. Just like many of the other Hakuko veterans. And mercenary work normally took them to Zeltoble. And, if they fell in with the wrong crowd, into the underground arenas.

He wanted, no, needed to know, if his faith had been in vain or not.

So why couldn't he raise his dumb fist and knock on that damn door?!

…

_"We did find him! But now we'll never catch up to him! He fled to the East after your Knights tried to capture us..."_

His head drooped. Remembering how he'd betrayed the Shield Hero in the past. Inadvertent as it was, it had still been a betrayal on his part. How could he think to serve his God? How could he think to assist him after the _unforgivable_ thing he'd done.

That was the main thing keeping him from knocking. From opening the door. He didn't feel worthy to be in the great Shield's presence. He still felt like there was more he had to do to atone for his mistakes. For getting his friends killed. For being incapacitated for almost a month and not being strong enough to defeat Al- Victoria...

Finally, with a weary sigh… Dou-Lon turned away from the door.

He couldn't do it. He just felt too unworthy. Maybe it'd be for the better if he left.

However, before he could even take a step away, the door opened. It must have been an act of divine providence.

"Filo, where are you going?"

"Sorry, daddy! Filo's hungry for more snacks!" Or, rather, an act of a cute monster girl following her stomach.

"Alright, go ahead, but grab me something too while you're at it. I'm starving."

"Kay-" Filo stopped in the doorway. Looking up at the tall Hakuko curiously. "Hey, daddy, it looks like someone's here to see you!"

"Huh? Who is it now?"

Dou-Lon stared, stunned by the sudden appearance of the little blonde angel girl. This took him completely off-guard and he quickly realized that he had absolutely no idea what to do! Did that voice just now belong to the Shield Hero?! No! He wasn't ready yet! He needed more time to mentally prepare!

Filo opened the door wide, smiling brightly for the stranger. "I don't know. But Filo thinks he looks nice!"

"Send him in then. _Maybe he can help me with these potions while you're off sneaking out snacks from the kitchen._" The last part was a whisper and sounded sarcastic, but the statement only made Dou-Lon's eyes go as wide as saucers.

Had he heard that right? Was the Shield Hero asking him for help already?! But Dou-Lon didn't even say anything about his request yet! Was this... Was this the power of the Legendary Shield?

Filo waved happily to the Hakuko and then took off down the hallway. '_Sweets sweets yummy sweets! *Gasp!* Maybe Mel-Chan and Filo can feast on yummy sweats together! Yay!'_

...

Dou-Lon still stood in his spot. Looking shocked at the turn of events. The door was wide open in front of him.

"So… can I help you with something?" Naofumi finally appeared, his curiosity getting the better of him. Why hadn't the person Filo saw walked in yet?

It finally happened. Dou-Lon's eyes widened in wonder.

The Shield Hero looked even stronger than he remembered. His spiky black hair was like a crown above his handsome face. The lean muscles covering his body had become more pronounced from the hardships that he had to endure. His armor was… a little banditish, but fit him so well! His green eyes were tired but still shone with an unyielding determination that hid kindness deep within. It felt like looking at the morning sun that banished the darkness of the night. And the Shield on his arm resonated with such power!

There was no mistake. THIS TRULY WAS HIS GOD!

"Hello? Did you want something?" Naofumi asked confusedly. Why was this demi-human just staring at him? He seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't figure out why.

Dou-Lon fell to one knee. His head lowered quickly in reverence. It was like all his fears and doubts were washed away. The Shield Hero wasn't looking at him with hatred!

"Great Shield Hero! It's been so long. I have traveled many arduous roads to meet you and now, I am finally here. My name is Dou-Lon. I know that I am unworthy, but please, hear out this humble Hakuko's plea! Let me fight by your side! Allow my claws and my fangs to help protect this world alongside you! This is the greatest desire of my heart! Please, let me join your party!" Dou-Lon exclaimed.

…

…

…

"What?"

Naofumi had absolutely no idea what was going on. At all.

* * *

While some of the members of Ren's party were out looking for him, two of them were sitting behind desks deep underground. Even though they had found evidence of the cult's true nature, the Queen still believed that there was something else hidden in the Archives of the Church. And so, the two young mages found themselves digging through the countless, musty, millennia-old tomes that were left behind.

Unfortunately, just like before, the contents of the Church's archives did not live up to their expectations. Tersia, the more diligent of the two former nuns, was still maintaining her focus, but her green-haired friend, Farrie, was rapidly losing interest. Her head rested on one of her hands while the other played with her hair. She lazily skimmed through the text of the book before her, eyes steadily drooping. Finally, she let out a deep sigh and straightened out in her chair, throwing her head back in exasperation.

"Tersia, I'm bored! Do we really have to continue looking through all these stupid tomes?" The fire mage whined.

"Yes, Farrie." The blonde earth mage sighed, setting the book in front of her down before rubbing her tired eyes. "It's what the Queen asked of us. And I would rather stay on her Majesty's good side."

Farrie fell back in her chair. "I'd rather go back and help with the rebuilding efforts than finger through another one of these worthless tomes." The girl pouted, looking at the stairs leading back up wistfully.

"You'd probably find an excuse to hit up a tavern... or a tailor's shop," Tersia responded playfully and smirked, not even looking up from her book.

"So? It's been a while since I last bought clothes!" Crossing her arms across her chest defensively, Farrie turned to face her best friend.

"And it'll be longer if you don't get back to reading." Tersia teased.

"Hmmph!" Farrie turned away and continued pouting. Some best friend Tersia was.

"Focus, please." A third voice snapped the two friends out of their small talk. Fortunately, they were not the only ones tasked to research the Archive's contents. Rachel, the calm and mysterious shadow mage of Itsuki's party, was also with them. After confirming that they were listening to her, she continued. "The sooner we're done here, the sooner you'll be able to go back to the city and go... cloth shopping." That sounded odd to her. Based on their brief interactions with each other, it didn't seem like Farrie needed any more clothes. It was more like she wanted to do it for fun.

It was weird. She never got what the whole fashion craze was about.

"I mean, it's not like we're finding anything to incriminate the Church with." Farrie opened a random book on her desk. All the shelves had been emptied. Every book, every tome that had been hidden or placed on pedestals were set in piles around their desks. "If anything, this is only making me lose my faith in the heroes of the past!"

Tersia had just set aside another book that she'd quickly flipped through when Farrie made that statement. Ironically, the next book beneath that was of the past Bow Hero with the Neko fetish, Slugalante. "You're not the only one losing Faith, Farrie." The blonde sighed before tossing the book into the useless pile and grabbing the next one.

"There is a certain positive side to all of this." Rachel calmly said, reading her two current pages. "Knowing that the Heroes are just as fallible as us is rather comforting, really."

...

"Yeah… comforting…" Farrie sounded depressed now.

Tersia looked up, and upon seeing Farrie's face, she rested a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed you'd go clothes shopping after this." They were burying themselves in their work here not only for the Queen. But because of their growing concern for Ren.

"I can't help but wonder if Welt and Bakta have found Sir Ren yet…" Farrie sadly muttered. "What if he decides to do the same thing as the past Sword Hero Bomon and disappear for good?" She'd just read about the past Hero in a different tome. At their time of greatest need facing a powerful monster, the Sword Hero mysteriously vanished. Had it not been for the Spear Hero, many people would have perished.

"I'm sure Sir Ren isn't like the past Sword Heroes." Tersia tried to reassure her carefree childhood friend. Though she sounded unsure herself. "We have to trust that he's preparing for our next course of action right now."

Farrie dropped another book in the useless pile. "I just worry about him. He seems so distant lately. Even Wyndia is struggling to get him to talk." After everything that had happened in the last month, that worried them even more than anything else. It had always seemed like Ren was walking a fine line since the dragon incident, but that was steadily becoming more and more pronounced ever since they'd rescued the Shield Hero and the Second Princess from the Capital. No, it'd started becoming more obvious after they were ambushed here by the Pope.

Tersia threw another tome on the useless pile. Again, there had been pages ripped out in places, and nothing she skimmed had stuck out to her. No secret Church plans. No big plots. Nothing. Just another useless history book about some past Sword Hero, who'd taken joy messing with the other Heroes. The Hero used a weird word to describe the action. **Trolling**.

"Maybe we are wasting our time here." The blonde finally relented. There was literally nothing useful in any of these books.

Farrie followed her friend's statement by dumping another book into the useless pile. "I told you so."

"Yes, and I'm believing it now. All these stupid books-"

The black-haired mage interrupted her with a hiss. "Ok, fine, all these _regular books _aren't giving us anything."

Rachel reverently set her book in a pile smaller than those of the two other girls. She was taking her time reading, instead of skimming for useful information like they were. "Not necessarily."

"Oh sure, let me guess. You grabbed all the useful books while Tersia and I looked through the boring history stuff." Farrie said sarcastically.

"There are things we can learn from History." Rachel said. "However, none of what I'm seeing here is making any sense."

"What? Don't tell me you're reading about some past Hero who tried to out harem the other Heroes." Farrie said sarcastically. That was at the bottom of the pile of useless books between her and Tersia. How could so many past Heroes start out so incompetent?! No wonder the Church kept these archived! The people would lose their Faith overnight if the contents of these tomes were made public!

"No. That's not it… have you two noticed anything strange? In particular about all the books that were damaged?" Rachel asked.

…

"Strange? You mean how most of them are garbage?" Tersia raised an eyebrow and smirked.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "No, that's not it. There are several things with these that just don't line up- you know what, just come over here so I can show you two."

The two girls came over behind Rachel. She opened her book up again. Unlike the history books that they'd been studying, this looked like a Church record about a previous Staff Hero. However, they couldn't tell if it was about history or not, because, after the introduction, the majority of the pages had been ripped out. What few passages remained only talked about the achievements of the Staff Hero in helping to seal a monster, but there was no explanation on how she did it, as those pages afterward were torn out as well.

"Alright, so the Church also had incriminating evidence in the history of the Staff Hero, so what?" Farrie asked.

"The damage to this book isn't recent."

…

…

The two stared at Rachel like she'd grown a second head. It was her turn to roll her eyes. "Look along the tear marks here. If this was recent, they'd be sharp enough to give someone a papercut. But they're soft, worn out from time."

"Maybe that's just because the books are old," Tersia said. Some of these books had to be handled with care.

"That's the thing though." The black-haired mage tapped the pages with a concerned look. "This is a record about the previous Staff Hero before King Aultcray. At most, this book would only be one hundred and fifty to two hundred years old." Despite its age, the remaining pages were very well maintained. Even if the Church had been evil, the curators went to exceptional lengths to preserve what they had.

To show proof, she, rather painfully, ripped out several pages out of the back of the introduction. She muttered a quick apology to the book under her breath and then held the area out to Farrie and Tersia.

They humored the girl, feeling the line of the new tear. But, much to their surprise, they could feel the difference between the freshly torn pages and the rest. In fact, Farrie jerked her thumb back, sucking on a papercut she'd gotten. "Stupid-" She cut herself off at the glare Rachel gave her. That girl _really_ loved her books. "Fine…"

"How old would you say the rest of the damage is?" Tersia asked with a frown. Maybe the dark shadow mage was onto something here after all.

"Months, maybe even years old," Rachel answered. She cocked her head to the side, seemingly deep in thought.

"But… but that'd be way before even the Hero's summoning," Farrie exclaimed in realization.

"That's way before the hourglasses even activated," Tersia muttered.

"Yes. And it's not just this book." Rachel pulled from the pile and began opening books from different eras.

What she set in front of her included records of wars involving Vassal Heroes. An ancient legend regarding the sealing of an ancient beast. Even the oldest tomes describing the previous Waves of Catastrophe and the Cardinal Heroes. Some of which even predated the Church or the founding of Melromarc.

They had damage inside them too. Though the damage varied. As Tersia read along a page, it looked like it was about to tell of how the Phoenixes were sealed away by the Gauntlet Hero, but then the passages after that were burned away. The next discernible page afterward held no mention of the Phoenixes at all. What was most puzzling about it was that the Phoenixes were sealed in a different country. One so minor that it barely held any importance, besides being the home of a sealed Guardian Beast, as well as the home of the Vassal Gauntlets.

She'd read about that event in other history books. Melromarc had barely been a country at that time. There was no way the Church could have interfered in that event. From what the three girls found based on context, it seemed key information about Vassal Weapons, Guardian Beasts, and even information on the Waves themselves had been destroyed.

"I just don't understand." Tersia shook her head in confusion. "This doesn't make any sense! Why would the Church want to destroy this information? Unless they had some super huge overarching plan that we're not aware of-"

"Who says it was the Church that had destroyed it?" Rachel quietly answered, giving the two girls a meaningful look.

…

After a solemn moment of silence, a shiver ran down all their spines. This revelation was possibly greater than any incriminating Church record that could have remained. "Are we seriously considering that someone else purposefully came here and destroyed all the information that could help combat the Waves?" Tersia tensely asked, looking up at the dark mage.

"I'm not certain… but I believe that such a possibility exists," Rachel answered after a moment.

"But why would someone do something like that?!" Farrie stood up and shouted.

"I don't know." The shadow mage replied honestly, and that was the truth. None of them could even begin to process why someone would do this.

"Should we… should we tell the others about this?" Farrie slowly sat back down, growing quieter after the realization of what they might have accidentally stumbled upon began to set in.

Rachel thought about it for a moment. "It's only a theory… for now, I'd rather not worry the rest of my party with this."

"But it is something we should look into," Tersia said. "At the very least, we should tell the Queen about our findings. The Three Heroes Church isn't the only institution with a library like this."

The three nodded. They decided they wouldn't worry the heroes or their parties about it, for now. However, if they found the same thing had happened to other libraries, then they'd speak up about it.

After all, it was possible that this was only a fluke. Caused by some priest or curator in the past going mad. Wyndia had found a book last time that told part of the history with demi-humans and the Waves. It was only because of Balamus that it had been destroyed. For all they knew, Balamus could have gone crazy and given orders for the rest of the tomes to be purged.

Still, that didn't account for why most of the damage they saw wasn't recent. And as they got back to work, the two former nuns looked at the pile of books they'd discarded as useless. Then, with a sigh, they picked them back up and started looking through them again.

Maybe, it paid off to pay close attention to the material that you were reading.

Even though they spent the rest of the day here because of that.

"_I want to go clothes shopping."_ Farrie quietly whined.

For once, Tersia wanted to go too. If only to help ease her mind.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**So I do want to clarify something with Ren. In canon, he has a serious issue with self-esteem and anxiety, which in turn, becomes a need for self-validation**. **He has been taking steps to become better, but as you just saw, that is something he's been struggling with still, for quite some time. And while he's a Hero, he's also a highschooler.**

**Itsuki, on the other hand, is in a far better spot. He's made mistakes in the past too. But now that he's finally acknowledging them, he can take steps towards becoming a better person. And a better Hero. If I were to guess, he'd be the next likely candidate to obtain a Blessed Series. Though he still has to overcome the trial of his curse/flaw. How exactly that's done, well, your guess is as good as mine.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**Who are you?**

* * *

"I'm sorry... who are you?"

Dou-Lon, who had looked so happy, looked like he'd suddenly faceplanted into a brick wall. "Who am I?! Don't you remember me, Lord Shield?!"

"I don't know... should I?"

"I helped you pull your Tanuki companion from that rubble yesterday!"

"... uh-huh." Naofumi could barely recall another demi-human being there. But he hadn't exactly been looking at other demi-humans at that time. You know, with his Companion needing his help.

"I, I also helped support her during the battle with that other demi-human! Al-, I mean, Victoria!"

"Hmmm..." He hadn't exactly been there to fight the nun. So that didn't help Dou-Lon's case.

"I..." Dou-Lon gulped. "I may have also been among those demi-humans who wanted to take you back to Siltvelt."

Naofumi stared. And then, he glared. Dou-Lon shivered in his spot. "You wanted to separate Raphtalia from me because she was half-Raccoon." Oh, he could remember that day well. In fact, he could remember that feeling of anger vividly. In fact, it almost wanted to manifest into a certain shield right now.

"Don't worry though! I didn't agree with them! I thought you two looked very wonderful together!" Dou-Lon quickly waved his hands in front of him in appeasement. Dou-Lon then sagged. "Besides, Victoria killed them. She left me for dead afterward."

Naofumi's glare lessened. Dou-Lon looked up at Naofumi again. "Just please, let me make up for their mistakes! Allow me to join your party, Shield Hero!" He bowed before Naofumi. His head slammed into the ground so hard in his rush that he tottered in his bow.

Naofumi sighed. "Fine, I just have one more question."

"Yes, anything!" Dou-Lon said.

"... what was your name again?"

...

"Uh..." Hadn't the Shield Hero been paying attention to everything he'd said?

Hey, it wasn't like he was expected to get everyone's name. Especially one like Dou-Lon.

You try paying attention to someone who expressed fanatical glee at you!

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	56. 56: Settlement for War

**To the person who asked if the past Chapters were getting shorter or not. They were. This one, however, is a doozy.**

**I'd say I hope everyone enjoys the chapter, but I already know I'm going to get a lot of complaints about not taking the edgy murderhobo route here. *Shrugs* Oh well. I know how to delete in-person reviews now. Fanfiction_Net should really update its coding. Maybe we'd stop having all of these issues with reviews not appearing, update queues getting messed up, and stupid thin-skinned Authors being able to delete edgy hater reviews and all that other crap. /s**

**Enjoy guys!**

* * *

**Since Last Time:** _52 more Favorites, 56 more Followers (Total: 1985 Favorites, 2193 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _September 21st, 2020 11:00 A.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Six:** _Settlement for War_

* * *

_The Next Day (3 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)_

After a long night of rest, the four Heroes, minus their parties, were escorted by Shadows to the destroyed throne room. Everything besides the largest pieces of debris had been cleared away. Many of the surrounding walls and parts of the ceiling were exposed to the outdoors. The balconies that had formerly been held up by pillars were gone. Craters and cracks littered the floor all around. Cleaning up the area had only revealed how much of a nightmare fixing the heart of the castle was going to be.

A new throne had already been set up on the repaired stone platform, however. Sitting in it, hiding the majority of her face with a fan was a purple-haired woman familiar only to Naofumi. Though this time, he was sure it was actually the Queen. There was no trace of illusion magic around her Majesty. It was almost scary how accurately the Shadow's illusion had matched her. Even the look in her eyes was indistinguishable

"You called for us, your Majesty?" Itsuki asked politely.

"Indeed. Now that I have addressed the bulk of my kingdom's problems, I desire to speak with the Cardinal Heroes protecting our world. However, before I do, I believe introductions are in order." Mirellia lowered her fan to the side and stood up. "I am Mirellia Q. Melromarc, the Queen of Melromarc." She gave a slight, yet graceful bow of respect. Her poise and tone of voice matched the gesture perfectly. "I welcome you to **my** kingdom."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Itsuki Kawasumi. I am the hero of the Bow." The youngest spoke first and gave a respectful bow with a hand held over his heart.

...

"Ah, right. Sorry. I am Ren Amaki, Sword Hero." Ren quickly followed up with a brief nod after a short pause, when he realized that he was next in line. "Thank you for your timely aid, your Majesty." He added. Mirellia nodded to him, looking to the next hero in line.

"Motoyasu Kitamura, the hero of the Spear is at your service, milady." Motoyasu smiled and made an elaborate bow with a hand flourish, making Naofumi, who was the only one left, roll his eyes.

"Naofumi Iwatani, Shield Hero." Naofumi was dry, slightly disrespectful, but to the point. The others looked at him, and he rolled his eyes again. "She already knows who we are. I don't see any reason to drag this out any longer." He at least had enough courtesy to give the Queen a slight bow after saying that.

All four of them rose at the same time. Unlike their introductions to King Aultcray when they were first summoned to this world, their introductions had at least been shorter, more respectful, and less filled with background information. Also, Naofumi actually got to introduce himself. The Queen was winning more points from him already.

"What did you wish to speak to us about, my lady?" Motoyasu asked with a flirtatious smile.

Yep, he was definitely back to normal. He also looked happier and more upbeat than he had in awhile.

"Is this about supporting Melromarc against the Siltvelt Invasion?" Itsuki asked. It was undoubtedly the most pressing topic on all their minds, besides the coming Wave.

Ren stayed silent. Looking anywhere but the Queen or the other Heroes. He looked oddly uncomfortable under Mirellia's piercing gaze.

"That will be addressed. First, however, I wish to speak to the Shield Hero."

Naofumi had a feeling she'd want to speak to him first. He didn't know why. But it probably had something to do with all the **ridiculous bullcrap** that her country had put him through since he was summoned. Probably. "What is it?"

"First, I want to congratulate you on capturing Balamus," Mirellia said. "Thanks to what you did, you and the other Cardinal Heroes saved the lives of many of my citizens throughout the kingdom. For that, I am grateful."

"It's no problem… but I feel like there's a but at the end of that statement," Naofumi muttered.

"Indeed. You may have stopped a monster of a man from tearing my kingdom apart." Mirellia hid her frown with her fan. "However, as my… _daughter_, escaped during the chaos. I'm afraid I'll be unable to clear your name for the foreseeable future."

Yep. Naofumi knew it was too good to be true. "So you're saying even after all of this, I'm still going to be a felon on the run?" He asked.

"No." Mirellia's piercing eyes landed on him. "That decree from my foolish husband is revoked. You will be free to go anywhere in Melromarc unmolested… just know that until my first daughter is found and brought to trial, I will be unable to do anything about your reputation."

"... so basically, because that Bitch got away, you're powerless to try to get people to believe that I'm not a runaway rapist," Naofumi grumbled.

"Yes, I'm afraid that's how it is for now." Mirellia sadly replied.

The other three Heroes looked at Naofumi, then at Mirellia. "Couldn't we just vouch for Naofumi then?" Itsuki asked.

"Yeah, I… I remember some evidence that could contradict the Princess's claims." Ren quickly muttered in agreement.

"I mean, I know I was against Naofumi for a long time. But it seems a little harsh for the poor guy to continue to be punished because of Myne." Motoyasu said, rubbing the back of his neck embarrassedly.

"Sir Heroes, I promise I have no intention of falsely punishing Sir Naofumi anymore than he already has been. My concern lies with how my people will continue to punish him." Mirellia's fan moved to the side, revealing a stone hard face. "Do know that I don't speak lightly on this topic. Rape is a serious crime in my country, punishable by death. A rapist would be considered lucky to even be given a trial before his execution. It's far worse if they try to run away from their crime. In this regard, Sir Naofumi is extremely lucky to have the status of Cardinal Hero."

…

The three Heroes and Naofumi paled at that. It appeared Aultcray hadn't been joking about the death penalty for rape. Naofumi's status as a Cardinal Hero had been the only thing that kept him alive. And that hadn't mattered so much in the eyes of the Church, even though they knew the rape accusation was false.

"As you could guess, running away only made Sir Naofumi look more guilty in the eyes of the people." Mirellia sighed. "Even if evidence is provided by another Cardinal Hero, he ran away. To change their minds about his innocence, a personal confession from my daughter herself would be needed. A confession that isn't possible at this time." Mirellia said. "If it were, I would force it out of her. Even if it meant making her a slave."

…

The three Heroes looked at Naofumi again. He looked frustrated at first, but then he sighed. "Figures. Even now, that Bitch is still finding ways to screw me over."

"I'm sorry that I can't help with fixing your reputation in my country at this moment. However, there may be a way for me to compensate you for your future troubles, should you choose to stay in Melromarc." Mirellia's face turned, staring down Naofumi.

"And what would that be?" Naofumi asked, sounding doubtful. He hoped it wasn't some kind of marriage deal or whatever with her other daughter. Or with herself.

That sounded wrong on so many levels.

Mirellia gestured to the side, and a Shadow appeared from behind a piece of debris. She bowed to the Queen, before leading someone behind her out into the open.

It was Aultcray. He was dressed in fresh clothes, and his white beard had been trimmed. Yet he was looking defeatingly down at the ground as he was led forward. The **clink clink** of chains hit Naofumi's ears as he stared at Trash. The wrists of the broken King were bound.

Aultcray was stopped just before the stone platform, and he turned to face the Heroes. He barely looked up, seeing Motoyasu, Itsuki, Ren, and then Naofumi. His head lowered again. "Because of my… idiot husband's actions." Mirellia raised her fan over the bottom portion of her face again. "I am now tasked with finding a suitable punishment for him. However, I am unable to come to a decision. Since it was his actions that led to Sir Naofumi going through a terrible ordeal, I feel he will be able to come up with a suitable punishment for him."

The other Heroes looked at Naofumi again. It was almost too good to be true! Even if Naofumi wouldn't have the chance to have his name cleared, he still had the chance to punish the King! Though Motoyasu wondered if that really was the right thing to do.

Naofumi stared for a moment more. His gaze gradually lifted from the broken King to the hidden Queen again. "Any punishment?" He asked.

"... within reason." Mirellia didn't offer anymore. Her tone was calm and reserved, for now.

Naofumi studied the Queen's hidden expression, gleaning nothing from her gaze. Then he looked down at the broken King. The bastard didn't even have the courage to look up and meet his gaze.

...

Weeks ago, he imagined he could have easily asked for the King to be decapitated. Dead within an instant. Maybe he could have asked for Aultcray to be tortured in a cell, just as Naofumi would have been tortured had he been imprisoned after the Sacred Duel.

Or, best of all, he could have the King labeled a felon, deleveled, and released into the wild to fend for himself. Only, he wouldn't have the help of a slave girl. He'd have him go through everything Naofumi had been forced to go through. Endless nights outside, monsters attacking constantly, knights out on patrol every day hunting him down, scared out of his mind about whether or not he'll be captured and thrown into the dungeons for the rest of his life. He'd be all by himself. Fleeing from place to place. It would have been so glorious...

But seeing the broken King now?... Naofumi couldn't bring himself to consider any of those options.

He thought logically, staring at the Broken King. Honestly, all his troubles with Aultcray. They ultimately weren't the King's fault. While he had issued a warrant for Naofumi's arrest, it had been for a valid reason. He might have given Naofumi an unfair trial and thrown him into jail, but he'd been acting under the assumption that his daughter had been raped, and that he'd ran after raping her.

There was something else too. While Aultcray had made countless threats, issued warrants for Naofumi's arrest, and even tried to have him imprisoned at the Sacred Duel, he never actually… came through with any of it. Now that he thought about it, it was always Bitch and the Church that caused all the real problems for Naofumi.

Whether it was the Orthrus Dog in the caves, the knights that he had encountered, having to deal with Motoyasu and Shadows, or being forced to flee from the Capital, twice... Actually, thinking back, he remembered more problems that he'd had with Church Knights, Royal Knights with loyalties tied to the Church, or Malty instead of problems caused by Knights loyal to Aultcray. Hell, some of those particular knights had actually helped him and been somewhat nice to him.

In the end, Aultcray had been all bark and no bite. It was almost entirely because of Bitch and the Church that the events of the Sacred Duel even happened. It was only because of Bitch and the Church that the Trial was able to occur. Had Aultcray not had either of them manipulating him, Naofumi would have never been framed for rape or been forced to live a life on the run.

Looking at the King, his logical, rational self just couldn't bring himself to pin the blame for everything that happened on him. No, that wasn't right. If he was going to blame someone, he'd rather blame Bitch and Balamus. They were the ones that first made it their goal to ruin his life instead of the broken man in front of him.

"... I can't completely forgive this… sack of trash for what he's done to me," Naofumi grumbled. Despite everything else, his emotional self couldn't forget Trash's abuse to him. And that it was because of Trash giving his approval that he'd been summoned. But then again, had he not been summoned to Melromarc, he never would have met Raphtalia, Filo, or any of his other friends. Hell, he probably wouldn't have had the chance to meet or bond with Itsuki and Ren since Siltvelt, the country he would have been summoned to, would have used him as a breeding horse instead of as a hero. So maybe, in the end, this all really was for the better… somehow.

Naofumi took a deep breath. Logic won out inside his mind. "However, given everything that's happened, I don't want him killed or exiled."

…

He didn't know if he imagined it or not, but the look in Mirellia's eyes relaxed. "I agree." That had been her biggest fear. The Shield Hero wanting to choose either of those extreme options. Without either on the table anymore though, her mind was put at ease. "What do you propose then, Sir Naofumi?"

Naofumi had enough time to think about it. "I want a public apology for his actions," Naofumi said. "Even if he wasn't solely responsible for everything bad that happened, and even if it doesn't clear my name, I want him to apologize since his actions put a lot of people in danger."

Mirellia glanced at her husband, who still stared down at the floor. "You… don't want his title stripped?"

"Why should I?" Naofumi asked. "It's not like he'd have any less power than what he has now."

Mirellia was silent for a moment, staring at the Shield Hero. Then, she felt gratitude. She wouldn't lose her husband. "I am unsure if I'll be able to get him to speak anytime soon… but I will have him write, and sign an apology that will be read to the people on his behalf. If you desire, I will read it to my people personally, as that may somewhat improve your reputation despite everything else."

Hmmm, it'd be better coming from the piece of Trash himself. But now, he wasn't doubting the Queen's statement about him being broken. The last time he'd seen him, Trash had all but screamed at him for what 'he'd' done. However, he hadn't said a single word since seeing Naofumi. Maybe he really was broken?...

"Is there anything else you wish to add?" Mirellia asked.

He wasn't going to antagonize the man in his broken state. Actually, leaving the poor guy alone would probably be the best thing for both of them. Still, a joking thought ran through his mind.

'_NOW BOW! BOW TO ME TRASH! MUAHAHAHA!'_

…

He got the sense that saying such a thing wouldn't be appropriate. So he settled for the next best thing. "With that apology. I want it announced that his name is being changed to Trash." He got confused looks from the other Heroes. Naofumi shrugged. "I already refer to him as Trash anyway. Might as well make it official while I hold the power to do so."

Mirellia couldn't help but openly stare at Naofumi after his proclamation. It was a good thing she had her fan with her, otherwise, everyone would see that she had sat with her mouth agape for a few moments. This really was one hell of a Hero. With the amount of mercy Naofumi was already showing her husband, Mirellia didn't even mind having his name changed to something so demeaning. She'd take all the jokes in the world if it meant she had the chance to help her husband return to what he had been before. The great and Wise Staff Hero.

"Done."

Aultcray, or rather, Trash, as he was called now, was led out of the room by a Shadow. And after that, the rest of the meeting ran with surprising ease.

The other Heroes were quickly informed about the state of various things that were going on. And they shared information in return.

Motoyasu was asked about the status of his party, and he was happy to report that Rino was recovering from the abuse that she'd suffered under Myne. Her slave crest had been removed. And he and Elena were planning on hunting monsters together outside the castle after the meeting was over while Rino stayed in bed. Apparently, Myne had done a number on her. Forcing her to grind in the areas Motoyasu had shown them day and night without the help of a Cardinal Hero, amongst other horrible things to help Myne gain party experience and grow stronger. It was a miracle that she had even survived the ordeal, as well as the last week of being locked in a room without food or water while Myne was on bedrest.

Itsuki was chagrined, but in a way secretly commended for his work against the corrupt nobility in her kingdom. While it was bad to just kill her country's nobility, Mirellia's statement about rape from earlier justified more than a few of their deaths, especially since some of the victims were minors. And while their elevated positions made it near impossible for Mirellia to punish them without losing the backing of others keeping her in power, she chose **not **to punish Itsuki for using his status as the Bow Hero to get rid of them for her, since him being the one to remove them made no repercussions against her.

As Mirellia put it in a closing comment to him: "I would appreciate it if you followed my orders and Melromarc's laws more closely in the future." Essentially, she was giving the Bow Hero a slap on the wrist, while telling him to keep doing what he was doing. It was making her job a lot easier. Itsuki looked happy about being allowed to be a vigilante still. At least, one that would be law-abiding. And would take punishing future nobles and other leaders more seriously, with hopefully less death involved.

Unless they raped a child slave. There was no forgiveness from him there.

Ren… at seeing how quiet he was being, was only asked if arrangements were needed to be made for his party members' class-ups. The Dragon Hourglass would be open only for today. He said only one needed it. Wyndia.

He went quiet for a moment after that, and then he asked Naofumi if he could make sure she got it. Naofumi agreed, and the Sword Hero remained silent for the most part after that.

Naofumi was also asked the same thing. He was relieved that he wouldn't have to go to another country after all. The boost in strength right before the Wave would be greatly appreciated too. So he agreed to let Raphtalia and Filo receive their class-ups. Dou-Lon, his latest party member, still had a few levels to go before he hit the level 60 level cap that the Hakuko tribe apparently had. Overall, it was a fun meeting, despite the way that it'd started. Even Mirellia looked more relaxed.

"Now, I have one last thing to ask of you, Heroes," Mirellia's voice raised. "Something that Sir Itsuki brought up in the beginning."

The four looked at her tensely, while Mirellia calmly collected herself. "I know the next Wave of Catastrophe is almost upon us… but I'm asking, no, I'm pleading for your support in the East. I do not wish for my kingdom to be put between the Waves and another bloody War. I want to put this trouble to rest so that my people won't have to suffer any more hardship."

…

"Um… as much as I'd like to help, I need to go out and get stronger like these guys, so…" Motoyasu said awkwardly.

"But we didn't get stronger by leveling up. We got stronger by-" Itsuki tried to say.

"Yeah yeah, you keep telling me it's because you 'shared' your old gaming methods or whatever with each other," Motoyasu said jokingly. "I'll figure out your real secrets one day."

"But that is what we did," Ren muttered softly to himself.

The Queen sighed in defeat. Thinking she'd have to somehow quell the war down by herself.

But then Naofumi stepped forward. "I'll come and help." He said.

It was surprising that he would be the first to step forward. Especially since her people still didn't trust the Shield Hero. But then again, Naofumi didn't want to deal with the Waves and a War being fought over **him**. He'd rather be able to settle into his role as a protector without the distraction that a war would bring. And even if his reputation as the Shield Hero was still a little tarnished, he had the reputation of the Nocturnal Doctor to fall back on. So he'd rather stay in Melromarc instead of being forced to leave by _another_ religious cult.

"I'll come too," Itsuki said.

"As will I." Ren followed.

Mirellia looked over the Three Heroes. Motoyasu looked even more awkward now for the choice he'd made. However, he didn't change it. He had to get stronger, just like the other three. Otherwise, he would never be useful. In war, or in anything else.

"Then we will leave tomorrow," Mirellia said. This had resolved itself much better than she could have imagined.

A Shadow appeared behind Mirellia and whispered something into her ear. She nodded and stood up. "There is another matter that's been brought to my attention. Thank you for your time, Sir Heroes. If you ever need anything, please let me know."

"Likewise."

The heroes bowed to express their respect. And thus, the meeting ended.

As Naofumi walked out of the Throne Room first, he was met by his party. "Daddy!" Filo, always the affectionate one, was among the first to hug him around his waist.

"Nice. Looks like I'll have to find out what my party is doing." Itsuki said happily as he walked off. Ren, besides asking a Shadow to find Wyndia and tell her to go with Naofumi to receive her class-up, didn't say anything and walked off away from the group. Motoyasu was a little slow coming out, as he noticed and started flirting with a random maid near the doorway.

"So, what did you discuss, Sir Naofumi?" Eclair asked. She looked fresh and sweaty from her latest training regiment. The rose haired woman never looked so happy to be wielding her sword.

"This and that," Naofumi said cryptically. He wasn't about to admit that he'd gone softer on the King than he'd expected. "We're going to help stop the war with Siltvelt."

"That's great!… You didn't say anything rude while you were in there, did you?" Raphtalia asked hands on her hips.

"Of course not, why would I?"

Fortunately, she knew he was telling the truth. She smiled happily and gave him a proud hug. "Was the Queen nice, Daddy?" Filo asked from below them.

"Yeah, almost a little too nice." He muttered. He skirted the topic of the King in his mind. "You and Mommy got cleared for your class-ups. Now you'll both get much stronger than before." Naofumi said in a fatherly tone to her.

"YAY! Did you hear that Mel-Chan! Filo and Mommy are both going to become a lot stronger!" Filo let go of Naofumi and hugged her bestest friend in the whole world.

"F-F-Filo!" Melty said in embarrassment.

Yeah, it was going to be weird having the bluette in his party again. Though probably not as weird as the awkward looking Hakuko standing away from everyone else. He coughed into his hand, unsure of how he should act. Were the others in Naofumi's party always so… casual with their hero? Was he… was he supposed to join the group hug as well? Before he could decide, however, a blushing flustered maid ran past the group.

"Hey, wait! I was only- *gasp!*" Motoyasu stopped in shock.

"Huh?" Filo cocked her head to the side curiously.

"Is something wrong, Motoyasu?" Naofumi asked. Motoyasu had stopped cold in his tracks. And he was staring at Filo like she'd grown a second head. He then remembered that Motoyasu hadn't seen Filo in her little girl form at this point. The idiot was probably wondering why he had a child in his party-

"I don't believe it! My beautiful angel Freon exists in this world too! Joy is me!" Motoyasu exclaimed joyfully. He got on one knee, taking Filo by the hand. "Oh, beautiful specimen! What be thy name!?"

"... what the hell?" Naofumi said, reflecting the same thoughts from the rest of his party.

"Um… my name's Filo…" Filo said confusedly. "Daddy, why is Spear Guy being so weird and nice to Filo now? Wasn't he the one who hurt mommy before?" She asked.

"Daddy?" Motoyasu looked up at Naofumi.

"Yeah, she's um, my daughter," Naofumi mumbled awkwardly.

Motoyasu looked between him and Raphtalia in shock. "Oh, wow, you two moved fast!"

...

It took a moment for him to process it. "Huh, what are y-NO! Wait! That's not what I meant! Raphtalia! Tell him! Filo is ju- Raphtalia…?" Naofumi said confusedly when he realized she wasn't around. His cheeks were a bright crimson. However, his embarrassment was _nothing _compared to Raphtalia's.

"_**First Hiding,**_" Raphtalia whispered the spell moments earlier, completely disappearing from view. She then quickly ran into a side room, picked up a torn pillow from a nearby bed, and covered her face with it before letting out a muffled scream.

"**AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**" WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO HER?! WHY WAS SHE FEELING SO EMBARRASSED NOW?! WHY DID THE SPEAR HERO HAVE TO IMPLY THAT THEY HAD A KID TOGETHER OUT OF NOWHERE! FILO WAS THEIR DAUGHTER WITHOUT A DOUBT, BUT SHE **WASN'T** THEIR FLESH AND BLOOD- *GASP* DID THAT MEAN SHE ACTUALLY WANTED ANOTHER DAUGHTER FROM NAOFUMI!?

"**AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**"

Meanwhile, after Naofumi had given a small embarrassed explanation all by himself, Motoyasu refocused his attention once more. "Filo, such a glorious name for a wonderful angel girl!" Motoyasu stood, clasping his hands together. "Oh, how I love angel girls! I love them! I love them! I love them!"

"...Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?" Naofumi asked. He had fortunately gotten the majority of his blush under control. He was also wondering where Raphtalia had gone. Was she going through the same embarrassment he was?

"Heh, sorry." Motoyasu calmed down somewhat. Though he still looked weirdly happy. "I… just have a thing for angels."

"... that's wrong on more levels than I can count," Naofumi said dryly. Motoyasu definitely had a ways to go yet. Why couldn't he be more like Itsuki and Ren?

"So where did you find Filo!? How long has she been in your party?! Is she a replacement for that fat bird you had before?! How did you adopt her?! I HAVE TO KNOWWWW!" He grabbed Naofumi by the shoulders, shaking him excitedly. If there were more angel girls out there in the world, he had to find one too!

"Why should I answer any of that?! You're being too weird about this!" Naofumi complained.

"Please! I'll pay anything if only for the information-"

"You called Filo fat…"

…

Motoyasu looked down at Filo. "Come again?" He asked.

Filo sniffed. "Filo thought you were actually becoming nice. You didn't attack Filo or her family. You were being nice to daddy and mommy... But then you called Filo fat."

"Um, I was referring to Naofumi's fat bird monster. Not you, my precious little-" The blonde bent over, as he lovingly said those words to Filo and was about to pat her on the head. When suddenly...

**Poof!**

In a blur of feathers, Filo transformed into her Queen form. Motoyasu looked up in shock at the large fat bird. Filo was giving Motoyasu the deadliest glare Naofumi had ever seen.

"**Filo hates Spear Guy!**" She also looked bigger, and far more threatening than last time.

Motoyasu's eyebrow twitched nervously. "Oh… so you're that giant, fat-" Motoyasu said, his voice filling with horror and dread.

**WHACK!**

Despite everything that had happened. Naofumi still found himself enjoying the moment of seeing Motoyasu's balls crushed for a second time in what felt like slow motion. He made a mental note to purchase one of those recording crystals that the queen's soldiers used to spread the word about Balamus'es atrocities. Moments like this required preservation. Or maybe he could absorb one to get it as a passive shield ability? Questions for later. For now, he smirked and watched the show.

"Whaaayyyy?!" Motoyasu screamed as he was sent flying through the air across the hallway.

"Sir Motoyasu? Where are you-" Elena, the orange-haired member of the Spear Hero's party, stopped when Motoyasu landed on the ground next to her. She raised both hands to her face in shock. "Sir Motoyasu!"

"Ohhhhhhhh…" Motoyasu moaned in pain. He knew he should have gotten a cup for his uniform after what happened last time.

"Filo!" Melty said in shock.

"Oh my." Eclair also looked surprised. And she also felt bad for the downed Spear Hero.

"What happened? Why is Naofumi smiling?" Raphtalia reappeared at last.

"Filo… may have just kicked the Spear Hero in the groin," Eclair said.

"Again!?" Raphtalia exclaimed.

"You mean she's done this before?!" Melty exclaimed.

Naofumi found he was indeed smiling. Was it his fault that he enjoyed seeing Motoyasu in pain so much?! Filo, you did good. Daddy is very proud of the girl you're growing up to be.

"Filo, we can't just kick everyone we don't like in the groin," Raphtalia said, disappointment lacing her tone.

"But that's what daddy taught Filo and mommy to do, remember?" Filo asked head cocked to the side. "Back when Mommy and Filo faced those bad bandits."

…

Naofumi now felt oddly uncomfortable. It was like he could feel Raphtalia glaring into the side of his head. Melty and Eclair too. "Um… hehe, how about we get those class-upgrades now, what do you say?" Naofumi asked.

"At least heal the Spear Hero first, Sir Naofumi," Melty said in a regal, commanding tone.

"Fine, _freaking __Second Princess,_" Naofumi whispered under his breath. Melty's face turned red at the nickname.

"Also, you and our daughter are going to have a long talk about this kind of behavior," Raphtalia said.

"Why can't you talk to her about it?" Naofumi asked. Pulling healing potions from his Shield to use them on the moaning Motoyasu.

"Because I wasn't the one that taught Filo that dirty move," Raphtalia answered. She was also still blushing from Motoyasu's earlier comment. She _needed_ time to collect herself.

"It's not my fault she still uses it," Naofumi complained.

"It is totally your fault!" Melty said angrily.

"You weren't even here during that time Second Princess."

"Hmmph!"

"And stop calling Melty Second Princess," Raphtalia said.

"You're not the boss of me!" This would be a hard-fought war indeed. He didn't care if Raphtalia was glaring at him in disappointment. Nope, he didn't care one bit.

"Why did Lord Shield Hero teach little Filo that?" Dou-Lon asked curiously. It was such a dirty move to use in battle, but admittedly, quite effective at ending things quickly. What had inspired him to do it?

Raphtalia glared at Dou-Lon, and the Hakuko backed away. Maybe some questions were better left unanswered. And while Naofumi had accepted Dou-Lon into the party, his companion was not so accepting.

Thus, Naofumi reluctantly healed Motoyasu. Who once more spoke in a higher pitch for a day or two after the kick. Poor guy...

* * *

The trip to the Church wasn't met with any trouble. Naofumi attributed that to the fact that he wore his **Mask Shield** and Nocturnal Doctor disguise in public between the Castle and the Church. He might have just saved these people's lives, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He also didn't try to do anything to antagonize his friends. That also likely helped to avoid causing trouble. Along the way, Wyndia, one of Ren's party members, joined them. She was silent and didn't say anything while she was with them.

When they arrived at the Church, they found the entrance guarded by a group of knights. "Halt. Who goes there?" The knight that spoke was a familiar-looking vice Captain from the Lute Village Wave. Or Captain, rather, as he had recently been promoted, judging by the new insignia that had been added to his armor.

"Relax. Her Majesty gave us access to the Dragon Hourglass for the class-up ceremony." As Naofumi said that, he removed the **Mask Shield** from his face.

"Oh, Sir Shield Hero! We were told to expect you!" The Captain and the knights with him all got on one knee and bowed their heads in reverence.

Naofumi frowned. It was okay for Mirellia's knights to be nicer to him. But if they started worshipping him, he was out.

"What are you all doing here? Didn't her Majesty order you and the knights under you to rest and recover after what you went through being the Church's prisoners?" Eclair asked. She remembered protecting these Knights in the Duel Arena.

"She did. And now, we have recovered, and are ready to perform our duties." The Captain confidently replied.

"Hmmm…" She decided not to push the topic further as she knew like no one else what a knight's oath meant to oneself.

The knights all stood up following their Captain. "Now, let's get those class-ups handled."

The group was led inside the Church. Dou-Lon looked a little uneasy about entering what had formerly been a den for heathens. Unlike the castle, the Church memoria was still up here. Behind and above the altar, the rosary of the Three Heroes Church was still emblazoned on the wall. Though, with the layer of dust beginning to cover everything, the silence was like a tune to a funeral. The end of a once-grand era.

Maybe at one point, the Three Heroes Church had been a good institution. Focused on helping people to attain spiritual enlightenment. But hate, power, pride, greed, and other sins had corrupted it. Leading it to its inevitable fall from grace.

The Captain grimaced distastefully. "I cannot wait for this place to be rebuilt."

"You and me both, Captain Mayor." One of his knights agreed.

"Why would they want to rebuild this place?" Naofumi distastefully asked.

"Because the Dragon Hourglass is placed here." Mayor immediately answered. "Even if we hate it, it'd be a lot easier to rebuild the Church under a different religion than to try and move the Dragon Hourglass somewhere else."

"How so?" The Shield Hero asked curiously.

"Melromarc's Dragon Hourglass hasn't been moved for centuries. But the last time it was, it required several armies worth of men to do it." Melty answered. "It would be easier restoring this place to a different faith than to tear it down and move the Dragon Hourglass somewhere else."

"Hmm." Naofumi didn't question it any farther.

After going through several hallways, and after the Shield Hero smirked in recognition at some of the doors that he'd damaged the last time he broke into the Church, they finally entered a large room. The group walked up one of the side staircases and soon stood on the same balcony as the Dragon Hourglass. It looked as big and impressive as always. With the top half almost empty of sand.

It was at this moment that Naofumi realized that he had no idea how the class-up ceremony actually worked. His help menu only said it required a Dragon Hourglass. That was it.

Fortunately, the knights were well ahead of him. Several of them reappeared, holding vials of some clear liquid. They then walked up to the cracks in the floor around the Dragon Hourglass. "We are ready when you are, Shield Hero." The Captain announced and saluted Naofumi again.

"Let's just get this over with," Wyndia grumbled as she approached the Hourglass. Naofumi would have protested, but she had already seen how the Class-Up ceremony worked.

"Fine, watch closely you two so you know what to do," Naofumi said to Raphtalia and Filo.

Wyndia firmly placed the palm of her hand on the surface of the Dragon Hourglass and looked to the side at Captain Mayor to confirm that she was ready. He gave his men the signal at that and the knights started to pour the liquid into the cracks which made a glow start to spread out throughout them around the Dragon Hourglass. The hourglass itself began to glow soon after and a HUD appeared in front of Wyndia's eyes, showing her a bunch of different class options.

She pondered about the selection for a moment, but even with everything that had happened, her mind had been made up long ago. Wyndia quickly selected the class she wanted, but instead of a confirmation, some kind of error message popped up.

And at the same time, a light began to form on Filo's cowlick.

"Wait, what's-" Wyndia blurted out in confusion as the light flew off the cowlick and into the hourglass. It glowed even more brightly than before, almost blinding the dog girl, and then, just like that, it was over.

"What just happened?" Naofumi blinked in confusion and looked at the Filolial Queen Candidate next to him.

"Filo doesn't know." The little girl said confusedly. She curiously pulled at her cowlick.

"You…" Wyndia stood in front of the hourglass, breathing in and out heavily. They all looked at her. "You... you... stupid bird! You ruined it!" She turned and yelled angrily at Filo.

"What?! But Filo didn't do anything!" Melty quickly came to her friend's aid.

"She, she…" Wyndia's fists clenched. It looked like she was on the verge of tears. Her calm persona which she'd spent most of last night and this morning recrafting, only to have it bombarded by a Shadow because Ren was too afraid to tell her to go with Naofumi for her class-up, was finally falling apart at the seams.

"Calm down. Explain what happened." Surprisingly, Dou-Lon was the one to approach Wyndia. He was cautious and knew how to keep a clear head.

"That… whatever she did, it interfered with my class-up." Wyndia finally answered. She wiped tears from under her eyes. "I chose a class that'd improve my ability to use **Dragon Vein** magic. But, it, gave me an entirely different class." She muttered angrily. Instead of Dragon Vein magic, she'd been given a class that'd improve her ability to use katanas and rapiers, as well as give a slight boost to her standard magic abilities.

Naofumi looked down at his daughter again. "Filo. Be honest with me. Did you do anything?" He asked.

"No, Filo did nothing! Filo swears it!" The little girl defended herself.

Wyndia moved to the side, sniffling as Filo approached the Dragon Hourglass. "Watch, Filo is going to choose her class now!" She placed a hand on it. And the knights once again poured more clear liquid into the cracks. Surprisingly, as everything began to glow, a HUD appeared in front of Naofumi, showing a bunch of different classes for Filo. This hadn't happened when Wyndia chose her class-up. But then again, she was directly under Ren in the party system, so when he received the alert, he probably let her choose what class she wanted. So he did the same for Filo.

"Let's see, ooh! This one will allow Filo to spit poison! But this one will allow Filo to breathe fire! What should Filo choose?!"

"How about neither of those!" Naofumi interjected. He suddenly regretted letting Filo choose what she wanted. He should have known his daughter better than that!

"Hmph." Filo pouted cutely back at him, and then stuck her tongue out in concentration. After a moment, she chose an option-

And the same thing from before happened again. "Wait, noooooooo-" Her cowlick glowed brightly, resonating with the light coming from the hourglass.

And then it was over.

In his HUD, the star next to Filo's name disappeared. The class-up was a success. However, Filo did not look very happy. "Filo didn't get her desired class either!" Filo cried.

"Serves you right for ruining my class-up, dumb bird!" Wyndia yelled.

"Filo is not a dumb bird!" Melty yelled at Wyndia. "And she didn't mean to do anything!"

"Tell that to my freaking-"

"Stop arguing. Both of you!" Raphtalia chastised both girls midargument. "This is not the time or place for it!"

"Hmmph!" The two Tsunderes folded their arms and looked away from each other. Raphtalia sweatdropped at the sight and sighed. _'I really hope our future daughters don't end up like this, it'd be such a pain to deal with this on a daily...'_ Her cheeks turned red. _'Oh Gods, do I want MORE THAN ONE DAUGHTER WITH NAOFUMI!?'_

If it wasn't because there was nowhere to sneak off to up here, Raphtalia would have disappeared to scream all over again.

"So... What class did you choose?" Naofumi finally said, this time in shock. He'd been looking over Filo's stats during all this, and he'd found that they'd all DOUBLED. HOLY HELL! SHE WAS ALREADY STRONG BEFORE! BUT THIS WAS REACHING A WHOLE OTHER LEVEL OF STRONG!

"Filo decided that Filo wanted to spit poison at her enemies! But the Hourglass wouldn't let meeeeee!" The little blonde girl whined.

"... huh, I don't really mind then," Naofumi commented. Not only had Filo's stats been doubled, but she wouldn't be able to spit poison either. It sounded like a win-win to him.

"BOO!" Why couldn't Daddy care more about Filo's life being ruined!? It was so unfair!

"What exactly happened to Filo, Sir Naofumi?" Melty asked worriedly.

"According to this. All of her stats doubled." Naofumi said.

"... WHAT?!" It took a moment to process what he'd said. And then the Captain, Dou-Lon, Eclair, Melty, and everyone else yelled at the same time, looking at him in shock.

Wyndia quickly did a check of her stats. Her eyes widened in stunned amazement. They had all doubled too...

She felt less angry about the stupid bird's cowlick messing with her class-up ceremony now… but that didn't mean she wasn't angry still! Never mess with an emotionally disturbed teenage Tsundere going through heartache and a bunch of other crap!

"Is there something wrong?" Naofumi asked.

"Um, how should I put this, Lord Shield…" Dou-Lon coughed into his arm. "The best warriors of Siltvelt spend months to years of their lives looking for an item that will give at least _one_ stat a _small_ extra boost during the class-up ceremony." He looked very uncomfortable. But Naofumi was listening to what he said with interest, and Raphtalia wasn't glaring at him either, so he continued. "What your, um, daughter just accomplished is… unheard of. To not only boost every stat but to _double_ them..."

…

Naofumi looked from Dou-Lon to Filo. The girl, since she was angry about being denied poison, pulled her cowlick out roughly while crying in pain. The cowlick, of course, grew back, only further adding to the girl's frustration and misery.

"Well, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Do you want Filo's cowlick to help your class-up ceremony too, Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked.

"No! Filo doesn't want this anymore!" Filo cried. "Fitoria's gift has ruined Filo's dreams and ambitions!"

Was it really her dream to spit poison at her enemies? Naofumi was beginning to think Raphtalia was right and that he really did need to have a nice long talk with Filo.

Raphtalia, embarrassment kicked to the curb, wordlessly approached the Dragon Hourglass. The same thing happened. The hourglass glowed, the knights poured the clear liquid into the floor, and Filo's cowlick glowed above her pouting protesting face. In the end, Raphtalia didn't get her desired class, but her stats had all doubled too. So she was more than happy with the result. Naofumi made a note of bringing Filo along for all future class-ups. This could be a great boon for anyone who wanted to drastically increase their stats.

"Now that we have that out of the way, let's say we go out and kill some monsters before calling it a day," Naofumi said, smiling at the stroke of good fortune. He'd have to thank Fitoria next time he saw her.

"Yay!" Filo cheered. It had been awhile since she'd eaten a freshly killed monster. Maybe that would help cheer her up!

The knights who'd escorted them to the Dragon Hourglass followed them back to the front of the Church. "It was a pleasure seeing you again, Sir Shield Hero." Captain Mayor said. "May the Gods bless you on your future path."

"Thanks. You take care of yourself." Naofumi put on the **Mask Shield** once more. And his group departed for the south gate. Wyndia left the group, still marveling over the newfound strength she'd been given.

The next several hours were, despite all the killing of monsters, some of the most peaceful Naofumi had had with his party in a _very long_ time.

Because of how powerful Raphtalia and Filo got from their class ups, he spent more time watching Eclair, Melty, and Dou-Lon to make sure that they stayed safe. Eclair fought with her sword. Melty fought with magic. And Dou-Lon fought with a long lance that he'd gotten from Melromarc's armory. Naofumi made a note to get their equipment updated as soon as he could.

The monsters around the Capital were, unfortunately, of the weaker variety. So there wasn't much progress level wise. Even for Melty and Eclair. However, Naofumi was able to watch his companions fight without worrying about them getting hurt. And their spirits were all lifted from doing something good together. The worries about the coming wave and the imminent war distanced themselves. He was able to gather herbs in peace.

And, despite Filo's initial complaints about not being able to breathe poison on her enemies, she seemed more than happy about being even faster and more powerful than before. So all was right in the world.

Near the end of the day, Naofumi was absorbing the latest batch of monsters into his shield and examining their drops. He was in the middle of examining a herb from a monster when he was suddenly dragged out of his task.

"Sir Naofumi." He blinked, and a Shadow appeared from out of nowhere in front of him.

"Ah?!" He almost fell over in surprise, then glared angrily at the Shadow. "What is it now?!"

"I daresay, your immediate presence, as well as the immediate presence of your companion, Raphtalia, are being requested for at the castle." The Shadow spoke calmly.

"I thought we weren't going to be bothered until tomorrow," Naofumi grumbled. "This better be good, or else-"

"Victoria is dying. She has requested to speak to you both."

…

…

"Naofumi, is everything alright?" Raphtalia appeared running up. She was dragging the remains of several monsters that she and Filo had killed. She noticed that he was talking to someone.

Naofumi looked at her. She looked between him and the Shadow. She'd never seen a more serious look on his face in her entire life. "Grab Filo. We're going to the castle, now."

…

Raphtalia nodded. And she ran off to do as Naofumi asked without question.

* * *

On the way back, the Shadow filled them both in on what was happening. Victoria had been on the verge of life and death ever since Balamus's defeat. The nurses had done their best to stabilize her. But there was only so much they could do for her gaping gut wound. Now, after two days, her body was giving out. She didn't have much time left.

When they got to the castle, Naofumi sent Filo back to meet the others and explain their temporary absence. He then told her to make sure they all got back to the castle before sundown. And when that was over, he and Raphtalia followed the Shadow through the various hallways of the castle. Past the dining room, a large library, and many other rooms.

Naofumi's mind was an angry mess. Why?! Why did that nun want to see him?! Hadn't she already done everything she could to ruin his and Raphtalia's lives?! Hell, she had no excuse to die! Unlike Aultcray, she still had plenty to answer for! He refused to let her die before she could even be punished!

Finally, Naofumi slammed open the door to her door. Breathing in and out heavily as he entered. He expected anger to be his first response. That nun _had _to pay!

Yet upon entering, he stopped.

The weak, sickly, middle-aged demi-human lying in the bed didn't resemble the smirking nun in his mind at all. Her long, light brown hair was unkempt. It was spread out like a pillow behind her head. Her skin was pale from blood loss. Her breaths were pained and came in short, uneven intervals. A large fresh bandage was wrapped around her gut. It, it felt like it was slowly turning red before his eyes. Her mouth was a thin line, moved only by the pain she felt. Her hand lightly gripped the Queen's, who was looking down at her tenderly. More so than he'd seen from her before when he'd spared her husband.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I could have my nurses take the last of the Yggdrasil's Elixir from the emergency reserves for you."

"I've already said, it's… fine, Mirellia." Victoria coughed. "I'd rather it was saved, for someone… more worthy, than I am."

Mirellia's other hand dropped her fan into her lap. She did nothing to hide her sadness as she gripped her friend's hand with both of hers. She had an angry, frustrated look on her face. But it was directed more at herself than anyone else. "_I'm so, so sorry I never found_ you." The Queen sadly whispered._ "Had I known you were still alive, had I known what the Siltvelt Council had done, I would have done everything in my power to find you. __I would have helped you in any way I could."_

"It's, fine… I've wanted to die, for so long." Victoria coughed again. "Balamus… Siltvelt… they tricked us all. No way… you could have known." The two opposite factions hadn't worked together in the slightest. But the consequences of their immediate actions had combined together to form terrible, terrible consequences later on.

And Victoria… the guilt she felt… she couldn't live with herself anymore. Her pain wasn't just physical… She couldn't live with how hateful her life had become. She couldn't live with the crimes she'd committed as Altara.

Naofumi coughed. "Your Majesty. _She_ wanted to speak to both of us?" He asked. Raphtalia stepped up beside him.

Mirellia looked up as if finally acknowledging someone else was in the room. "Yes, she did. Have a seat, both of you. There isn't much time left."

Naofumi and Raphtalia sat down in a pair of chairs that two other Shadows set for them opposite Mirellia on the other side of Victoria's deathbed. Up close, Victoria looked even worse. It wasn't just the physical pain. But the look in her eyes. The tightness in her face. She was going through terrible, terrible emotional pain. "Please… tell them… for me… my old friend..." She said to Mirellia, her voice pained.

"Don't worry, I will," Mirellia said gently. Victoria had already filled her in on what she didn't know. Other details she knew from long ago. Even now, she could still recall them about her old friend. "You can rest until I'm done."

"Tell us what, exactly?" Naofumi narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Why was the queen accommodating this murderer and allowing her to address Mirellia on a first name basis?.

"Her story," Mirellia said. "She wanted you to know what she's been through. So you could judge whether she was evil or not."

...

Naofumi gave the Queen a silent glare of incredulity and began to stand up when he felt the warm touch of his companion's hand over his own. He turned his head at Raphtalia quizzically and saw that she was tensely looking down at the rapidly withering form of the former nun. He slowly sat back down and leaned back in his chair without a word, deciding to follow his girlfriend's intuition.

And so, Mirellia began to speak.

For the sake of her dying friend, she told the two of them her story from the beginning.

* * *

_Altara's real name was Victoria Bonaparte. A purebred Raccoon of Siltvelt._

_Growing up, Victoria had been a warrior, raised in the traditions and religion of her nation. As a noble's child, she had the resources to go out and hunt monsters to level and grow up where most others did not. By the young age of 14, she'd managed to make a name for herself among her race for her strength, her proficiency in magic, and her kind influence._

_Mirellia first met her as a princess younger than Melty's age on a diplomacy mission when she was assigned to escort the Princess around the Capital and serve as her guardian. Her kindness and desire to help those around her played a part in shaping Mirellia's views towards demi-humans for the better. And when the Princess returned to Melromarc, they parted as good friends._

_At the young age of 23, Victoria was elected by the people to be the youngest representative in the history of the Raccoon race on the Siltvelt Council. Mirellia was still a Princess, but the two kept in contact via letters. Updating each other about their lives and their countries. They met several times during that time too, whenever diplomacy matters allowed it._

_Two years later, Siltvelt's war for conquest began. It was thanks to Victoria's letter to Mirellia about Siltvelt's actions that Melromarc learned of the war so quickly, and so were able to make preparations to defend themselves._

_In the beginning, Victoria fought in the war. Commanding the Raccoon demi-humans and often using their abilities in illusion magic to confuse and divide the enemy. However, unlike her comrades, she spared villages that surrendered and inspected areas she conquered to make sure they and their people were being properly integrated under Siltvelt's rule. Eventually, because she wasn't considered bloodthirsty enough, she was moved back to watching over the human prisoners Siltvelt acquired as it continued its bloody conquests elsewhere._

_It was during this time she met a man. A human P.O.W. who was well admired by his fellow prisoners. He was kind and made sure everyone was alright before treating himself. His kind and caring spirit touched her heart. And as Victoria spent more time in this town, she inevitably fell in love with him. And, eventually, he also fell in love with her. Over time, despite their differences in culture, race, and background, the two continued meeting in secret. Until, one day, they decided to get married. Besides the priest in town, two of Victoria's most trusted soldiers acting as witnesses, and Mirellia, who received Victoria's letter personally from one of the two witnesses, no one else knew about it._

_Because of Siltvelt's traditions in keeping bloodlines pure among races, especially in regards to breeding with humans, Victoria kept her marriage secret. She purposefully obtained an injury from a 'prison riot,' allowing her to go home to rest. She had arrangements made to bring her husband and several others she'd grown to care for to her household as 'slaves'. She was careful to keep their relationship hidden, even from the other slaves. She went as far as holding a marriage ceremony with one of the two soldiers who knew the truth to avoid suspicion._

_It worked. Whenever members of the Council visited to check on her, they thought her real husband was just another, well-mannered slave and not the soldier faking being her husband. Whenever she gave speeches to her soldiers or the people, they never suspected a thing. And when she got pregnant, excusing her from serving in the war entirely, she and her real husband had been so happy..._

_But that's where their troubles began._

_The son that was born had no demi-human features. No tail. No fangs. Not even ears. He looked, for all intents and purposes, human._

_The suspicions started to rise then. She averted them by playing it off as a genetic mutation. Her son was still a full-bred Raccoon. But at meetings, she noticed how some of the other Council Members started glaring at her with suspicion. She also noticed a watch being kept on her house. Her time with her real husband became rare and heartbreaking. Even as her son grew, his bed stayed in her room. She feared him being kidnapped, or worse._

_Towards the end of the war, when her daughter was born, things only became worse. She was asked to return to the war but she feared doing so. Her daughter had been born exactly like her son. Lacking any distinct demi-human features. Playing it off as another genetic mutation was met with scoffs and scorns._

_She talked with her real husband then, about making plans to flee Siltvelt. But they were always under watch. And she feared what'd happen to their kids if they tried to flee. She couldn't leave the house in fear of her world crashing down around her. She couldn't even write letters to Mirellia to ask for her advice. Every letter she wrote was being intercepted. Likely by the other Council Members who suspected her the most. Her children were kept a secret, but she didn't know for how long._

_The final nail in the coffin was the day her son first used magic. It had been so long since she'd felt so proud of someone for something. She could see he had all the magic potential she herself had been born with. That night, she'd dreamed about her son, grown-up, helping people with his gifts._

_But the Council saw what had happened via recording crystals from their spies._

_It had been Support Magic, not light or shadow, that the son had used. Just like his Father's. The only slave in her home with the affinity. They finally had solid proof of what she'd done, and she didn't realize it until it was too late._

* * *

_It all came crashing down the next morning._

_Siltvelt had already lost the war. __The negotiations for peace were being made with Mirellia, the now Queen of Melromarc. Both nations had to agree to house a demi-human and human settlement within their nations. The Council at that point had been making claims that the Raccoons were responsible for the war. Their noble families would soon be exiled. Mirellia would take them in and help settle many of them in the Seaetto and Reichnott regions._

_The Council eventually voted on the matter. And the majority of the Council agreed to it. Mirellia was saddened by it, but she didn't interfere with Siltvelt's politics._

_However, unbeknownst to her, and even to a precious few members of the Council, the scapegoating of the Raccoon race was a front. A lie to hide a darker truth._

_Behind Mirellia's back, and behind the backs of members of the Council who would have definitely opposed it, Victoria was tried by some of her fellow Council Members._

_Her trial was on these grounds: breaking their Nation's traditions. Defiling her bloodline with a human, a prisoner of war at that. Giving birth to two abominable hybrids. And disgracing the position of being a Representative on the ruling Siltvelt Council._

_Near the end, they dragged out her real husband. He'd held their toddler daughter in one hand, and gripped his young son's hand with the other._

_They told her the only way she could be forgiven was if she killed them. And if she hid what'd she done from the world. Otherwise, she'd never be redeemed again._

_She refused. She loved them. She finally decided to fight for them. To gather the courage to say their traditions were wrong. But before she could, they used magic to restrain her._

_And so, seeing how she was determined to continue in her sins, they killed them in front of her. Her husband. Her son. Even her little girl. Victoria remembered it had only taken one swipe of a Council Member's claws while in therianthrope form._

_It took only a few seconds. And they had destroyed her whole world, sending it crashing down._

_After that, they decided what had happened there in the dark couldn't be revealed to the people. The ruling Council would lose power if the people learned one of its representatives had broken their traditions. Worse, the people could force them to step down so more **competent** replacements could be voted in._

_And so, they excommunicated her from the Church._

_They hid what the Raccoon representative had done from the rest of the people. Including her own._

_They hid that the reason why they voted to blame the Raccoons for the war was to protect their precious hides from the people when they learned that a member of the Council had broken all their rules and traditions by marrying a human slave._

_And, after lying to Mirellia by saying Victoria had been killed by assassins, they gave her the worst exile of all._

_She was thrown into Melromarc far away from the other refugees. With no help, no wealth, and nothing to her name. In a nation that would never give a hand to help her._

_She wandered in a daze of grief and sorrow long after that. __And, years later, Balamus finally found her._

_The rest, you already know._

* * *

...

...

Mirellia lowered her head. The evening had grown long over the course of the story as she told it to Naofumi and Raphtalia. Yet, despite wanting to leave earlier, Naofumi had paid attention to every single detail from the Queen's lips.

She looked down at her friend. She looked weaker than before. "Was that all that happened… Vicky?" She sadly asked.

Victoria slowly, and painfully nodded.

Naofumi finally looked at her again. Unlike Raphtalia, who'd kept on looking from Mirellia to Victoria over the course of the story, her face becoming sadder each time, Naofumi had remained transfixed on the Queen. Describing the tale of the one he hated almost as much as Bitch…

"…There is… one more thing." She closed her eyes and took a few ragged breaths before opening them again and looking at the door of her room. "Hakuko… please come in."

"Hakuko?" Mirellia blinked in confusion and followed her gaze along with Raphtalia and Naofumi.

…

"My apologies, Lord Shield." To everyone's surprise, the door slowly cracked open to let the tall form of Dou-Lon walk in. He quietly set down on one knee before a surprised Naofumi. "When young Filo told us the reason for your and lady Raphtalia's absence, I could not resist. I had to see Alt-… ... _Victoria's_, state with my own eyes."

"Shadow." The queen glared over her fan at the door frame.

The shape of a familiar woman walked in before kneeling down near the large Hakuko. "I daresay my apologies, your Majesty. This one is a member of the Shield Hero's party. His activities were suspicious but I did not sense any malice from him and thus saw no reason to interrupt you."

"... I see," Mirellia responded and the hard look in her eyes softened somewhat.

"Get up. Why did you want to see her, Dou-Lon?" Naofumi asked the Hakuko.

"His friends…" Raphtalia whispered as the newest member of their party stood up at his Lord's command. Naofumi raised an eyebrow and then looked at Dou-Lon again for an explanation.

"Indeed. As Miss Raphtalia knows, I was a member of a Siltvelt royal guard, tasked with infiltrating Melromarc on a secret mission to extract and safely escort you to my homeland, Lord Shield." The muscular demi-human began to explain. "However, after our initial… encounter, we got sidetracked and lost track of you, before eventually running into a group of Church Knights led by the head nun Altara." The hakuko looked down at the bed in front of him and paused.

"And…?" Naofumi asked, tersely. Somehow, he felt like he already knew what the answer was going to be.

"As far as I know, I'm the only one who survived." Dou-Lon finished with a grim note. He didn't need to add anything else. Naofumi got the feeling that his friends had been killed by Altara.

…

Everyone stayed silent for a minute, not sure what to say. It was the former Siltvelt general that broke the tension when she quietly spoke. "Dou-Lon… have you come, seeking vengeance?"

…

The Hakuko didn't respond immediately, seemingly pondering on how to respond before he finally answered. "Yes, at first, that was my intention. If not by my own hand, then I at least wanted to see the light of life leave your eyes myself. To drink deeply of your fear and despair, as you succumbed to your wounds just as you did to me and my squad. I will not deny that they were not the noblest of men and women, but they were my friends. Some of them, I had known for and fought with for years. Sharing many hardships and laughs. If they had spoken with Lord Shield as I have." His fists clenched. "I am sure that they would have been convinced to change their minds regarding certain clans or policies set by the Council." He gave the Tanuki next to Naofumi a meaningful look before continuing.

"But now they never will. Because you killed them. You took away their chance to redeem themselves."

…

"I suppose… it is far too late to ask for forgiveness." Tears began to flow down the raccoon demi human's face.

"It would not matter anyway. Nothing you could possibly do or say would change or justify what you've done." The Hakuko responded cruelly… he then sighed. "But… even if I will never forgive you, after hearing her Majesty say what you had to go through… I can at least understand you, Victoria… the Council has not been kind to the Hakuko either since Tai-Lon's defeat..."

Dou-Lon paused again, looking somewhere to the side, beyond the walls of the room and the castle.

"I no longer seek your death."

With those final words, the Hakuko politely bowed to everyone present and sat down on the floor with his head held low, remaining silent.

…

"Great Shield… God…" Victoria spoke out weakly, her voice even quieter than before and Naofumi leaned forward, over her bed.

Victoria took in a pained gasp. Tears of shame and misery still leaked from her eyes. "What the Hak- what Dou-Lon said… it's all true. I have… killed so many innocent people." She coughed for a moment. "I… know I can never be… forgiven. But… there is one thing that I have to know. Please… I have to know… will I… will I meet… my family when I die?" She gasped out painfully.

After everything that happened. After her world had been taken from her. Both by the Siltvelt Council, and by Balamus. That was the only thing she wished to ask the Shield Hero. That was the only thing she had left to hold on to. Who was right, and who was wrong?

…

Naofumi clenched his fists in his lap. Thinking about all the horrible things Altara had done to him and others in the past… and there had been a lot. Too much for him to forgive. Emotionally, or logically.

"I'm no God." He muttered. "I don't know what'll happen. If it was up to me, Altara would burn in hell for what she did. She would receive the harshest punishment the devil could muster. I'd go there myself to make sure it happened." He glared at Victoria.

Victoria hung her head. If she had the energy, she'd be sobbing right now. She knew it. She wasn't worthy. She'd never be worthy of seeing her family ever again. It had all been for nothing. Why should she have thought she would receive forgiveness when she'd-

"However, I can't judge Victoria for what happened." Naofumi's glare dropped. Victoria looked at him again. "Again, I'm no God. So I'm not the one that'll judge you for what happened." Altara had hurt him and his friends. But before that, she had been someone else. Somebody better… and that person was who she was now at the end of it all.

As hard as it was, Naofumi had to let Altara go. She was already gone. Shattered by the actions of Balamus. Only Victoria remained. The Victoria looking through her own tears at him. **Her** great God. In a display of kindness and mercy, he gripped one of her hands. "Regardless of what happens, I won't let you suffer anymore from the actions of others. You'll be fine. I promise."

The gemstone on his shield glowed blue in response. The light illuminated Victoria's eyes. Fresh tears trickled from them. She cried softly at the Shield Hero's words. Even if he said he wasn't a God, he'd only reaffirmed an old faith. An old faith that combined with her new faith in all the Cardinal Heroes to make something new. Something purer than what she'd had before.

"_Please… protect them… protect my people, Shield_ Hero." She looked from him to Raphtalia._ "Apologize to them, for me." _She whispered. The Raccoon/Tanuki girl sadly nodded. Victoria looked at Naofumi one last time. "_Protect those you… love. So they won't… suffer like, I have. Don't let them… make the same… mistakes, I did… promise me, please… Shield… Hero… ..." _It felt so nice. Being able to say Shield Hero instead of Shield Demon. Looking back at it now, that hurt her most of all. Everything she'd done to Naofumi. When, in all aspects, he was like an angel of light, a beacon in the darkness of her life.

Naofumi gave her a nod. "I will."

Her hands grew limp in his and Mirellia's. Her eyes becoming distant, her head falling to the side. "_Thank… … ... you..."_

* * *

_Fresh tears, happy tears, fell as she felt a hand on her face._

"_Arthur… I… I found you. It's been so long..."_

_Standing above her, a kind, tall, black-haired man with a handsome face smiled at her. "Victoria. Everyone is waiting."_

_Looking past him, she saw line upon line of people behind him. The soldiers she'd lost during the war. Her two trusted friends. Council Members who hadn't known of her fate. Even those friends she'd been tasked with hunting down as Altara stood there. Their eyes were full of forgiveness instead of hate. Their arms were wide open to receive her._

_She finally had her true answer._

_Both sides had been wrong all along._

_Their world wasn't divided as they'd thought._

_In the beginning, humans, and demi-humans, all came from the same beings._

_And in the end, they all went to the same place._

_Their race didn't matter._

_Their social class didn't matter._

_Their wealth didn't matter._

_Even their traditions didn't matter._

_Two little kids stood in front of them all. Smiling and waving at her. Even the hybrids of the races went there. To that place of rest. "Momma!" They both yelled at the same time._

_Victoria smiled. Her pain disappeared. "I'm so… I'm so… happy…" For the first time in so long... she stood up and hugged her husband tightly._

_"Thank you… for waiting for me..."_

"_Always."_

* * *

Victoria's final word was her last breath. Turning her face into a smile.

For once, the nun/warrior finally looked at peace...

...

Raphtalia buried her head into Naofumi's shoulder and began to sob at what she'd just witnessed.

Mirellia lowered Victoria's hand onto her chest. And then she raised her fan in front of her face. Hiding the fresh tears that had finally leaked out.

And Naofumi… after setting down Victoria's other hand, he held Raphtalia close. Glaring at the dead warrior in front of him. He still felt conflicted. He had hated this woman for as long as Bitch. There had been times where he'd wanted her dead for what she'd done before… but several tears of his own fell down the sides of his face into Raphtalia's auburn hair. Not of despair or anger, but frustration. Frustration at himself and the world around him.

He couldn't take it anymore. "Damn it!"

That did it. He officially hated this world. He hated how cruel it was. Not only to him but to the people in it too. He hated how it killed Raphtalia's parents. How it made people destroy a village and enslave orphans. How it changed good people like Victoria into evil pawns like Altara. And he especially hated that he couldn't hate her anymore. Just like Dou-Lon had said, he no longer wished for her death. He found no satisfaction in it. Only a deep hollow feeling of something important now being gone forever remained.

Unlike Bitch, unlike Balamus, unlike those who wanted to protect their power, she had been a nice person! She'd cared for her family! For her soldiers! For her friends! Yet she'd been punished for it! And taken advantage of by people who were evil, manipulative, and power-hungry. Everything that Victoria was not! They'd taken an innocent, kind, destroyed soul and used her until she was no longer useful!

His fists clenched against his leg armor. He buried his face in Raphtalia's hair to hide his tears and frustration.

He couldn't stand it anymore. Balamus's fate was sealed. Bitch would never be Queen. Oh, he'd make sure the Bitch was punished far more harshly when she was finally caught. But there was one last group to punish. One last nation to send his righteous wrath down upon.

Things had to change. He had to make them change.

"Come on, Raphtalia." He whispered to her. "Let's head back to our rooms now."

She didn't resist, and she got up with him, still sobbing into his shoulder as he walked them towards the door.

Before they left, he looked back at Victoria's body one last time. The nurses and Shadows covered her in a white cloth, crossing her arms as if she was praying. Dou-Lon stood and made a gesture of a Shield with his hands as he said a soft prayer of farewell and peace for Victoria. The Hakuko wasn't crying. But even he had been touched by what he'd witnessed.

The Queen herself bowed her head, several of her tears falling on her old friend. "_Rest peacefully, Vicky."_ She whispered softly.

Naofumi finally tore his gaze from the scene. And marched himself and Raphtalia out the door.

He knew what he had to do.

Siltvelt had been founded by a past Shield Hero. They claimed their values and traditions were from him. That he approved of what they did. That he approved of their racism, classes, values, and traditions.

It was time they learned the current Shield Hero did not approve of what they'd become. And that change had better come, or he'd bring the nation that had made Altara and ruined his life crashing down upon their knees.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**You know, at the end of this character's life, I can't help but picture the tragic villain Darth Vader. If somebody could add the appropriate trope on the TVTropes page for Victoria's character, I'd greatly appreciate it.**

**Maybe one of these days, I should write a short fic for the Eight-Year Siltvelt War. Or maybe start it before that. When Victoria was a nice, good person that was friends with a younger Mirellia Q. Melromarc. That would be a fresh read in this fandom.**

**It's funny how one small change to the past can lead to so much pain and heartache. And I doubt it'll take just one chapter for everything to be resolved. Also, that scene from Victoria's POV, that may or may not have some of my own personal beliefs mixed into it. It also takes a passage from the Old Testament in the Bible. I won't quote it, but basically, those who are responsible for the sins and iniquities of another person, will answer for the sins and iniquities of that person tenfold. In this case here, I think you can assume who will answer for Victoria's crimes.**

**Now, to the omake! Inspired by a Guest because this honestly would be too short for a one-shot.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**If the Proper Summoning had Happened**

* * *

"Oh Lord, we are so grateful to be graced by your presence!"

Naofumi stared confusedly down at the group of various demi-humans. "What's happening now?" He asked the ceiling, expecting the author to give some bull crap explanation for what was going on.

"The world has been corrected! The war has been averted, and the Cardinal Heroes have been returned to their proper countries!" The lead demi-human at the head of the ritual exclaimed. "We shall have a great feast in thy honor!"

"No, screw that! I have my party to get back to!" Naofumi exclaimed angrily, heading for the door.

"But we have a harem of every girl you could dream of waiting to assist you, Lord Shield! Surely they'd be of more use-"

"SCREW THAT! GET ME OUT OF HERE AUTHOR!"

* * *

_Meanwhile, over in Zeltoble_

"You're saying you'd be willing to give me a bunch of mercenaries to assist in the Waves?" Ren asked skeptically.

"Yes, Sword Hero. Zeltoble will do everything in its power to assist you in the Waves." The panda demi-human woman he was talking to answered.

"Huh. That might make things a lot simpler-" Ren was saying.

"Of course. You will lead them and give them inspiring speeches, will you not?" She asked him.

Ren paled. Him, lead an ARMY!? His social anxiety spiked through the roof! "On second thought, I'd rather go back to Melromarc." At least there no one really relied on him.

"But Sword Hero. Our people-"

"NOPE! I'M OUT! PEACE!"

* * *

_Over in Faubley_

"Whoa, you really want to help me in my quest for Justice?" Itsuki asked excitedly.

"Oh, yes, of course. Just come this way and I'll acquire- I mean, assist you with strengthening your weapon." A smirking individual wielding the Vassal Whip said.

_'Wow! I can't believe a level 350 Hero wants to help me get stronger so I can free more slaves!'_ Itsuki thought excitedly as he followed Tact to a private room.

"Wait, why did we have to be alone-"

And then Itsuki was promptly murdered by the future antagonist.

* * *

_Last but not least,_ Melromarc

"Husband. Why did we get stuck with him?"

Trash shook his head in disbelief. "Probably because I'm a descendant of the past Spear Hero."

Mirellia sighed.

"My fair Filo! Please, I beseech thee!"

"No! Get away from Filo Spear Guy!" Filo launched Motoyasu through the air again with a kick to the groin.

"I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU FILOOOOOO!" Motoyasu yelled as he went flying over the castle wall.

"Naofumi! NAOFUMI!" Raphtalia yelled in worry. Where had her boyfriend, Ren, and Itsuki disappeared to now?!

Oh wait, her and Filo wouldn't exist. Because Filo would have never been bought and raised by a Cardinal Hero. And Raphtalia would have died in her cage in Belouka's tent if Naofumi had been summoned to Siltvelt. So the entire scene was sucked away into a large, gaping plot hole.

* * *

Thus, Ren's social anxiety caused the downfall of Zeltoble. Motoyasu's passion for girls got him killed by Glass in the Ghost Ship Wave. Itsuki was immediately offed by a future antagonist right after his summoning. And Naofumi was turned into a breeding horse for Siltvelt's nobility with no other real use whatsoever.

In essence, had the Summonings gone properly, the world would have been screwed several times over. And we never would have had a story to tell. The end.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


	57. 57: Inevitable War

**Just a little announcement. I'm going through the beginning of the story to do some much-needed editing. This includes cleaning up dialogue, fixing grammar, fleshing out characters, and possibly even adding/removing scenes. I'm not sure how bad the damage is, but with the exception of the first chapter, you'll know what has or hasn't been worked on because I'm removing all the Author's Notes to signify that the chapter is done. It will be a literal final polishing that'll allow me to focus on moving forward.**

**Now, on to the story!**

* * *

**Since Last Time: **_42 more Favorites, __46 more Followers (Total: 2027 Favorites, 2239 Followers)_

* * *

**Updated:** _October 5th, 2020 11:00 A.M. (MST)_

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Seven:** _Inevitable War_

* * *

_That Night_

It was a long night for Naofumi after Victoria's death. After she'd calmed down somewhat, Raphtalia requested to sleep with Naofumi, which he agreed to. While he stroked his sleeping girlfriend's hair, his thoughts raced through his mind like Filolials vying for his cooking, keeping him awake. Between thinking over what had happened, Raphtalia's constant movements in her sleep, and what he had to do next, he barely rested at all.

It sucked, in so many different ways. He was angry, but he had no way to vent it. He would have snuck out of the Capital to beat up a few balloons, but he didn't dare leave Raphtalia alone, in case her nightmares would return after learning about what Victoria had to go through.

He couldn't even be embarrassed about sleeping in the same bed as Raphtalia. His mind was _that_ preoccupied.

Maybe it was because of how tragic it was. Maybe it was because a part of him still wanted to hold on to his hate for the nun. Or maybe it was because he wanted to let it go, as unbelievable as that sounded.

Yet no matter what he thought about it, it didn't matter anymore. Victoria was dead. He had no way to bring the dead to life to make them pay. He could only strive to fulfill the promise he made and move on with his life.

That was what he eventually decided on. As he finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning, with his nose filled with the scent of Raphtalia's auburn hair, he knew that he had to make things right...

* * *

_The Day of the Wave_

Standing on a rocky platform, overlooking the valley in front of them, Naofumi thought about the moments leading up to now.

After taking some time to bathe and cook breakfast for his party after that night, he met up with Ren, Itsuki, and their parties; minus Rachel, Farrie, and Tersia who were still neck-deep in the Church Archives. They'd be summoned with their Heroes to the sight of the Wave when it occurred.

They then met Mirellia, Trash, and their large army of knights in the courtyard of the castle. The Queen hid her face behind her fan as they discussed some details. Her tone was as fine and polished as ever. But listening carefully, one would realize that the Queen was still grieving.

Finally, after making sure that everyone was stocked up, and that the Capital would be well protected in their absence, they took off to the east.

He didn't remember much of the ride there. Only that most of it was spent staring solemnly out of a carriage window. He held Raphtalia's hand in his while her head rested on his shoulder.

She wasn't crying, but her limp tail spoke of how she was struggling to come to terms with what had happened. She hated Altara, possibly even more than Naofumi had. She hated her for leading the Church's attack on her village. For trying to kill her and Naofumi time and time again. But her death… had been too cruel. It brought her no satisfaction either. She didn't feel any closure, at least no more than what Naofumi had already given her. And now, she had her own promise to fulfill.

Filo was outside pulling the carriage, otherwise, she'd try to cheer them up. Eclair and Melty mainly talked to Dou-Lon, getting to know their newest party member better. They hardly said a thing to Naofumi and Raphtalia, sensing that the couple wanted their space. Naofumi himself hardly said a word for the duration of their journey.

Itsuki spent his carriage ride teaching his party members a game from his world to bond with them. Whenever they had to stop to wait for a part of the army to catch up, he'd take his party out on quick monster hunts in the area to help strengthen them and sharpen their skills. He seemed oddly intent on helping Rishia specifically. Yelling encouragements to her whenever she became too afraid of facing a monster, or when she hyped herself up to cast a spell, amongst other things.

As for Ren, besides trying to duel Eclair when they had to stop, he didn't interact with anybody. And his duels with Eclair only showed how lacking he was in skill. Which made him further withdraw in shame from his party and everyone else. Naofumi would have talked to the raven-haired swordsman, but he had his own issues to deal with.

Sadly, while Welt or Bakta made attempts to talk to Sir Ren, all of which were met with only a few words through a closed carriage door, Wyndia didn't even try to see him. The poor girl traveled in a different carriage. Hardly anyone in any of the Hero's parties knew what she was doing.

Ren was sure the brown-haired dog-girl hated him now.

All in all, it took the army with the Hero's escort till the second evening of their march to get from the Capital to a village in a valley surrounded by mountains. Where the initial battle against Siltvelt's army was planned to take place.

Surprisingly, Naofumi recognized it as the one where he'd helped the old lady. Said old lady actually greeted them when they arrived. Mirellia probably said her name, but Naofumi was too shocked by how healthy and active she looked to catch it. Last time he'd seen her, she'd been on the verge of death. And at the present moment, she was marching down one of the lines of knights below him. Yelling at them in a tone that wouldn't have looked out of place for a drill sergeant.

"Stand up straight! Show some respect for your country! Don't you dare think about running from the enemy! If you show even a hint of fear, this granny will teach you what _real_ fear is..."

She was scary. Had he done this to her by healing her?! What conditions were his other patients in?!

…

Anyway, when they'd arrived, Siltvelt's army had been only a few miles away from the village. However, they'd paused in their march.

At first, they thought it was because of the presence of Mirellia and her armies. Either that or because they were exhausted. Siltvelt had turned what was normally a one month's journey into a couple of weeks.

And then, Mirellia's Shadows reported what they'd overheard from the main army camp. They had stopped because they chose to wait until the day of Melromarc's Wave before marching to meet them in battle.

It didn't take a genius for Naofumi to figure out why.

Naofumi wasn't just angry and conflicted over Victoria's death now. He was even more furious with Siltvelt than before! He'd honestly hoped they'd be able to deal with them before the Wave. But they'd refused all of Mirellia's messengers to meet and discuss peace. Naofumi and Mirelia had even asked Dou-Lon if he could perhaps try to deliver a message directly to the council since he was a member of their Royal Guard.

Unfortunately, the Hakuko couldn't do that. He explained that he was likely considered to either be missing in action or at worst, a deserter. And that meant he would be killed on sight if he tried to get to them.

The poor Hakuko looked very depressed at failing the very first important task given to him.

Initially, Raphtalia took this opportunity to point out how useless Dou-Lon ended up being. But upon hearing that, the Hakuko suddenly announced that he would try anyway, as dying in action was seen as a preferable alternative to him than not trying at all. In the end, the Tanuki had to begrudgingly apologize and admit that if their newest party member got himself killed, just to deliver a message, it would not be worth it.

**00:30:12**

But now with his timer counting down from thirty minutes, stopping Siltvelt's religious war seemed damn near impossible. Naofumi sighed. "Do you see anything yet, Itsuki?" He asked.

"No sign of them yet," Itsuki responded. He was using his scout skill to watch from a vantage point high above them.

"Alright…" They continued to wait.

He was ready to use his vantage to defend or speak depending on Siltvelt's reaction to seeing him at the forefront of everything else. The only other Hero up with him was Itsuki. Who stood prepared to defend against the coming army. Along with Melty, Crystal, Dou-Lon, and the Queen.

Down below, Mirellia had her knights arranged as such. Shields/pikemen near the front. Swordbearers directly behind them. Archers and mages behind those. And then the village itself, which would act as a base for treating the wounded. Ren stood in front of the knights. Behind him stood Raphtalia, Filo, Wyndia, Eclair, Welt, Bakta, and all the other close up combatants of their parties. With the layout of the land, they had the high ground.

Mirellia wanted peace. But the Queen arranged the battlefield so she'd be prepared for war if necessary. She wasn't as good a strategist as her husband in his glory days. But she was by no means stupid.

Naofumi felt conflicted, not having Filo or Raphtalia close to him. But if worse really came to worst, he figured he could jump down and join them before they got hurt.

…

**00:27:38**

"Are you ready, Sir Naofumi?" Mirellia asked. She stood tall and proud beside him, outfitted for war. Only her helm was missing, which was instead replaced with a fan held in front of her face. Aultcray sat dejectedly in a chair beside her, also donned in armor. He was there more for show than to actually lead. Should the peace talks fail, and should the demi-humans actually overcome their fear of the Wise Staff King and do battle, Mirellia would be the one to lead her forces.

Naofumi nodded. "I hope I am." He dryly commented.

"Remember, you're their God, Sir Naofumi," Mirellia said. "If they'd be willing to listen to anyone. It would be you."

"Or they might get inspired to attack with greater ferocity," Naofumi muttered.

"That's why I said when you grab their attention. You'll have to speak quickly before they make the wrong assumption." Mirellia reminded him.

"... you know, I never asked to be their God." Naofumi finally said. "Hell, I don't want to be anybody's God. Religion has already caused enough problems as it is in this world, and I'm far from being anything perfect like that." Raphtalia, Filo, and everyone else that knew him could easily vouch for that fact.

"Regardless of how true that is," Oof. Even the Queen agreed. "You hold more influence over them than anybody else here. You are our only chance of resolving things peacefully before more unnecessary violence breaks out." Mirellia responded.

Naofumi frowned. He knew he, Mirellia, her advisors, the other heroes, and their parties had already discussed it last night and this morning before choosing this option. Using his authority as their God was their only chance to avoid a massacre. Still, he hated having to think of himself as something he wasn't.

**00:25:20**

"You know, Shield Hero, these people worship you as their God," Mirellia said.

"Yeah, I already know that. As I said, it sucks." Naofumi muttered.

"Yes. And Melromarc has done nothing up to this point but treat you like a devil. Which wouldn't be very pleasant either." Mirellia continued. They turned and looked at each other. "I know you agreed to help me stop this war. But I personally need to know, Sir Naofumi. Would you really rather stay in Melromarc and face the chance of continual mistreatment and spite from my people, or would you rather join Siltvelt? Rally them. Have them raze Melromarc and its hypocrisy to the ground as they almost have in the past."

…

Naofumi sighed. "Yeah, your countrymen have done many things to me, your Majesty. Most of them were quite bad… awful, really. If they were the only ones here, I'd join Siltvelt in a heartbeat..." He stood up, tall, firm, and determined, like her. "However, not all of them were bad. There were good people who helped me along my way."

Naofumi smiled in reminiscence. He remembered the Vice-Captain who helped him in Lute. The Lord who gave him a merchant's pass. Elhart, and his friend with the weird accent. Another Lord who cared greatly for his hybrid daughter. The merchant who had taught him how to make accessories. Countless patients who had expressed their gratitude for being healed by the Nocturnal Doctor. Even the creepy midget man who'd led him to Raphtalia, and eventually Filo. And finally, the nobleman who cared greatly for his people, human or demi-human.

"Your country is filled with scum. But not completely. I'd rather not let the few good people die even if it would allow me to punish the rest."

"Even if they continue to mistreat you?" Mirellia asked with a strained voice, her face almost completely hidden from view by her fan.

Naofumi shrugged. "Well… I've been thinking a lot lately. And after a lot of contemplation and self-reflection on everything that's happened to me after coming to your world, your Majesty, I've come to the conclusion that good has to start somewhere. If your people say that I'm the devil, then I'll just have to prove them wrong." The young man turned his head to face the Queen, looking in her eyes and, in an unbelievable display of kindness, coming from him, gave her a reassuring smile. "I am the Shield Hero, after all…"

Queen Mirellia, hid her face behind her fan once more and turned away, her shoulders trembling slightly. Naofumi gave her a minute to collect herself and then let out a chuckle before continuing. "Besides, even if I joined them, I'm teleporting to the site of the wave soon. What good would it do changing sides at the last moment?"

The Queen slowly turned around, her fan now neatly folded in the palm of her hand. She looked a little younger at that moment, with a small, playful smile held on her lips. "Well, for starters, you and the other heroes wouldn't be around to face my icy wrath." She said back, allowing some mirth to return to her voice.

"That's your problem, not mine," Naofumi smirked and for a moment, the two of them exchanged a look of what felt like understanding. It was hard to believe this woman ever gave birth to someone like Bitch. Unfortunately, it would not be able to last.

"I see them!"

Naofumi jumped at Itsuki's shout. The army down below started to nestle around nervously. Trying to look for what they could not see yet. The Queen and him went silent after that.

Naofumi focused on the area in front of them. It was a wide curved valley in the middle of the mountains. Tall cliffs rested on both of its sides, creating a canyon-like formation. Above those walls, the mountain range continued on...

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the army of Siltvelt began to appear.

Naofumi gulped. That was a _lot_ of enemies coming towards them. Thousands of them. They ranged in size from smaller than a human, to the size of a bear. His resolve to break Siltvelt flinched behind his growing fear. What if they wouldn't listen to him? What if the sight of him only encouraged them to fight? What if he couldn't stop this war? What if he couldn't protect his friends and comrades?-

Naofumi shook his head. No. He had a duty and a promise to fulfill. He couldn't afford to let doubt stop him now. He focused on the enemy army again.

He guessed the infamous Siltvelt Council to be the folks near the center. They stood on an earth platform above the rest of their soldiers like Mirellia, being moved forward by earth magic. They were donned in shiny ornate armor that glistened in the morning sun, and some had chosen to cover their faces with war paint. They had tall, dangerous-looking bodyguards accompanying them too.

**00:20:00**

When he felt the Siltvelt army was finally close enough, about a mile away, he walked up to the edge of the platform and put himself on display. Raising the legendary shield attached to his arm up high.

It took a moment, but he saw the army begin to slow down. He couldn't hear what the various demi-humans, beastmen, and the therianthropes had begun muttering to each other. But based on the many fingers/claws/clawed fingers that were being pointed in his direction, he assumed that he had successfully grabbed their attention. But just when he was prepared to speak, a mighty roar came from the center of Siltvelt's army.

"Keep moving! It is but another fake! Press on! Prepare for battle!" One of the Council Members on the stone platform roared down to the soldiers. It looked like he had a mane of red hair poking out from under his helmet. It was loud enough that Naofumi could hear it even with how far away he was.

Parts of the army hesitated, but many roared in response and began marching anew. Naofumi frowned. He could already tell where the majority of the trouble would come from.

"That was Jaralis," Mirellia muttered. "Be careful, Naofumi. Between the far too numerous interactions I've had with him and what my shadows have reported to me, he would be among the biggest if not the biggest warmonger of the Council."

"Is he responsible for what happened to Victoria?" Naofumi quietly asked while narrowing his eyes.

"No, that would be his predecessor, his commander during the war, Malak," Mirellia said.

Naofumi took a moment to think to himself. "... Alright, if he wants to play hardball, then how about this?" He took a deep breath. "**AIR STRIKE SHIELD!**"

He yelled out the skill as loud as he could. The glowing green shield skill appeared above and in front of him. It's ornate design sketched on the front of it. He also changed his Shield to another shield. A familiar bright green flash of light accompanied the change from the **Chimera Viper Shield **to the easily recognizable **Small Shield**.

This time, the entire army stopped in its tracks. They now stood about seven-eighths of a mile away. Every demi-human stared in awe at what they saw. Including members of the Council.

It was one thing to have the legendary shield. It was another to use one of its skills and to change its appearance. The fakes they'd encountered in the Church's attempts to slow them down had nothing on par with this.

Seeing how he now had their attention, Naofumi quickly switched shields again. This time to one he hadn't used in a long while. "I, the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani, request a meeting of leaders!" His voice blared out loud and clear over the battlefield through the **Megaphone** of the **Voice Gengar Shield**. So silent were the demi-humans as they listened in awe. "You will not ignore my calls to speak any longer! Accept the meeting, or face the Wrath of your God!"

On the opposite platform, Jaralis scowled. "How dare he! Does our God not know that we are here to rescue him?!"

"Wait, so he isn't a fake?" One of the Council members asked in amazement.

"Of course he's not! Don't be stupid! I was merely motivating our troops to remain steadfast!" The lion, Jaralis, quickly corrected himself. Even though he was the one who spoke out, Jaralis was no longer certain that this was a fake Shield Hero, who stood forth to oppose them.

"Then perhaps, we should at least hear him out," Werner suggested. The other members of the Council exchanged uncertain looks for a moment before nodding in agreement. If this really was their God and he wanted to speak before the battle, it would be most unwise to instill his wrath before they even met him. Especially so, if it could be easily avoided.

Jaralis let out a low growl. But fortunately, without the majority rule, Werner was able to decide what they should do for now. The Shuzaku representative sent his winged advisors out, giving orders for the rest of the army to halt. This confused the army, as the sight of their God made them want to rush Melromarc's forces to free him, but thankfully, they listened to the orders of their leaders, for now.

Jaralis took his helmet off. "We will meet under a flag of truce!" Jaralis roared back in response. A white flag was erected amongst the center of the council. The army made no move to attack.

Naofumi breathed a sigh of relief. Alright, the first step was done. Now they only had like twenty or so minutes to end this war, and then they could go deal with the Wave.

It was just another day in the life of a Cardinal Hero.

"Let us end this." Mirellia gave orders to mages down below, and the knights in front parted. After a few seconds, the stone platform itself began moving forward past the army. Naofumi stared down at his party as they moved past. Raphtalia and Filo both nodded and gave him smiles to encourage him along.

On the opposite end, the Council's platform did the same. Both side's mages moved the platforms towards each other.

"Anything I should watch for, your Majesty?" Itsuki asked. He kept a tight grip on his bow.

"Only make sure you do nothing to provoke them," Mirellia answered. "If the Shield is considered a demon in our country, the other Cardinal Heroes won't amount to much more in Siltvelt."

Itsuki nodded and remained silent.

It felt like an eternity. But in reality, it wasn't long at all. But finally, the two stone platforms met in the center of the battlefield, merging together to allow those on both sides to approach one another. Naofumi was brought face to face with the leaders of Siltvelt.

He wouldn't bother going into details about all of them. Especially after they all got down on one knee in reverence. "Our Lord. It is a great honor to finally meet you." The one who spoke looked like a mixture of a bird and a human to Naofumi. The demi-human had large red wings coming out of his back, and legs that looked like bird feet. Besides that, he looked for all intents and purposes, human. Could he fly with those wings?

Naofumi had to do his best not to start yelling at them. After all, his goal was to not provoke them into continuing the war... "What the hell are you idiots doing?!" His best was not enough, unfortunately. "This is no time for a war!"

Members of the Council paled. "Our Lord. We'd heard you were being mistreated, and we thought-"

"Yeah, I was being mistreated! But that isn't a reason to start a damn war!" Naofumi interrupted the Shuzaku. "Do any of you have a clue how stupid this all is?! Damn you all!"

"If you were being mistreated, my Lord, we are perfectly justified in warring with Melromarc!" Jaralis growled. "No one that treats the Shield Hero with such disdain is worthy of life!"

"Jaralis. Think before you speak." Mirellia finally spoke up. The Council focused from Naofumi to her.

"I already told your delegates about how I allowed the Shield's current treatment to draw out the dark forces that were hiding in the shadows of my kingdom." Her stare became an icy glare. "I warned you not to interfere. Yet you still snuck scouts into my kingdom. Even worse, you declared war when those enemies of ours killed them, further emboldening them and making them far more dangerous than they would have been otherwise. The Shield Hero has had to suffer much hardship and tribulation because of YOUR actions." She emphasized where the blame lied.

Naofumi looked at the Queen. He wondered if this was one of her bluffs, or if that really was the truth. The Queen would have only known what he was going through based on what her Shadows told her since she was so busy trying to prevent wars with the other nations.

Some of the Council Members shuddered under the Vixen of Melromarc's stare. Aultcray looked up at them, and they backed away even further. It seemed even broken, the King still had his uses. Mirellia definitely knew where to hit to make it hurt.

Jaralis, however, now standing in front of everyone, laughed. "I see you're the same as always, Vixen. Blaming others for your nation's problems. I knew we should have declared war on Melromarc as soon as we learned that you had summoned our Great God!"

Mirellia glared harshly at Jaralis. "I assign blame where it belongs. And I have no doubt in my mind that your motivation for going to war with us isn't just over Sir Naofumi, is it, Jaralis?"

The two leaders glared at each other.

"Now, let's calm down a moment." Werner intervened. "I'm sure our great God didn't call this meeting because he wanted a war… that is why you called this meeting, correct?" Werner asked.

Naofumi was about to answer when Jaralis interrupted once again. "Of course that isn't why he did it! He wants Melromarc exterminated just like we do! He brought their leaders here for us so we could execute them-"

"Would you just shut up already!" Naofumi yelled at the lion therianthrope. "I don't want a bloody war or any fighting here! I have bigger fish to worry about than this ****!"

"But, my Lord!" Jaralis exclaimed. "This war is to avenge you of every misdeed done to you, and to return you to your rightful home-"

"I don't want to go to Siltvelt! I want to fight the Waves and save your damn world, you big furry idiot!" Naofumi yelled again.

…

This time, the members of the Council stared at him in shock. Their great God… didn't want to come back with them?

They were beginning to realize he was actually supporting Melromarc in this meeting. Not them.

Jaralis growled at the Queen. "What manner of brainwashing have you put our Great God through, Bitch?!"

"I have done nothing," Mirellia said, lowering her fan to show a serious face. "Believe me. Sir Naofumi's choice surprised me too."

Jaralis growled. "You lie!"

"No, she speaks the truth." Naofumi glared harshly. "You can say all you want. After what you did to the former raccoon representative, Victoria, I will never support your country the way it is."

The reaction he got was immediate. Werner, several of the younger members of the Council, and even a couple of the older members looked confused. However, the others who had been on the Council at that time paled considerably. Jaralis himself even appeared briefly stunned.

"You scapegoated an entire race to hide a lie. You murdered a family and broke a woman responsible for most of my problems since my summoning. You think I can just FORGIVE YOU FOR ALL THAT?!" Naofumi yelled, rage boiling in his tone. "IF SO, YOU ALL ARE EVEN MORE STUPID THAN I THOUGHT!"

"Jaralis, what is our God talking about-" Werner started to ask.

"This, it's because of that Tanuki companion of yours, isn't it?!" Jaralis accused.

Naofumi was shocked speechless for a few seconds that Raphtalia was being brought up now. She was still back with the rest of the army, waiting for them to return. "What are you- how is that relevant right now?!-"

"I always knew that the Tanukis and the Raccoons were going to plot together to fool our Great God into following our enemies! We shouldn't have just exiled the Raccoons! We shouldn't have just broken off our trade ties with Q'Ten Lo! We should have executed them and wiped out that nation of traitors!"

"YOU KEEP HER OUT OF THIS!" Naofumi yelled at Jaralis. He was barely holding onto his Rage at the moment. He forced himself to try and calm down. "She has nothing to do with your mistakes!-"

Jaralis smirked. "Ah, yes." He interrupted Naofumi again. "Now we have more than enough reason to purge Melromarc once and for all. Not only have those inferior races mistreated our great God, but they also tricked him into believing that they care about him to brainwash him!"

Naofumi's breath caught in his throat as he felt something inside him snap. His right eyebrow twitched as Jaralis spoke again. "Do not worry my Lord!" He leaned close, growling between bared teeth as he stared with his orange, bloodshot eyes into Naofumi's own green orbs." "I promise we will do everything in our power to free you from that filthy, manipulating, lying bi-"

Naofumi had no idea how it happened. It was most likely because the therianthrope had just tried to compare Raphtalia, the girl he loved the most in this world, to that of Bitch. But one moment, he'd been standing there. Staring at the proud demi-human in front of him.

The next moment, he was seeing red, and Itsuki and Dou-Lon were holding him back. The Cursed **Shield of Rage II** burned on his arm, and Jaralis was screaming on the ground. Burn marks covered his prideful face. Naofumi snarled like a wild animal.

"Naofumi, get a hold of yourself!" Itsuki yelled in his ear in fear.

"HOW DARE YOU! **HOW ****ING DARE YOU!**" Naofumi roared in a deep guttural voice. More cursed flames flew off his Shield, hitting his Hakuko party member.

"NAOFUMI!"

"Naofumi..." A distant voice filled the dark depths of his mind, clearing his vision for a moment. He growled, wanting to block it out and unleash his growing rage on the howling lion below him.

…

Through sheer force of will, Naofumi forced himself to change out of the Shield. Still, he felt plenty of anger. And he pointed down at the Council who cowered in fear at the indignation of their God. His transformation had briefly shown menacing black armor covering his right side, but that faded when he switched shields. "YOU WILL CALL OFF THIS WAR RIGHT NOW! OR I WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU HOLD DEAR! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Even without that armor, he didn't look any less menacing as he yelled it. He didn't give a **** anymore. He'd only met Jaralis, and the lion therianthrope PISSED him off. "DO IT! OR ELSE!"

Werner and a few of the others lost their color at his words. Jaralis, however, stood back up, growling menacingly. If it wasn't for the others being there, he likely would have attacked Naofumi. He held a pawed hand over the right side of his face where the burns were more severe. "You have clearly been brainwashed." He spoke slowly, his voice now carrying a chilling tone of certainty in it. "You fraternize not only with the inferior but with the true devils of this world." He pointed a clawed finger at Itsuki.

"Is he, talking about me?" Itsuki asked in surprise.

"The only way to free our God now is to scourge Melromarc and its heathens until nothing remains. The Council has spoken." Jaralis bared his teeth again and glanced back, letting the dark burns on his face speak for him.

Werner was horrified. But most of the other council members nodded in agreement. Among those were the ones who had been there at Victoria's trial. Jaralis, unfortunately, held the majority once more.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Jaralis?" Mirellia asked, her face hidden behind her fan again.

"Oh yes! I will enjoy it when we wipe out your army and pin your heads on pikes for the whole world to see." Jaralis growled out the threat. "And I will personally enjoy tearing your Vixen vocal cords out with my own fangs. They shall make an excellent trophy on my wall."

It was barely noticeable. But Aultcray twitched in his seat and looked up once more. A spark of life briefly returned to his eyes, glaring at the therianthrope. It startled Jaralis, but just as quickly, it disappeared, and the broken King knelt his head once more.

…

"Very well. I see talking will truly get us nowhere." Mirellia backed up onto her platform. Itsuki, Naofumi, and Dou-Lon followed her.

Jaralis growled. How he hated Melromarc! How he hated the Wise King and his Vixen! "And you, Hakuko!" He pointed an accusing clawed finger at Dou-Lon's retreating figure. "For deserting over to their side, I'll make sure that you will have the worst death of all!" Jaralis was held back by his bodyguards as the platforms separated. "Your kind will never be welcome in Siltvelt ever again! I swear it!"

Dou-Lon's fists clenched, but he didn't respond. He had several cursed burns that had burned the fur away from his arms when he held Naofumi back. He gripped around those areas, trying to hide the pain he was suffering from.

It wasn't until they were almost back with their army that Naofumi finally calmed down enough to realize the sheer magnitude of his **** up. His head drooped in regret. "I'm sorry. I let my anger get the best of me back there." He looked sadly at the Hakuko's burned arms.

"It is alright, my lord… if you hadn't gotten to him first, then I would have struck him myself." His voice held barely restrained anger as well. Jaralis rubbed them both the wrong way.

"Apologies will do nothing for us now, Shield Hero." Mirellia's voice was icy. She was likely mad at him. But she also sounded resigned. "It is not entirely your fault. I should have known Jaralis's hatred of humans would drive him to do anything to keep this war on track. But mentioning Victoria was not wise. It's only made them more desperate to hide their sins from the people."

"I know, he just... urgh..." Naofumi clenched his fists.

**00:05:00**

Naofumi looked at the wave counter. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter, since there's nothing we can do to stop this war now."

"Indeed, there is not." Mirellia breathed out and closed her fan before putting it away. There was no longer any need to partake in negotiations. One of her Shadows appeared, offering her her war helm. She accepted it and put it on, turning to face the Siltvelt Army. "War is unavoidable now."

…

"Well, look on the bright side," Itsuki said. Both looked at him. "Did you see the look on that lion's face after you slammed him with your Cursed Shield?"

"No…"

"... Well, I thought it was pretty funny," Itsuki said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Maybe Ren wasn't the only one who was bad at cheering people up.

When they reached the army, several mages began treating Dou-Lon's burns. As they were cursed, he would have to deal with them for a while. Naofumi would have used the effect from his shield, but a 10% defense debuff right before a Wave didn't sound very wise. He'd just have to keep an eye on Dou-Lon and pull him out before he got himself hurt too badly.

Naofumi and Itsuki jumped off the platform. Raphtalia immediately raced up to them. "Are you hurt? I felt like something terrible happened while you were over there."

"Filo felt it too." Filo was right behind her mother. "What happened daddy?"

"I… I may have lost control and used the **Shield of Rage** on one of the Council Members." Naofumi said.

"... you WHAT?!"

Naofumi flinched under Raphtalia's gaze. He felt more guilty, seeing the burns on her arms from when he'd lost control before. "I'm sorry. I swear I was trying to hold back."

"Don't be too hard on him. If they said that kind of stuff about my own party, I would have lost it too." Itsuki came to his friend's defense.

Raphtalia wasn't mad at Naofumi. She wasn't disappointed either. She was only sad that she hadn't been there to calm him down. So she hugged him close and rubbed the back of his head to comfort him.

He was grateful for it. It was always a scary experience coming out from that… that _thing_. "I'll take it the war isn't off then." Ren who had arrived to greet them earlier asked sadly.

"Yeah. The lion I punched was adamant about it." Naofumi said. "Still, it was worth a shot. And… I kind of feel better getting some of that off my chest."

...

"It's better you tried and failed instead of not trying at all." Raphtalia gently caressed Naofumi's face as she whispered the reassuring words into his ear.

Ren looked away at the display while Itsuki solemnly nodded in agreement. Naofumi, feeling better, let the Tanuki girl go and gently rubbed Filo's hair. Mirellia began to shout orders to her army. Organizing it for battle.

"There's nothing else we can do now," Naofumi said.

Ren and Itsuki both looked sad. They'd managed to solve all the other issues in Melromarc. But they'd failed with this last one. They saved the location to their weapons. Hopefully, if they dealt with the Wave quickly enough, they'd be able to teleport everyone back and help Mirellia's army.

On the opposite side, the demi-humans roared, preparing themselves for battle. Jaralis led them by yelling encouragements to them. To fight for their country and for their great God.

The hypocrite. Naofumi wanted to punch him all over again.

"Are you thinking rude thoughts again, Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked beside him.

"Trust me. They are well-deserved for once." Naofumi bitterly replied.

…

She squeezed his hand. "If they're well deserved, then I'll support you."

He looked at her in surprise, and she smiled at him. "What?"

"I'm just shocked that you'd support my rude side for once..."

She pouted. "I don't always not support your rude side Naofumi."

"Um, yeah you do," Naofumi retorted.

"I do not."

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do-"

"Guys, I'm up for all forms of stress relief, but save it for later, we have more important things to worry about." Itsuki interrupted.

**00:00:15**

Naofumi and Raphtalia both sighed, but stayed hand in hand. "Fine. Let's deal with that Wave, and then get back here as quickly as possible." He said.

Itsuki and Ren both nodded. Changing to their strongest weapons. Naofumi switched to his **Awakened Chimera Viper Shield** once more. Their party members readied themselves, both here at the Wave, and back in the Capital.

**00:00:05**

Jaralis raised an arm on the platform across the battlefield. The new scars on his face were plain to see. "ARE YOU READY TO FREE OUR GOD?!" He roared in triumph. He was met with a deafening roar.

"DEFEND YOUR HOMELAND WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT!" Mirellia's voice carried over her entire army. Many of the knights grimaced, but stood firm, determined to defend their homeland.

A glowing light surrounded Ren, Itsuki, Naofumi, and their parties, both on the ground, and on the Queen's stone platform.

**00:00:02**

'_This is it. This is where Melromarc finally ends.'_ Jaralis thought in glee. If they took out both the Queen and the Staff Hero, the rest of Melromarc would easily fall. And to think their invasion lined right up with the Wave too. It couldn't have been better planned if they'd tried.

**00:00:01**

**00:00:00**

A loud sound like a gong rang out over the landscape. Jaralis lowered his arm to give the order to charge. Mirellia did the same.

The light brightened around the Heroes and their parties, and then…

A bright light appeared in the center of no man's land. As soon as it appeared, it faded, revealing the Hero's and their parties.

Jaralis and Mirellia's arms both froze in place. '_WHAT?!'_

The three Heroes looked around in confusion. "What the-"

A sound like a tear sounded far up above. Looking up, the sky turned a dark red. Purple vortexes moved across the sky. From them, monsters began to pour out. Mirellia, Jaralis, and the other leaders looked up in stunned horror.

Naofumi paled.

****.

"Oh no," Ren said fearfully. His full party now surrounding him. Farrie and Tersia included.

They weren't being teleported somewhere else. They were _already_ at the sight of the wave.

"Hey guys, so how did the peace talks gooooo... oh." Beside them, a very sheepish Motoyasu and his two girl party looked at both armies opposite each other as well as the sky up above. "This looks bad."

"... You think?" Naofumi responded sarcastically.

A monster from the rift, a Shadow Lizardman, landed on top of a Wolf demi-human. Killing him instantly. At the same time, a Shadow Goblin fell in front of a line of knights, cackling maniacally as it jumped for them.

Screams and chaos spread all across the battlefield as more monsters fell from the sky.

Melromarc's Third Wave of Destruction had begun.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YES! GO MY PLOT BUNNIES! SOW DESTRUCTION AND CHAOS AMONGST THEIR RANKS! BWUHAHAHAHAHAHA *ack, ack* damn it. There goes the perfect evil laugh.**

**I hope I provided enough foreshadowing at the beginning of the chapter to show what was about to happen. I kind of based the geography from the Rising of the Shield Hero: Relive the Animation to line this up. Know that game's version of the map is false, and that it normally takes a month instead of several weeks to make a journey from Siltvelt to Shieldfreeden to this part of Melromarc, as there are several other minor countries in between them, but oh well.**

**Siltvelt barely had to deal with the border defense. But as punishment for that, they are now at the center of a Wave with their enemies. Oh, how I love plot. I'll look forward to seeing you all two weeks from now.**

* * *

_Hero Clips!_

* * *

**I Hate Politics**

* * *

"Sir Naofumi, please reconsider-"

"No! I already said no, so drop it!"

Mirellia pouted, putting her hands on her hips. Naofumi wondered where Melty had gotten her pout from. Guess he knew the answer now. "I do believe this is a reasonable request."

"What's a reasonable request?" Itsuki walked in on the scene.

"Her Majesty wants to make me an Arch-Duke to lower tensions with Siltvelt!" Naofumi yelled at the blonde kid.

"Oh, really? Congratulations Naofumi!" Itsuki said excitedly.

"No, that's horrible! That'd mean I'd have to become even more intertwined in politics! And I HATE that stuff!" Naofumi complained.

"Really, that's the only thing holding you back?" Ren appeared, asking his question curiously.

"Man, you should be celebrating! Arch-Duke is like, one of the highest ranks you can get in the kingdom!" Motoyasu appeared as well.

Naofumi growled at them. "Please reconsider, Sir Naofumi. I'm only trying to put you in a position that pleases Siltvelt and puts you above those that want to hurt you." Mirellia said.

...

"I know there's a catch there somewhere, so what the hell is it," Naofumi uttered, more calmly.

Mirellia moved her fan in front of her face. "Well, as Archduke... you would be considered a marriage candidate for my daughter-"

"THEN HELL NO!"

She was surprised by how quickly his fierce response came. "I only said you'd be a candidate, Sir Naofumi! I wouldn't dream of tearing you away from Miss Raphtalia! And when the time came, Melty will have a list of candidates to choose from-"

"You better not choose me, Second Princess, you hear me!?" Naofumi yelled.

"Why would I choose to marry someone as rude as you!?" Melty screeched indignantly somewhere in the castle. "Hell would have to freeze over first before that happened!"

"See, Sir Naofumi, you have nothing to worry about-" Mirellia was saying again.

"Screw this, I'm not staying to play politics!"

"Wait, come back Naofumi!" The Heroes all yelled.

"Raphtalia, Filo, where the hell are you two!?"

Wow, the guy must have really hated his politics.

Though he might have finally noticed as well that it'd been some time since Raphtalia or Filo appeared alongside him in an extra.

I should probably fix that soon.

* * *

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


End file.
